Salt and Sacrifice

 PC
User Score
3.8

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 102 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 102
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 102
  3. Negative: 64 out of 102

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  1. Awesomepotamus
    Jun 8, 2022
    2
    This really is one of the most disappointing sequels I've ever played. It loses almost every positive aspect from Salt and Sanctuary and replaces them with downgraded mechanics. Overall, it is a step backwards in almost every way. The only thing it retains is a wonderful environment visual style and very cool weapons and armors.

    1. The skill tree: The Sanctuary skill tree allowed you to    This really is one of the most disappointing sequels I've ever played. It loses almost every positive aspect from Salt and Sanctuary and replaces them with downgraded mechanics. Overall, it is a step backwards in almost every way. The only thing it retains is a wonderful environment visual style and very cool weapons and armors.

    1. The skill tree: The Sanctuary skill tree allowed you to intertwine specialties and change your build from one weapon type to another with minimal fuss which was really wonderful when you found new weapons you wanted to try. The Sacrifice skill tree is incredibly segregated, and to swap weapon types you may as well make a whole new character.

    2. The interconnected world: The Sanctuary world was all connected as one global map with various areas connecting in different ways and shortcuts that would allow you to explore and really enjoy circling back with your newfound abilities. The Sacrifice world is split into smaller worlds that are completely separate that you warp to via a hub.

    3. The enemies and bosses: Salt and Sacrifice enemies are all but completely immune to stagger, which means even with the biggest weapons, you are often forced to trade hits. In a game with minimal healing that is miserable (farming and crafting required). Enemies seem to have infinite stamina and very small counter windows as well.

    3a. The bosses alone are enough of a disappointment to warrant a negative review. Their primary function is to summon a bunch of minions and then teleport away much too quickly. Most often you could hit the bosses a few times between teleports, but this required ignoring or tanking the adds. On top of these downsides: Bosses re-spawn as area enemies - in the same area - with the same mechanics - for you to farm. Farming bosses that were uninteresting the first time is simply not a positive experience, but you must do this in order to acquire the materials to even try unique weapons.

    4. The combat more generally: Issues here were hinted at when discussing enemies, but this game simply doesn't have the impactful and satisfying feel of the combat in Sanctuary. Enemies stagger too little, the player staggers too much (or perhaps rather enemies have abilities to stun-lock), windows are very small especially with heavier builds. This sounds like a complaint rooted in a sense of frustration from a lack of skill, but I've gone back to Sanctuary to compare and it is a night and day difference that seems to serve only to punish the player.    … Expand
  2. Mostafasks
    May 30, 2022
    0
    This game is so annoying and boring with all this mage hunting thing + absurd boss combo and stamina, also no matter how many times you upgrade your skills you still weak. This game is trivial and from all aspects.
    For many reasons you should not buy SAS: first we miss that gloomy ambience, second the stamina thing is so ***** and annoying that you can't even block and attack or dodge,    This game is so annoying and boring with all this mage hunting thing + absurd boss combo and stamina, also no matter how many times you upgrade your skills you still weak. This game is trivial and from all aspects.
    For many reasons you should not buy SAS: first we miss that gloomy ambience, second the stamina thing is so ***** and annoying that you can't even block and attack or dodge, third the mage hunting thing is way boring that you have to chase the boss which is repeated many times with different names, fourth there is no sanctuaries to load your play but instead you have to back to the camp and return all the way back when you play again, and last thing is the stupid fight system and moves no heavy attacks but only swinging your sword, also it is almost impossible to farm in order to upgrade your skills!
    Definetly not going to continue with this one, sorry SKA studio but you messed up badly here    … Expand
  3. zanymend
    May 27, 2022
    0
    Terrible follow up of Salt and Sanctuary based on Monster Hunter. Worst game I've ever played.

    Most problems that exist in Salt and Sanctuary also exist in this game. Horrible platforming. Most player deaths are caused by this. Salt is dropped at death spot, not before. Stamina regen has been greatly reduced. Patches still haven't fixed this. Stamina regen hold on action like    Terrible follow up of Salt and Sanctuary based on Monster Hunter. Worst game I've ever played.

    Most problems that exist in Salt and Sanctuary also exist in this game.
    Horrible platforming. Most player deaths are caused by this. Salt is dropped at death spot, not before.
    Stamina regen has been greatly reduced. Patches still haven't fixed this.
    Stamina regen hold on action like jumping, climbing, blocking etc. still hasn't been fixed.
    Stun locking, and juggling are worse than the prequel. The bad stamina system only makes this worse.
    Parrying replaced with a worse perfect block system that is unreliable, and lower parry frame time window. Need multiple perfect blocks to get a riposte. Added boss riposte which I like.
    Boss stun locking, and juggling is terrible. Patches have only made minor improvements to this.
    From a game design, balance 101 prospective bosses only have elemental strengths, and not weaknesses makes no sense.
    No qol features like a map, fast travel etc.
    Game suffers from quantity over quality in gear like the prequel has.
    Ska like a lot of other devs continue the practice of extending a games length with tedious grinding, and crafting.
    Creeds have been replaced with Factions. All of them are multiplayer, and or pvp focused.
    Magic, and incantations have been replaced with a worse weapons art system.
    Weapons have no weight, and shields are tied to Vanguard weapons.
    Gray Starstones are bugged.
    Boss arenas are bugged where you get locked out of boss fights.
    Balance is as bad as the prequel instead it's magic and ranged weapons that are op now.
    Skilltree is back, and worst than the prequel. A simple Dark Soul stat system would of been better.
    Hitboxes are off on stuff like water mage bubbles as an example.
    Healing Flask animation, and regen are too slow.
    Horrible performance with the worst drop inputs I've ever dealt with. At times game was unplayable.
    Game is more luck and rng dependent instead of skill based like the prequel was.
    Game has about 7 patches, but little to nothing has been improved.    … Expand
  4. Vastaropoli
    Sep 8, 2022
    1
    Im so devastated that I have to write this review but I need the developer who I admire to correct this for the next game. First I gotta say that Salt and Sanctuary is literally my favorite game of all time and is as close to masterpiece as it gets for me. It shares the throne with Bloodborne and Dark Souls series. So I was friggen beyond excited for Sacrifice but boy was I disappointedIm so devastated that I have to write this review but I need the developer who I admire to correct this for the next game. First I gotta say that Salt and Sanctuary is literally my favorite game of all time and is as close to masterpiece as it gets for me. It shares the throne with Bloodborne and Dark Souls series. So I was friggen beyond excited for Sacrifice but boy was I disappointed actually angry! Wtf did they do to my favorite game and why!? The game sucks in every aspect and is a massive downgrade from Sanctuary. Please Ska dont change something that was beloved by everyone especially for this mish mash of garbage. I dont wanna be a jerk but this is just not the game I fell in love with and it seems the developer doesn't understand what they truly had with Sanctuary. It feels disrespectful almost that they give us this as the sequel totally destroying the legacy of Sanctuary! Please give us a proper Salt sequel like Sanctuary!… Expand
  5. Browncolor
    Sep 17, 2022
    2
    How do you f this up so badly? Every single element is a straight downgrade from Salt&Sanctuary.

    All you had to do is to ADD MAP and bunch of new locations/weapons/classes to S&S 1, slap "2" on it and ship it, and everyone would be happy. Why try to reinvent the wheel? Especially when you end up with a square one like this. This feels like a student project of someone trying to    How do you f this up so badly? Every single element is a straight downgrade from Salt&Sanctuary.

    All you had to do is to ADD MAP and bunch of new locations/weapons/classes to S&S 1, slap "2" on it and ship it, and everyone would be happy. Why try to reinvent the wheel? Especially when you end up with a square one like this.

    This feels like a student project of someone trying to imitate Salt&Sanctuary    … Expand
  6. meny82
    Jun 18, 2022
    2
    Dev should have called Salt and Stunlock.
    Fu*k this sh*t; waste of time.
    Salt and Sanctuary 10/10, imo.
  7. Marius333
    Feb 6, 2023
    0
    This really is one of the most disappointing sequels. Stay away from this game!
  8. Rimaarts
    Jun 13, 2022
    0
    If i could ask for a refund, i would. Loved first one. This... its just cheap. When you start out, if you get hit, youre almost certainly stunlocked and die. In heavy armor. Mid game is reasonably decent. Towards end, cheapness is even more apparent. They run out of ideas how to make game difficult, so every boss is super spazzy 'if a combo touches you, you die kind of fight'

    Again,    If i could ask for a refund, i would. Loved first one. This... its just cheap. When you start out, if you get hit, youre almost certainly stunlocked and die. In heavy armor. Mid game is reasonably decent. Towards end, cheapness is even more apparent. They run out of ideas how to make game difficult, so every boss is super spazzy 'if a combo touches you, you die kind of fight'

    Again, loved first game, this, just dont buy.    … Expand
  9. Jaycottz
    Jun 14, 2022
    4
    An ambitious sequel which tried to capture the best of the original and couple it with Monster Hunter and more Dark Souls systems, and failed miserably. The game is frustrating more so than difficult. It feels unbalanced, untested and far more clunky than the original. Many sequels cannot quite live up to the original, and this game belongs in that pile.
  10. Radiantgun
    Nov 4, 2022
    0
    Worst game ever made. Every mechanic from Sanctuary has been made worse. patches have improved nothing other than the 100% bs juggling. Most tedious thing I've ever played.

    I suggest that everyone do what most of use are doing and boycott, and ban any current and future games that these devs make.
  11. elchurdo
    May 16, 2022
    4
    How to play Salt and Sacrifice:
    1) Install
    2) Play a piece of flaming poo
    3) Delete
    4) Install Salt And Sanctuary
    5) Enjoy
  12. grumpy_g
    May 17, 2022
    1
    What a shame. It is a huge disappointment.

    I cannot even recall how many times I've finished Salt and Sanctary - certainly more than 20 times. I love pretty much everything about this game and when a sequel was announced I felt overjoyed and even more excited for this game to release than I was for Elden Ring (which, of course, I also played). So, why is Salt and Sanctuary such a    What a shame. It is a huge disappointment.

    I cannot even recall how many times I've finished Salt and Sanctary - certainly more than 20 times. I love pretty much everything about this game and when a sequel was announced I felt overjoyed and even more excited for this game to release than I was for Elden Ring (which, of course, I also played).

    So, why is Salt and Sanctuary such a disappointment:

    -The world isn't interconnected anymore. There is a hub and there are individual levels. The layout of the levels does not make any sense at all - this was kinda also the case with Salt & Sanc but at least it did make some sense from a lore point of view. A step backwards from the predecessor.

    -You can only level up in the hub and from the hub you can only return to the starting point of a level. Given, there are a lot of shortcuts - but it is still annoying. Definitely another step backwards.

    -Magic spells are now completely tied to the weapon you use. Spells are very limited. Guess where we are going? Yeah, right - backwards.

    -Mage hunts are obnoxious and can create unfair situations. Mage bosses will randomly spawn in the levels and will constantly spawn minions. Normal mobs in the levels will attack Mages and their minions. After taking some damage, Mages will teleport to a new location (can be like 5 meters away or across the map). Sometimes they may even teleport to areas that you cannot access yet. It is also possible to have 2 Mages in the same room - which is completely dumb and chaotic. You can be overwhelmed easily by unfair and chaotic situations. This can make exploring levels a complete chore. You will want to fight these mages and their minions for upgrade materials. So you're basically doing the same crap over and over again.

    -Non-mage bosses on the other hand have been a complete push-over so far.

    The game frustrated me after like 5 minutes everytime I started it. When I got caught in a whirlwind by a Wind Mage being unable to move for several seconds and was chopped to death by a flying minion during that time I decided it was time to quit. This game is not worth my time.    … Expand
  13. xucanjie
    May 15, 2022
    2
    I felt so angry and sad when I played it, it was not the game I was expecting.
  14. dyeah
    May 15, 2022
    2
    Nearly every aspect of this game is tedious and frustrating. It almost feels like a troll from the developers where they designed it to maximize annoying the player. The animation buffer is rage inducing. There are moments when I have pressed right trigger over 10 times to roll with no response due to animation lock followed by a hit combo. Who thought a good game mechanic would be toNearly every aspect of this game is tedious and frustrating. It almost feels like a troll from the developers where they designed it to maximize annoying the player. The animation buffer is rage inducing. There are moments when I have pressed right trigger over 10 times to roll with no response due to animation lock followed by a hit combo. Who thought a good game mechanic would be to chase bosses around the whole map in a lazy representation of monster hunter? Please keep them far away from further game design decisions. I loved and Salt and Sanctuary and was really looking forward to this. It is a huge disappointment and I will never trust a product from this company. Fail.… Expand
  15. Lgn
    May 12, 2022
    5
    Played and enjoy Salt and Sanctuary a lot but this one is honestly worse in everything.
    They introduced dumb ideas and mechanics runining the whole experience.
  16. Ninhosensei
    May 15, 2022
    2
    No teleport? No map? So much farming. This game is bad, the first was a masterpiece… this one is trash.
  17. Silens
    May 15, 2022
    3
    Salt and Sacrifice is a bad game on it's own, but it's even worse as a sequel to Salt and Sanctuary.

    The fair but challenging bosses of the first game are replaced by cheap unbalanced ones with infinite combos. The fun of exploration is ruined by the grindy nature of the game. You'll get sick of chasing down the bosses all over the place, and that while gathering everything you see    Salt and Sacrifice is a bad game on it's own, but it's even worse as a sequel to Salt and Sanctuary.

    The fair but challenging bosses of the first game are replaced by cheap unbalanced ones with infinite combos.

    The fun of exploration is ruined by the grindy nature of the game. You'll get sick of chasing down the bosses all over the place, and that while gathering everything you see because not even the health potions are restored at checkpoints, you have to craft them.

    Salt and Sanctuary is a good 2D RPG that got inspiration from Souls. Salt and Sacrifice is a bad mash of Monster Hunter, From software games and Metroid. Skip.    … Expand
  18. AlexBeast
    May 20, 2022
    3
    How can you ruin a sequel so badly.
    Every single new idea and mechanic makes the game so much worse.
  19. Mikeyor
    May 12, 2022
    0
    Big downgrade from the first one... chasing mage is boring.. combat is sketchy, not nervous like the first one.. the skill tree open only on the half of the screen and it's really annoying to work on it? You need to go back to camp to level up and you need to jump around in the camp to go to the level up statue... You need to farm to get health potion back.. the loot is boring..

    Really    Big downgrade from the first one... chasing mage is boring.. combat is sketchy, not nervous like the first one.. the skill tree open only on the half of the screen and it's really annoying to work on it? You need to go back to camp to level up and you need to jump around in the camp to go to the level up statue... You need to farm to get health potion back.. the loot is boring..

    Really disappointing, i enjoy so much the first one and i really wish a good sequel.    … Expand
  20. LinkToFuture
    May 17, 2022
    3
    I loved Salt&Sanctuary, beat it 4+ times and got all achievements, But this game is just bad I have to force myself to play it, and I'm constantly asking myself "Why did they do this?" so many bad changes from the first game, I'll list some below.

    -Weapons are paired, no more dagger and shield, if you want a shield you have to use a sword with it, also no more two handing or one handing    I loved Salt&Sanctuary, beat it 4+ times and got all achievements, But this game is just bad I have to force myself to play it, and I'm constantly asking myself "Why did they do this?" so many bad changes from the first game, I'll list some below.

    -Weapons are paired, no more dagger and shield, if you want a shield you have to use a sword with it, also no more two handing or one handing weapons (unless its a two handed or one handed weapon to begin with. was this broken in the first game?, no it wasn't why change it?

    -No more spells or incantations that you can change because they're tied to your staves, really like that tier 1 stave spell too bad it will be out ranked by other staves soon enough, weapons also have spells attached to them, but they're very unreliable because instead of being tied to a mana bar it's tied to a "rage" bar you need to build up. Again not broken, worked well in the first game why not expand on it.

    -Mage bosses are just annoying seeing how a large chunk of them will drop materials you don't need for your build because they didn't add gear for all build styles for each of the mages, but they will always be around annoying you anyway.

    -Animations are just bad huge step back from the 1st game, attacking seems slow and sluggish, grappling hook looks very bad, and wall jumping feels awful and you cant slide down walls so if you go up you can't go down, there might be an upgrade i don't know I couldn't force myself to play anymore.

    -The bosses I fought literally attack non stop i couldn't do anything but roll 1 attack roll 1 attack backing off to try and do anything else would punish me, very dumb and boring.

    -No fast travel and world isn't interconnected anymore, and you can only level up by going back to a hub world, I miss the old shrines and covenants tied to them, there's covenants here but they don't seem as useful or fun.

    -Perfect guard is useless literally leaves YOU open for attack as your follow up attack is too slow and you can't perfect guard multiple times in a row so if there's a combo attack coming your way might as well spam roll.

    That's just a few things that are a huge failure for me in the first 4 hours of playing I'm sure if i gather the will to play again there will be much more, very disappointed with this.    … Expand
  21. OberiousLocke
    May 24, 2022
    0
    Imagine my disappointment when the sequel to one of my favorite games (and imo one of the best Souls-like games since Dark Souls 1) not only goes for Epic exclusivity BeCaUsE mUh 88/12, but also continues that store's tradition of being host to mostly trash. Crying ****ing shame.
  22. The_Great_Wumbo
    May 15, 2022
    0
    This game is a flaming hot pile of poop. One of the worst game's I have ever played. Unfair, untested, boring boss fights and level design. Low IQ implementation and copy of mechanics from other triple AAA titles like Monster Hunter without any fundamental understanding of why or how these mechanics work. Literally the worst 2D indie game i've ever payed for day 1.

    Looking back its my    This game is a flaming hot pile of poop. One of the worst game's I have ever played. Unfair, untested, boring boss fights and level design. Low IQ implementation and copy of mechanics from other triple AAA titles like Monster Hunter without any fundamental understanding of why or how these mechanics work. Literally the worst 2D indie game i've ever payed for day 1.

    Looking back its my fault for paying full price based off of a solid 7/10 (at best) first entry that was Sanctuary. They blindly copied Dark Souls stuff into their ugly Newgrounds 2D bs and it worked then, but this time they blindly copied 1 too many things and it all fell apart. AVOID    … Expand
  23. PangarE02
    May 14, 2022
    0
    Just a **** game, with a bunch of undogeble atacks, terrible level design, terrible checkpoint spots, and the most terrible of all, the fusion of the most anoying mecanics of souls games: crafteble/buying healings, a lobby for teleport and levelups, you just cant go for whatever you want, and the bosses is all of them a great trash, without any signs of design. And of course, the stamina,Just a **** game, with a bunch of undogeble atacks, terrible level design, terrible checkpoint spots, and the most terrible of all, the fusion of the most anoying mecanics of souls games: crafteble/buying healings, a lobby for teleport and levelups, you just cant go for whatever you want, and the bosses is all of them a great trash, without any signs of design. And of course, the stamina, just dosent exists, first because the bosses dont stop attacking in any moment with aoe and other things, and the character, justo do two strong attacks and are already dead, great balance. Its just stupid this game.… Expand
  24. Aenorr
    Aug 15, 2022
    3
    I was truly shocked how bad this game is as I was really excited for Salt and Sanctuary sequel. Everything related to controls feels so clunky, enemies are constantly stunlocking you, i-frames are non existing, stamina is drained to the point, where you have to choose if you will use it to attack the boss or run to the other end of arena (which is really small) and heal.

    Bosses and    I was truly shocked how bad this game is as I was really excited for Salt and Sanctuary sequel. Everything related to controls feels so clunky, enemies are constantly stunlocking you, i-frames are non existing, stamina is drained to the point, where you have to choose if you will use it to attack the boss or run to the other end of arena (which is really small) and heal.

    Bosses and their skills are really meh, mage hunting (their teleportation across the location) aspect is annoying and constantly reapeats itself to the point, when it is really not fun at all. The game is split to 5(+1) levels, so there is no one big interconnected world as it was in previous game.

    Map is missing and for leveling, you have to leave the location and lose your progress (if you didn't unlock shortcuts) as leveling can be done only in the hub location.

    The level design is just awful - vertical platformer without double jump (seriously?). But hey! You have grappling hook! Hook targeting and its functionality is awful as well and you should be prepared to die to fall damage. Not only because grappling hook, but also because enemies will be constantly stunlocking you and then throws you 100ft away from the platforms high above the ground.

    However, the art design is really beautiful and it is taking the best from the first game. And as I do quite like farming aspect of the game, it is a plus for me, however, even this could be done better and should be not dependent on constantly teleporting mage-hunts.

    If you enjoyed first game, and expect great metroidvania, do not buy this one, it is totally differen game genre which I would call a action vertical platformer more than anything else.

    I am really, REALLY sad, as I was looking forward to this game since its announcement.    … Expand
  25. Almost2Friendly
    May 24, 2022
    4
    Forget Salt & Sanctuary. The Mage hunts are fine. The level design is definitely more polished (at the cost of losing interconnectedness via a main "hub"). Weapon and armor sets are waaaay more visually appealing (plus Runic Arts are a super cool concept). Removal of parrying mechanic in favor of blocking is arguably more rewarding. Farming materials for consumables is... interesting.Forget Salt & Sanctuary. The Mage hunts are fine. The level design is definitely more polished (at the cost of losing interconnectedness via a main "hub"). Weapon and armor sets are waaaay more visually appealing (plus Runic Arts are a super cool concept). Removal of parrying mechanic in favor of blocking is arguably more rewarding. Farming materials for consumables is... interesting. Character creation is... meh. Silver is... pointless? Music is nice! And multiplayer is great.

    So what's bad? The skill tree is even more of a mess, which is super unfun. And weapon/armor balance is, once again, all over the place (Ska Studios' concept of "balance" consists in assigning a bunch of random numerical values to stuff and hoping it sticks, no playtesting needed!).

    Nothing a dedicated modding tool couldn't fix.

    Oh, but then there's "Witch of the Lake" moments in which bosses one-shot you regardless of armor (staying true to Sanctuary fashion, armor is pretty useless so rolling naked is the way to go... again). Some mobs also hit you like a truck. No rhyme or reason.

    And you'll still get flung across the map and into your death... but hey, that's Salt, baby!    … Expand
  26. TheDresdenDoll
    May 13, 2022
    3
    SKA Studios has a real knack for making games that SHOULD be fun but aren't. I'm a sucker for the Soulslike and Metroidvania genres but S&Sac managed to take the worst parts of each and package it into a tedious chore. Check out Vigil the Longest Night if you want this formula but with less grating of your nerves.
  27. stu110003
    May 16, 2022
    0
    This is very very terrible, worse game.

    Boring for chasing boss. Farming and farming again. Unreasonable physical effect and un-limit aggressiveness by boss.

    You can defeat boss only because you are lucky bastard, not technique.

    When I play this game, I don’t have any achievements but only a feeling of emptiness.
  28. Malgoros
    May 17, 2022
    0
    I don't now where to start but to cut close, this game is a punch in the face for all people which love good video games. It is absolutely unfair because you don't have any chance of a fair fight. All "bosses" are extremely frustrating because you literally can't dodge an attack without getting hit and lose a bunch of life. If you liked Salt and sanctuary do your self a favor and let it beI don't now where to start but to cut close, this game is a punch in the face for all people which love good video games. It is absolutely unfair because you don't have any chance of a fair fight. All "bosses" are extremely frustrating because you literally can't dodge an attack without getting hit and lose a bunch of life. If you liked Salt and sanctuary do your self a favor and let it be in a good remembrance cause this game is the worst sequel I have ever played.… Expand
  29. BeefyBoi1337
    May 22, 2022
    2
    A terrible misstep of a game after the brilliance of Salt and Sanctuary. Every aspect is a step back. Every positive aspect carried over from Sanctuary is watered down and/or ruined. Skill system is lazy. Mage hunts are boring. Hit boxes and physics are garbage. It's inconsistent, unbalanced, glitchy, contrived Salt and Sanctuary light It's as if this half finished piece of trash wasA terrible misstep of a game after the brilliance of Salt and Sanctuary. Every aspect is a step back. Every positive aspect carried over from Sanctuary is watered down and/or ruined. Skill system is lazy. Mage hunts are boring. Hit boxes and physics are garbage. It's inconsistent, unbalanced, glitchy, contrived Salt and Sanctuary light It's as if this half finished piece of trash was released for a quick buck with no further thought behind it.… Expand
  30. lucame
    May 13, 2022
    0
    right off the bat, i need to thank Timmy Tencent for paying for my copy, the MadLad did it again, this one's on him!
    With that out of the way, there is very little fun to be had in this game, a pale shadow of its predecessor.
    I would love to have been in the room when the devs decided a few things: - "yea no map lol!!" - But people will be pissed, the zones are huge... "who cares, we    right off the bat, i need to thank Timmy Tencent for paying for my copy, the MadLad did it again, this one's on him!
    With that out of the way, there is very little fun to be had in this game, a pale shadow of its predecessor.
    I would love to have been in the room when the devs decided a few things:
    - "yea no map lol!!" - But people will be pissed, the zones are huge... "who cares, we got epic money, fk the customers lol"

    - " yea no fast travel either lol!!" But people will be pissed, the zones are huge... "who cares, we got epic money, fk the customers lol"
    Those two monumentally dumb decisions destroyed the game already, just add to that terrible difficulty spikes, TONS of backtracking, confusing maps, recycled enemies, the worst wall jumping ever implemented in a game, and all you have is a bad game.

    However you should totally buy this game if you wish to support the murderous chinese regime, since it is exclusive to EGS.    … Expand
  31. Mahomegroup
    May 15, 2022
    0
    Why destroyer your franchise ? It very good in salt and sanctury but sacrifice …
  32. Fixxa
    May 14, 2022
    1
    Первая часть игры была самобытна и отлична.
    Я не следил за разработкой второй части, т.к. не люблю спойлеры и ожидал от игры чего-то не хуже первой.
    И первые часа 3 игры, пусть и с некоторыми сомнениями и некоторой озадаченностью, я понимал что играю совершенно в другую игру, обрезанную и безыдейную в сравнении с первой частью. НО, это не мешало мне получать удовольствие. До тех пор,    Первая часть игры была самобытна и отлична.
    Я не следил за разработкой второй части, т.к. не люблю спойлеры и ожидал от игры чего-то не хуже первой.
    И первые часа 3 игры, пусть и с некоторыми сомнениями и некоторой озадаченностью, я понимал что играю совершенно в другую игру, обрезанную и безыдейную в сравнении с первой частью. НО, это не мешало мне получать удовольствие.
    До тех пор, пока игра буквально не заставляет тебя заниматься абсолютно безыдейной и скучной нудятиной, в виде обязательного убийства опциональных боссов, с целью открытие дальнейших дверей.

    Ощущение, что я играю в игру эпохи возрождения ПС2, где разработчики использовали какие-угодно костыли и игровые условности, лиж бы вести за ручку игрока, создавая видимость открытого мира.

    По большому счёту, я могу бы написать невероятно большое полотно текста, но какой в этом смысл?    … Expand
  33. nanorulez123
    May 25, 2022
    3
    I have played all the souls games and the first game. This game is frustrating not hard, you get knocked off all the time, juggled between attacks, stuck in attack loops. There are sooooo many deaths are unavoidable even with enemies spawning on top of the spawn point. This game will drive you mad, the only reason im still playing slowly is because its a local coop game i can play with meI have played all the souls games and the first game. This game is frustrating not hard, you get knocked off all the time, juggled between attacks, stuck in attack loops. There are sooooo many deaths are unavoidable even with enemies spawning on top of the spawn point. This game will drive you mad, the only reason im still playing slowly is because its a local coop game i can play with me partner but we cannot handle more than a few hours on this **** game. My souls mindset does not allow me to give up but wow did the devs try really hard to make you quit for all the wrong reasons… Expand
  34. MrSoloDolo
    May 23, 2022
    1
    Loved the first one.
    This one is like spitting on face. Boring, yes he is Sir.
    Farming you will Do the same lvl X time, fast travel between points that you have already unlock is impossible. UI is terrible, i swear ! Why you thought it will be a good idea to minimize perk tree in little square ?! Avoid this game and return play some monster hunter or Castelvania, you will have a    Loved the first one.
    This one is like spitting on face. Boring, yes he is Sir.
    Farming you will
    Do the same lvl X time, fast travel between points that you have already unlock is impossible.
    UI is terrible, i swear ! Why you thought it will be a good idea to minimize perk tree in little square ?!
    Avoid this game and return play some monster hunter or Castelvania, you will have a better moment.    … Expand
  35. TheFrostyPen
    May 19, 2022
    6
    Extremely unfair, hyper frustrating, poor boss design, constant juggling of character, no good fast travel system, inflated level reuse via mage hunts, very poor UI, and needing to farm for arrows and health potions...

    I sucked it up and beat the game anyway. Times I screamed in anger/rage at the screen: 10+ Times I sat mouth wide open with awe: 1-2 Verdict: Play the original    Extremely unfair, hyper frustrating, poor boss design, constant juggling of character, no good fast travel system, inflated level reuse via mage hunts, very poor UI, and needing to farm for arrows and health potions...

    I sucked it up and beat the game anyway.

    Times I screamed in anger/rage at the screen: 10+
    Times I sat mouth wide open with awe: 1-2

    Verdict: Play the original or restart Hollow Knight instead of suffering through this game that is barely tolerable even to the most masochistic of gamers.    … Expand
  36. Jt0429
    May 21, 2022
    7
    Good-
    Creative art direction. Gameplay is intuitive. Lore is pretty cool
    Bad- A lot of technical problems like crashing and glitches. The enemies feel too repetitive. Thoughts- For veterans of Soulslikes, especially 2D ones, Salt and Sacrifice will fit neatly into your library as yet another largely successful interpretation of the subgenre. Those looking for the next level of    Good-
    Creative art direction. Gameplay is intuitive. Lore is pretty cool

    Bad-
    A lot of technical problems like crashing and glitches. The enemies feel too repetitive.

    Thoughts-
    For veterans of Soulslikes, especially 2D ones, Salt and Sacrifice will fit neatly into your library as yet another largely successful interpretation of the subgenre. Those looking for the next level of challenge, artistic creativity, or gameplay innovation in it will almost certainly be left wanting though, as so much of this game’s DNA has already been explored countless times. Still, while Salt and Sacrifice’s few wrinkles do add to the format, and with how well the boss fights pop off the screen, it’s still a game that has much more to like about it than not.    … Expand
  37. clayslay
    May 24, 2022
    2
    I loved Salt and Sanctuary. I literally made an account on here just now to tell everyone what a steaming pile of **** this game is. Design choices seem like they were made up my masochistic retards. Want to like but the more I play the more I question what moron made these awful design choices.
  38. MattM
    May 14, 2022
    7
    Salt and Sanctuary is up there with Hollow Knight as one of the best Metroidvanias I've ever played. This sequel, not so much. It starts fairly strong but once the real gameplay loop takes hold the issues become glaringly aapparent. Some of the design decisions here are absolutely bizarre and out of place, or lack the balance of the systems from the games they clearly pulled from. ThereSalt and Sanctuary is up there with Hollow Knight as one of the best Metroidvanias I've ever played. This sequel, not so much. It starts fairly strong but once the real gameplay loop takes hold the issues become glaringly aapparent. Some of the design decisions here are absolutely bizarre and out of place, or lack the balance of the systems from the games they clearly pulled from. There is absolutely zero reason whatsoever why healing items should require a mat, it seems they took the worst parts of the bloodborne and ds3 healing systems and combined them to make this abomination. The system from the first game wasn't broken, but for some reason they felt the need to "fix" it. Same with leveling up, there is no valid reason why I shouldn't be able to do it at an obelisk like you could in the first game, and the lack of fast travel makes leveling up a tedious time waster. After I kill a boss, there is no question that I am going to level up immediately, but the game forces you to do a 5-10 minute run back for no good reason. The monster hunter elements fall completely flat, I love monster hunter and dark souls but I don't want to play them at the same time. The foundation of this game is solid, because it is the foundation laid by the first game. Everything good in this game are elements that were carried over, and almost everything bad are the new systems they tried to implement. I want to love this game, but I don't. I can commend the dev for taking risks amd trying to deliver something that wasn't more of the same, but I can't pat him on the back and pretend that all of these experiments are successful because they aren't. There is a good game somewhere in here and fans of the first should absolutely buy this so hopefully he can take a crack at a 3rd entry, as well as judge for themselves whether these new ideas work, but to me and it seems many others, this entry is a dud. I cannot go higher than a 7 for the reasons listed, but I can't go lower because I can see the love, heart and soul that was poured into this game.… Expand
  39. StarkAgentos
    May 12, 2022
    2
    При сворачивании игры она вообще перестаёт передавать изображение. Играть невозможно,, слишком хардкорно. Разработчики полностью забили на русский язык.
  40. YIYUN
    May 16, 2022
    0
    Anyone who came up with the idea of chasing mages is GOD. The only reason mages exist is to disgust players.
    The game has been updated to 1.0.0.4 and was still **** An overhaul of mechanic must precede all other tedious and appalling parts.
    The only chance to save the game is to add map, locate all the mages and keep them **** standing. But not yours, not anymore.
  41. ebojaza
    May 15, 2022
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. eusushsshshshsjjjjaiaiakaklaiudujddjddjddddddhdhdhdhdhdhdhdhdhdhdhhdhdhdhdhdhdhdhdhd… Expand
  42. Wavew
    Aug 12, 2022
    0
    Aviso: NO es una secuela, es un juego de la misma desarrolladora con una cantidad increible de malas decisiones.

    La unica esperanza es que la comunidad de "moders" arregle este desastre, el estudio ya ha demostrado con creces que no tiene ni idea de equilibrar sus juegos.
  43. nickye
    May 13, 2022
    0
    Просто потому что игры нет в стиме, а в ларьке эпиков я ее покупать не собираюсь.
  44. CptSlevin
    May 13, 2022
    8
    So....

    Let's start from the beginning! I don't care about whole EGS vs Steam debate, it doesn't affect quality of the product. Salt and Sanctuary was my first experience with SKA Studios games and I really liked it, over 100 hours and personally art design was mind blowing, I really felt the depressing mood and haunted theme of the first game. Salt and Sacrifice is different,    So....

    Let's start from the beginning!
    I don't care about whole EGS vs Steam debate, it doesn't affect quality of the product.

    Salt and Sanctuary was my first experience with SKA Studios games and I really liked it, over 100 hours and personally art design was mind blowing, I really felt the depressing mood and haunted theme of the first game.

    Salt and Sacrifice is different, it's NOT Salt and Sanctuary v.2.0, it's a while new game with same core.
    When you understand that and start playing it as it was designed - you will get x3 times more unique bosses and game interactions.

    I would give S&S 9/10, but in my opinion there is not so many locations to explore.
    At the moment of this review I got around 26h of playtime.    … Expand
  45. AkumaRon1n
    May 12, 2022
    10
    Игра весьма хороша,жаль тех кто не понимает высокое искусство
  46. Plaminator
    May 13, 2022
    9
    Pretty good for a sequel. There are some minor problems that I wouldn't bother to go into detail for, but other than that it's
  47. DMcGee2288
    May 11, 2022
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I only played through til soul level 7 fought and killed a boss and mage and fought another mage but ran out of berries so had to farm berries for flask heals but I ran out of time.. the other mage was a bubble maze that was annoying he used aqua volcanoes and **** very challenging mage but could’ve killed with full pots gotta get use to roll and dodge still it does feel a bit awkward. Overall solid game.. will invest 100+ hours into earning double plat on PS4 / ps5. Solid game with solid combat.. reminiscent of many fromsoft games like Sekiro with a grappling hook … Expand
  48. Jestaru
    May 12, 2022
    10
    That is not entirely a sequel to the previous game "Salt & Sanctuary" as it contains a lot more interesting mechanics and build progression gives a lot of variety of who are you wanna play. And I personally adore this game! Ska Studios did an amazing job!
  49. ylnylmn
    May 22, 2022
    7
    Salt and Sanctuary has been my favorite 2D souls-like game. But this sequel was a disappointment for me. It was a game like Demons Souls where we went to different maps. The feeling of exploration is weak. There are no invisible walls. There are no secret places. I only like 1 boss. The final boss is very easy. It's good that Mages have variety. But hunting mages gets boring after a while.Salt and Sanctuary has been my favorite 2D souls-like game. But this sequel was a disappointment for me. It was a game like Demons Souls where we went to different maps. The feeling of exploration is weak. There are no invisible walls. There are no secret places. I only like 1 boss. The final boss is very easy. It's good that Mages have variety. But hunting mages gets boring after a while. Chasing mages is very annoying and when other mages get involved, chaos ensues. It can be said that money does not matter in the game. The upgrade items are not sold by the trader, you have to farm them. The worst mechanics in the game are climbing and grapling hook. Most of the time it is difficult to hold on and causes you to die. Graphically, there has been no improvement after 6 years. Some music is good. Art design is good. The variety of weapons is not bad.… Expand
  50. Roconder
    May 14, 2022
    10
    I enjoyed playing the first part and really looked forward to continuing after the announcement of the second. I was very pleased! An interesting combination of metroidvania and dark souls has added an additive in the form of a monster hunter mechanic with crafting things from bosses, pumping is quite diverse and simple. The presence of a full-fledged online game made the game an order ofI enjoyed playing the first part and really looked forward to continuing after the announcement of the second. I was very pleased! An interesting combination of metroidvania and dark souls has added an additive in the form of a monster hunter mechanic with crafting things from bosses, pumping is quite diverse and simple. The presence of a full-fledged online game made the game an order of magnitude more convenient than the first part. Small glitches are, but the picture is not spoiled. But the balance of the bosses is strange, at the beginning it is very easy, but in the second half it becomes sharply painful (maybe I did not have the optimal build).… Expand
  51. orangepunch
    May 23, 2022
    8
    i played "salt and sanctury", i enjoyed it.
    i was getting lost do i play this or not. because, reviews are not so good.
    but, i got it and enjoy it!
    i don't know why user score is so low.
    please play then make score.
  52. NakedPlumber
    May 24, 2022
    8
    Game actually not bad as some players are trying to show.
    Fair cons:
    -you cannot teleport from each chekpoint -lvl up only in hubs -magic is restricted to weapon arts = Runic arts -unfair Mage hunt in some situations. when you are fighting two mages at once and they just do not give you a chance. -grind same mage bosses. Was not true for me. did not notice any grind. These cons    Game actually not bad as some players are trying to show.
    Fair cons:
    -you cannot teleport from each chekpoint
    -lvl up only in hubs
    -magic is restricted to weapon arts = Runic arts
    -unfair Mage hunt in some situations. when you are fighting two mages at once and they just do not give you a chance.
    -grind same mage bosses. Was not true for me. did not notice any grind.

    These cons could be fixed in patches, in DLC's etc.
    Dev decided to risk with new concept. I guess this did not go well.
    Let's appreciate it. Good suggestions to Dev are always better than unreasoned low score.    … Expand
  53. yorumdar
    Jun 3, 2022
    8
    I am so sad when I see the 4.1 score on the site. Yeah sequel is not that good as first game I agree u all but also there are good ideas on the game as well.

    I think this game is born early because of who I dont know!

    I hope third game will be better than even Salt and Sanctuary!

    Best wishes!
  54. balvan64
    Dec 24, 2022
    7
    Salt and Sanctuary is probably my favorite game of all time, and I've been playing for a few decades.

    Salt and Sacrifice on the other hand is a mediocre game, it's not more than OK. it is has downgraded the original Salt and Sanctuary in almost every aspect, it's a shame, it just is, a shameful thing. It's only saving grace is local co-op. I'll give it 7/10 as it's OK, but for    Salt and Sanctuary is probably my favorite game of all time, and I've been playing for a few decades.

    Salt and Sacrifice on the other hand is a mediocre game, it's not more than OK. it is has downgraded the original Salt and Sanctuary in almost every aspect, it's a shame, it just is, a shameful thing.
    It's only saving grace is local co-op.

    I'll give it 7/10 as it's OK, but for those coming from Salt and Sanctuary, get ready for a big let down.    … Expand
  55. Mandulum
    Sep 25, 2022
    6
    I enjoyed it at the start but the more I played the more frustrated I got with cheap enemies and annoying, vertical level design.

    Date Completed: 2022-09-25
    Playtime: 18.5h
    Enjoyment: 6/10
    Recommendation: I'm on the fence. If you liked the first one, then keep going.
  56. Redman_07
    Dec 10, 2022
    5
    i truly don´t know what happened. The first one was awesome but this?!
    Your level up is completly given, gameplay became worse. It is not rewarding at all. I don´t know. Simply doesn´t feel good. Even the base is unnecessary big so you have to walk around for minutes to prepare. I´m sorry, but this is only for heavy souls like dyhard fans that have played about 20 others before
  57. inhowmusic
    May 26, 2022
    5
    80 hours. 1.0.0.7 is better, but unbalanced mage boss fight and weapon system are frustrating. Ignore all the pros in Salt and Sanctuary. inherit and carry forward all the cons of Salt and Sanctuary. Great job!
  58. loderunner
    Dec 14, 2022
    6
    Okay. Let's face it. Salt and Sacrifice is absolute failure as a sequel. There is no seamless map that was in Salt and Sanctuary, game world now split by separated locations which you can access only from hub. Consumables now need to be crafted by ingredients that you must farm. Imagine the situation where you trying to defeat a boss over and over again, which frustrating on it's own butOkay. Let's face it. Salt and Sacrifice is absolute failure as a sequel. There is no seamless map that was in Salt and Sanctuary, game world now split by separated locations which you can access only from hub. Consumables now need to be crafted by ingredients that you must farm. Imagine the situation where you trying to defeat a boss over and over again, which frustrating on it's own but now you losing your health flask, mana flasks or arrows, to restock them you go farm, which adds even more frustration to this proccess. Bossfights are borring, it's been few days as i finished the game and i can't remember most of mages. Now there is no such game mechanic as platforming in the game, because the whole game is platforming now, and it's terrible, enemies just waiting you on platforms to hit you when you jump on it, it's hard to dodge, especialy if platform is very small. I played as a sage and magic in the game is not the best part. Sage can carry "Channeling rod", which is basicly a bow with arcana scaling damage, even farmable ammunition looks like an arrow in inventory. Also Sage can carry dual wield weapon named Stave, which is blade and staff but all spells on it are predefined by stave you are carry, that means you forced to change your stave with your favorite spells to more powrful one just because it has higher tier and can deal more damage. And ofcourse once you run out of magic flasks and arrows, you go melee, and that's the worst part of playing Sage, because stave blade is sooo short that you can't hit anyone before they hit you. Errrh. Okay. Now i can go with some pros. Graphics and design are amazing, 10/10 for my opinion. There is also a feeling of exploration sometimes. Multiplayer over network working good and stable. Hunting mechanic was kinda interesting for me.

    That's not the Sequel that we were waiting for.    … Expand
  59. AguBoomers
    Jun 27, 2022
    4
    Le falta sal se nota que James Silva y Michelle Silva en salt and sanctuary hicieron un mejor trabajo
    además de su dificultad artificial y exagerada y injusta y en salt and sanctuary
    la dificultad estaba justificada y justa sin tener que ponerte 6 enemigos en cada pasillo o 1000 enemigos cargados en una dungeon prefiero la estética de fantasía oscura de sanctuary que la colorida y    Le falta sal se nota que James Silva y Michelle Silva en salt and sanctuary hicieron un mejor trabajo
    además de su dificultad artificial y exagerada y injusta y en salt and sanctuary
    la dificultad estaba justificada y justa sin tener que ponerte 6 enemigos en cada pasillo o 1000 enemigos cargados en una dungeon
    prefiero la estética de fantasía oscura de sanctuary que la colorida y saturada de magos de sacrifice

    gracias por su atención    … Expand
  60. Kpiche
    Jul 20, 2022
    10
    I'm not sure why the reviews are so bad. This game is great. If you are planning to play it as coop, even better. The game is a bit different than the first one. But not that much. Lots of QOL improvments imo. If you enjoyed the last one, you will enjoy this one.
  61. AbrahFP
    May 7, 2023
    2
    Personalmente creo que es la peor secuela que he visto en mi vida en los videojuegos, peor aún que la cagada de Dragon Age 2.
    Y es que la primera entrega, "Salt and Sanctuary" es una obra maestra y una maravilla que me tiene enamorado hasta día de hoy, para mí top 5 en mi global de juegos y me he pasado cientos. Pero esta aberración de secuela que ni sigue la trama del primero simplemente    Personalmente creo que es la peor secuela que he visto en mi vida en los videojuegos, peor aún que la cagada de Dragon Age 2.
    Y es que la primera entrega, "Salt and Sanctuary" es una obra maestra y una maravilla que me tiene enamorado hasta día de hoy, para mí top 5 en mi global de juegos y me he pasado cientos. Pero esta aberración de secuela que ni sigue la trama del primero simplemente hace todo mal, cogieron las mil virtudes que tenía su predecesor y las eliminaron todas. No puedo rescatar nada de esta basura. Menos mal que nada puede cambiar que la primera entrega sigue siendo DIOS.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

40
#40 Most Discussed PC Game of 2022

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 40 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 22 out of 40
  3. Negative: 0 out of 40
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 29, 2024
    80
    The graphics stick to the boundaries set by its predecessor and only improve and smooth out. Although everything takes place in a dark fantasy world drowning in fog, the depiction of the world in watercolors makes the game almost beautiful. [Issue#319]
  2. IGN Japan
    Jul 4, 2022
    60
    By implementing too many popular elements from famous games in the wrong way, Salt and Sacrifice is a game that feels unbalanced throughout.
    Read full review
  3. Player 2
    Jul 4, 2022
    50
    I found that the best way to approach them was to cheese my way to victory. This left me with the feeling that I was exploiting the AI rather than using skill to overcome adversity. Think long and hard if this is the game for you, but for this reviewer, it isn’t something I will likely never pick up again.
    Read full review
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