Salt and Sanctuary

 PC
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 166 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 114 out of 166
  2. Mixed: 28 out of 166
  3. Negative: 24 out of 166

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  1. Metie
    Aug 8, 2016
    7
    I'm a dark souls fan and this game offers a very similar experience at the beginning but then i had to realize that the game's world is simply too small. There are too few weapons and practically the playthrough is lineal. At least much more lineal than in any souls game.

    At the same time the game was created from much fewer resources and has many good idea, and some tough bosses (but    I'm a dark souls fan and this game offers a very similar experience at the beginning but then i had to realize that the game's world is simply too small. There are too few weapons and practically the playthrough is lineal. At least much more lineal than in any souls game.

    At the same time the game was created from much fewer resources and has many good idea, and some tough bosses (but of course the game is a lot easier than any souls game, I liked it), so I can recommend it for everyone. It took me 12 hours, but only because -SPOILER- I played with mage and the last boss has max resistance to every elemental damage. I think it's not fair...-SPOILER-

    I recommend playing it with knight, because mage is kinda monotone (mages don't need to block and accomplish air attacks). Maybe it is more difficult at some bosses, but much more enjoyable as well. Because the game's short, replay value is low (despite the many classes which seem nice but are the usual (choosing chef is suicide))    … Expand
  2. skohl
    Aug 19, 2018
    7
    A game being "Like Dark Souls" is a meme, but this is the only game that really deserves that label. If you've played DS1, yeah - it's that. That also makes it a 'metroidvania' because of the single gigantic map of interconnected levels. Except there's no map in this game, which is a brutal design decision. That said, I beat the game in 20 hours without guides, so it's not forbiddinglyA game being "Like Dark Souls" is a meme, but this is the only game that really deserves that label. If you've played DS1, yeah - it's that. That also makes it a 'metroidvania' because of the single gigantic map of interconnected levels. Except there's no map in this game, which is a brutal design decision. That said, I beat the game in 20 hours without guides, so it's not forbiddingly difficult by any stretch.

    This game has a lot of stuff that will feel unfair. Getting grabbed or knocked down is awful. Every enemy that flies is very annoying. The environments are sometimes so colourless that they are black and white, which is hard on the eyes. Also, notably, the ledge grab mechanic is clunky, which makes what should be easy platforming puzzles into deadly traps. The difficulty of the bosses varies wildly. For me, many went down on the first attempt, however, there are a few notorious bosses whose difficulty spike are among the most extreme I've experienced with a game.

    So I would rate this game very slightly on the masochistic side. However, it's still a must-play for Souls veterans because of how commendable a recreation it is of Dark Souls on a 2D plane.    … Expand
  3. Vzhik
    Jun 12, 2017
    6
    Хоть и не любитель 2Д и платформеров, но эта зашла. Интересная, глубокая соулс боёвка вытянула. Интересно искать всякие секреты, коих очень много. Прикольные враги. Даже из Демонс Соулс есть враг! Очень много всяких прикольных фишек которых нет в Соулсах, очень увлекает.
    Но из-за 2Д, визуала очень мало. Очень хотелось нормально меч рассмотреть или щит, например. Не хватало озвучки    Хоть и не любитель 2Д и платформеров, но эта зашла. Интересная, глубокая соулс боёвка вытянула. Интересно искать всякие секреты, коих очень много. Прикольные враги. Даже из Демонс Соулс есть враг! Очень много всяких прикольных фишек которых нет в Соулсах, очень увлекает.
    Но из-за 2Д, визуала очень мало. Очень хотелось нормально меч рассмотреть или щит, например. Не хватало озвучки персонажей. И карта это нечто: куча срезов, неявные проходы, очень сложно для запоминания.
    Но в целом годная игра, стоит пробовать.    … Expand
  4. Wweald
    Jun 25, 2019
    7
    Pretty fun, really cool art style. I like the world that the game is in a lot, the plot line is pretty cool.
  5. NoIdeaName
    May 4, 2020
    7
    Overall a nice game, nothing special, also there are some annoying mechanics on it like some boring platform levels and an automatic save when you finish the game, making you start all over if you want to explore more.
  6. Vaxzan
    Jul 30, 2021
    5
    Wasn’t too fond of it

    Gameplay The game is essentially a 2d version of Dark Souls featuring metroidvania elements. At the start you can pick from a few classes to decide how you want to play the game. There is a wide variety of combat options in the game of which I tried 2. I started off as a knight but really struggled after about 3 hours so I restarted and switched to a mage where    Wasn’t too fond of it

    Gameplay

    The game is essentially a 2d version of Dark Souls featuring metroidvania elements. At the start you can pick from a few classes to decide how you want to play the game. There is a wide variety of combat options in the game of which I tried 2. I started off as a knight but really struggled after about 3 hours so I restarted and switched to a mage where things went much smoother, I was a bit baffled and how big of a difference it was, had their only been the knight class with it’s shield and sword I likely wouldn’t have finished it. There is a pretty good range of enemies that have interesting abilities however some of these can be a big pain to deal with. In an early area in the game there are these poison slime things that can stunlock you and also poison you, they appear very faintly and are quite numerous, as the knight these were a complete pain to kill however as a mage with fire they died in one hit. Another area features these teleporting skeletons which will usually teleport right after you cast a spell, this makes killing them frustrating rather than difficult. Some of the enemies and even some of the bosses have essentially combo’s where you will get knocked down and as you are getting back up during the slow animation you will get knocked down again and likely killed, this can lead to one mistake being much more punishing than intended. As the knight you use heavy armor which means dodging is essentially impossible, and the shield is very weak and uses up a lot of stamina, this made some of the bosses really difficult as the roll was very clunky and felt bad to use and using a shield wasn’t really viable. The flying enemies in this game as well as some of the regular ones frequently fly through walls making them incredibly hard to hit. For the most part the bosses were well done, all of them pretty much had a phase 2 through which involved them getting faster attacks or an additional one after their sets, this got really stale after a while. The final boss of the game has a bug that as a mage with no shield basically ended my life during it, he has this grab move and then throws you but if you are against a wall you will get thrown into the wall and be stuck in their and unable to dodge, sometimes you can cast spells but not often., this has apparently been known for awhile and is still not fixed. There is some basic platformer in the game which for the most part was ok, however in some areas towards the end of the game the platforming becomes a game of trial and error as jumps are often into where you can’t see or require you to use an ability you get that doesn’t always work the way you want, there is one jump in the second to last area that is so difficult I died to that more times than I did to any boss. The game features brands which serve as the abilities in the game however it doesn’t really tell you what these brands do or even how to use them in some cases, this made me incredibly lost in some places and especially towards the end of the game, I probably spent a good few hours just trying to find out where to go and how to use the new brands I got. This problem is especially prevalent as there is no map in the game, this makes navigating it incredibly difficult especially since it is a metroidvania where you unlock new abilities to traverse new areas, this works in a 3d game where the player has a much better sense of location and can physically see areas but in a 2d game it doesn’t really work, a map would be helpful in alleviating much of the confusion with getting around especially late in the game. You have Salt which is used for upgrades and such, it also has a skill tree which is where you spend level ups, there is a lot of diversity in this skill tree and you can build whatever you want on your character, this made for a unique playstyle possible.

    Story

    The story follows the main character on a ship to deliver a princess when it is attacked by something, you have to find the princess on the island you crash on. The story is fairly standard and like in Dark Souls games it is hidden behind NPC’s and other such items, this does seem to be a staple of most metroidvanias though so it didn’t really bother me it just wasn’t anything exceptional.

    Graphics

    The graphics are alright, many standard looking sprites and backgrounds but it did have some interesting things. In some areas though the background matched the color of the enemies making them difficult to see, I noticed this especially in the first area of the game.

    Soundtrack

    The soundtrack is ok, it plays pretty much the same song throughout the entire game except boss fights, boss fights feature the same music for each one except for the final boss.

    Conclusion

    Salt and Sanctuary is plagued by clunky controls, some poorly designed areas and bosses and some bugs that make the experience overall not very worth it. I would skip this one.    … Expand
  7. maluigario
    Dec 28, 2022
    6
    This game is what happens when Dark Souls and Maple Story have a baby and it's got the art style of Adventure Quest. Salt & Sanctuary was made by a very small studio; it's a labor of love, and it's well done, for what it is. It's a niche pick, but very fun (like a 7-8) if you're in that niche. If you're not, this is going to be like a 3-4 for you.

    Let me start by saying the graphics were    This game is what happens when Dark Souls and Maple Story have a baby and it's got the art style of Adventure Quest. Salt & Sanctuary was made by a very small studio; it's a labor of love, and it's well done, for what it is. It's a niche pick, but very fun (like a 7-8) if you're in that niche. If you're not, this is going to be like a 3-4 for you.

    Let me start by saying the graphics were the hardest part of S&S to get over. As I stated, this was not some high-budget, AAA title. As such, I wouldn't expect mind-blowing graphics. But flash-based 2D RPG is not exactly my favorite graphics style. Considering this was touted as "the best 2D Souls-like game out there", it was jarring to get into it and see Adventure Quest-esque graphics with a gritty filter on top. That being said, they do a lot with the graphics they have. The bosses are unique, some being large enough to not even fit on your monitor. Each in-game location has a theme and are all immediately distinguishable from one another with enemies that mesh with their environments.

    As for gameplay, Dark Souls meets Maple Story is as apt a discription as I can think of. You've got all your SoulsBourne staples: dodge rolls, parries, single-vs-two-handed combat, "bonfires", magic and prayers, weapon upgrades, using boss items to make special weapons, "souls" in the form of salt, a plethora of medieval weaponry, and even your choice of going with shields or going full hunter mode with a pistol in your off-hand. But then they added jumping. And not just basic jumping: full-blown Maple Story jump-quests, except instead of jumping while dodging patterned moving obstacles, your jumping through the trees and taking on enemies that are leaping around and firing with bows and arrows. If you misjudge your jump even once, "YOU DIED". This particular incident in my memory was the low point of the game for me. Jumping is an integral part of this game, and very often you'll find yourself dead from not perfectly timing your jumps or feeling like you need to trust that there is something below you only for there NOT to be something there...it gets frustrating.

    That all being said, once I got past the treetops section, game play went much more smoothly. You begin to understand the floe of combat. It is a Souls-like, after all. S&S just runs at a different tempo. Most bosses can be overcome with only a few tries, and I beat around 1/3 on the very first try.

    All in all, the game is interesting, well put-together, mostly-fun, and will certainly press the Souls button many players out there have these days.    … Expand
  8. ManHoof
    Jul 29, 2023
    6
    It's a good game. Various bosses and locations. Even small secrets, which is a definite plus. Also, the peculiar graphics, some people think it's a disadvantage (like cardboard figures), but for me it's a plus.
    Among the disadvantages, there are bugs in the combat system, not many of them, but it's unpleasant. The overall color palette is too dark or foggy, and it's hard to see what's    It's a good game. Various bosses and locations. Even small secrets, which is a definite plus. Also, the peculiar graphics, some people think it's a disadvantage (like cardboard figures), but for me it's a plus.
    Among the disadvantages, there are bugs in the combat system, not many of them, but it's unpleasant. The overall color palette is too dark or foggy, and it's hard to see what's going on throughout the game.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. Ragequit.gr
    May 27, 2016
    85
    Salt and Sanctuary is a wonderful and honest tribute to Souls series. With great mechanics, a well designed dark world and dozens of hours of fun is a great game for every Dark Souls player.
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  2. 3DJuegos
    May 26, 2016
    85
    Salt and Sanctuary doesn’t want to innovate and doesn’t deny its inspirations. But once you accept this fact, you’ll find a more than solid game, full of challenges and death. It’s basically like a Dark Souls in 2D.
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  3. PC Games
    May 25, 2016
    86
    Almost every mechanic from Dark Souls is – in some form or another - implemented into Salt & Sanctuary. But in this specific case that is far from being something negative. I might even be a little addicted to the game’s concept: uncovering secrets, defeating humongous bosses and diving deep into the lore of the game. All of that manages to entertain me for dozens of hours. The only complaints I have with the game are the subpar German voice acting, the somewhat confusing skill-tree and – at least for my taste – boss-fights, which lack a certain challenge. However Salt & Sanctuary will undoubtedly bring a lot of joy to every fan of the Dark Souls-franchise, while people, who aren’t really into those, won’t be won over by this game either.
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