Salt and Sanctuary

 PlayStation 4
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 405 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 317 out of 405
  2. Mixed: 39 out of 405
  3. Negative: 49 out of 405

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  1. al1en
    Mar 24, 2016
    4
    didnt like the graphic style(looks like an amateurs work, but many low price games have that problem..) and one boss towards the end of the game (witch of the lake) is ridiculously out of balance and hard to beat which kinda ruined the experience for me. gameplay wise its quite a nice low budget oldschool 2D platformer game with rpg elements
  2. partyintheback
    Apr 16, 2016
    3
    Pretty terrible all around. I wasn't impressed by the way it looked or the way it played. Like most indie games, this game will be a hit or miss with people. For me, it was a miss. Pass if you like good games.
  3. Cracker1
    Apr 16, 2016
    4
    Competently made exploration based platformer with everything else ripped off wholesale from the Souls series of games. The lengths at which they went to pilfer and the lengths they didn't go to to mask it or give it some sort of original twist is frankly shocking.
    The only differences are that it's 2D, that character designs look like something out of a cheap, dingy flash video from the    Competently made exploration based platformer with everything else ripped off wholesale from the Souls series of games. The lengths at which they went to pilfer and the lengths they didn't go to to mask it or give it some sort of original twist is frankly shocking.
    The only differences are that it's 2D, that character designs look like something out of a cheap, dingy flash video from the early 2000's (like they were designed by a focus group analyst instead of an actual designer) and that most of the bosses look about as interesting as old bread.
    Coupled with the at-the-time imminent release of Dark Souls III makes me hate this game on a deep, personal level.
    Obviously the only reason I'm writing this now after the release of DSIII and the subsequent abandonment of this shameless whore of a game is out of spite.    … Expand
  4. simonbelm0nt
    Mar 15, 2016
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. *spoilers* I just finished the game. As a Dark Souls fan this was pretty disappointing. The game kept crashing while teleporting from area to area. Also I killed the last 6 bosses on my first try which I think is a bit too easy :(. No I did not grind at all(I ran through a lot of the enemies too). I beat the game at level 71 using the seawolf cutlass greatsword.

    Another wild bug was while fighting the final boss. He did his grab attack and after he was done I ended up inside a wall. The boss didn't know what to do after that.

    Extra positive points:
    -The combat feels fantastic on its own and matches the Dark Souls combat well. Parrying is something I wish all games had.
    -Game has an insane amount of weapons/abilites/armor sets.
    -The game packs a lot of content and probably takes at least 12 hours on the first play through

    Extra negative points:
    -Lots of obsurd one-hit KO attacks like the unicorn enemies in the Pitchwoods
    -Can't configure controls
    -The game only has two boss tracks and a final boss track so it the song gets very repetitive    … Expand
  5. True_Reclaimer
    May 5, 2016
    0
    DO NOT BUY. No online multiplayer or PVP. 30 hours in and save file corrupted due to a known bug the dev chose not to fix. Was a pretty neat single player game up until that point but not anywhere close to Skas previous games. It lacks both the charm and 4 player online of Charlie Murder, and the finesse of Dishwasher. Save your money kids.
  6. MisterGiggles
    Mar 22, 2016
    4
    This is one of the most arrogant hipster knockoffs of the Dark Souls style of games in recent memory. Imagine a 2D dark souls but then take out all of the actual fun that Dark Souls provided. Add a douchey underbrightness to everything and plague the game with some of the most horrible AI to misfortune the PS4. Now add a huge dash of instability. I mean, it's a dedicated platform, but yetThis is one of the most arrogant hipster knockoffs of the Dark Souls style of games in recent memory. Imagine a 2D dark souls but then take out all of the actual fun that Dark Souls provided. Add a douchey underbrightness to everything and plague the game with some of the most horrible AI to misfortune the PS4. Now add a huge dash of instability. I mean, it's a dedicated platform, but yet a simple 2D game is crashing and lost me 6 hours of progress? When are we going to get over the novelty of a 2 person team like it is somehow at good thing and get back to games that are actually professionally made. What a joke and the price itself is just the icing on the arrogant cake.… Expand
  7. egoBorder
    Nov 8, 2020
    3
    This game has enough potential that I'd be optimistic about a sequel, but its many flaws drag it down quite a bit. It has an interesting visual style, but often makes it difficult to see. It has an extensive skill tree, but even late into the game your character feels frustratingly underdeveloped. It has a myriad of distinct areas and bosses, but little connective tissue to make themThis game has enough potential that I'd be optimistic about a sequel, but its many flaws drag it down quite a bit. It has an interesting visual style, but often makes it difficult to see. It has an extensive skill tree, but even late into the game your character feels frustratingly underdeveloped. It has a myriad of distinct areas and bosses, but little connective tissue to make them memorable.

    A decent 2D Souls-like if you can find it on sale, but none but the most stalwart should push through to the end.    … Expand
  8. Dronewolf
    May 16, 2023
    0
    This game blows. I usually go into full detail, bu the entire thing is just so bad. Glad I got it in the sale for around £0.89. Would have been more angry if it was more than that.

    Avoid There's so many better DS clones out there.
  9. Ughhh
    Jan 1, 2023
    3
    It's addictive, I'll give it that, but its ultimately a huge waste of time. You'll find that the challenge is often superficial. It's not the bosses, its the poor AI enemies that get their challenge from simply bumping damage output. Add some of the worst attempts at platforming in recent history and you're left with an empty experience
  10. Red-Eyes
    Jun 28, 2022
    3
    It amazes me to no end people still don’t understand why Dark Souls is so incredible. It is not the combination of individual mechanics like parrying, stamina management, rolling set in a difficult game but the refinement and perfectionism of each and every feature of the game to bring an experience unparalleled. Salt and Sanctuary never asked anything in the Souls translation to a 2DIt amazes me to no end people still don’t understand why Dark Souls is so incredible. It is not the combination of individual mechanics like parrying, stamina management, rolling set in a difficult game but the refinement and perfectionism of each and every feature of the game to bring an experience unparalleled. Salt and Sanctuary never asked anything in the Souls translation to a 2D environment half-assing every feature that makes that series so great.

    Combat is boring and unidimensional as f*ck. Yes, Dark Souls is all about dodge rolling, positioning and attack but the 3D environment offers many options for you and the enemies making most encounters really engaging; this didn’t translate well enough when you can only go left or right and the fights become very limited. As a result, the “git gud” process doesn’t happen and by the third boss or so the player is already good enough to beat the game. Instead of looking to the vast catalogue of side-scrollers, the developers thought the combat was good enough since they were so hell bent in the stubborn quest for making an ipsis litteris copy of Dark Souls.

    The metroidvania-esque elements were right there but they chose to put the Air Dash move as the last power-up; the only obtainable mechanic that is useful in combat is received in the final portion of the game, un-freaking-believable!

    Dark Souls has no map so Salt and Sanctuary doesn’t have one either. However, the world is very different and each area recognizable with remarkable landmarks on the former opposed to 70% of the game composed of dark hallways and catacombs on the latter. “Oh I got this thing that let me jump on cloud surfaces, which of the 30 thousand dark corridors have one of those? I can’t remember, let me check the map…oh” this is basically the entire game. Not only the Vania progression power-ups are barebones the backtracking is impossible to remember (unless you take print screens of the whole game).

    The world building also sucks, it relies way too much on the “this door doesn’t open from this side” to connect the areas; but it happens so much and they are so samey there is no way in h*ll you gonna remember each one. The game is also very dark (I swear half of the game need the f*cking torch lit and it’s still a pain to see) which adds to the frustration. At the end of the day you can only distinguish areas by: outside and catacomb ones.

    The game is extremely unbalanced. Everything is considered op, from Greatswords and Great Axes to f*cking Shields (that are basically unpunishable); stamina management is very mild and you can mash attack at will given the opportunity… imagine the methodic and precise nature of a soulslike combined with a beat-em up style; the leveling up cost difference is low (at end game it goes from 22k to 23k per level with each enemy giving you roughly 900 salt). The solution? Put some bullsh*t! Bad platforming (ledge grabbing only works when it feels like it), logs coming from the sky leading you to abyss, enemies that one shot you (unicorns in Pitchwoods one of the worst areas of the game) and the mother of cheapness: the fatigue mechanic. Each time you get hit your max HP diminishes, so by the time you are two or three heals left chances are your max HP is halved already. Game is still easy though

    The bosses all coble together in some sort of generic big dudes. The “hardest” ones rely on the almost ohko tactics like Disemboweled Husk shotgun and the infamous Witch of the Lake, a Megaman boss in a soulslike. If she combos the slow magic ball into the DBZ signature energy ball barrage you’re dead; it requires skill to dodge the first one but you just can’t escape the second while in mid-air; she is by far the most bullsh*t boss of the game.

    Salt and Sanctuary is not a 2D Dark Souls, but rather a 2D Code Vein or a 2D Lord of the Fallen or any other awful soulslike that fail to understand why From games are so magnificent.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

30
#30 Best PS4 Game of 2016
42
#42 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2016
50
#50 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 56 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 51 out of 56
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 56
  3. Negative: 0 out of 56
  1. IGN
    Aug 1, 2018
    86
    You could call Salt and Sanctuary a 2D mashup of Dark Souls and Castlevania, and you'd be right. But such a simple pronouncement would be a disservice to the tremendous amount of thought that's gone into Salt and Sanctuary, whether it's in the graphic style that evokes horror through the style of comic strips or in the intricate web of dungeons and castles serves as it map.
    Read full review
  2. CD-Action
    Jun 29, 2016
    60
    A tribute to Dark Souls done with a deep understanding of the original game, but ugly and derivative as hell. [06/2016, p.61]
  3. Edge Magazine
    Jun 7, 2016
    60
    Salt & Sanctuary can be brilliant, but it's held back by undersized visual design, both in UI and open play, making playing it from distance a pain. [June 2016, p.122]
See all critic reviews »