Salt and Sanctuary
Explore a haunting, punishing island in this stylized 2D action RPG. Salt and Sanctuary combines fast and brutal 2D combat with richly developed RPG mechanics in a cursed realm of forgotten cities, blood-soaked dungeons, and desecrated monuments.
Salt and Sanctuary is a souls-like, metroidvania and dark fantasy game
developed and published by Ska Studios.
Released on May 17th 2016 is available on Windows, MacOS and Linux
in 13 languages: English, German, Japanese, French, Italian, Spanish - Spain, Korean, Portuguese - Brazil, Polish, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Turkish.
It has received 20,079 reviews of which 18,009 were positive and 2,070 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.8 out of 10. 😎
The game is currently priced at 4.49€ on Steam and has a 75% discount.
The Steam community has classified Salt and Sanctuary into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
Get an in-depth look at Salt and Sanctuary through various videos and screenshots.
Requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- OS *: Windows Vista
- Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8 GHz or equivalent
- Memory: 1 GB RAM
- Graphics: DirectX 10 compatible video card with shader model 3.0 support
- DirectX: Version 10
- Storage: 2 GB available space
- Sound Card: 100% DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card and drivers
- Additional Notes: Xbox360 Gamepad recommended
MacOS
- OS: Lion 10.7.5
- Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8 GHz or equivalent
- Memory: 1 GB RAM
- Graphics: OpenGL 3.0+ support (2.1 with ARB extensions acceptable)
- Storage: 2 GB available space
- Additional Notes: SDL_GameController devices fully supported
Linux
- OS: glibc 2.15+, 32/64-bit. S3TC support is NOT required.
- Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8 GHz or equivalent
- Memory: 1 GB RAM
- Graphics: OpenGL 3.0+ support (2.1 with ARB extensions acceptable)
- Storage: 2 GB available space
- Additional Notes: SDL_GameController devices fully supported
Reviews
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
PRO Souls like metroidvania Map levels are insanely detailed and vast Clever use of shortcuts Tons of weapon options Magic is great addition Upgrade system plus creed devotion is game changing Parry and block system is same like dark souls. Cons No map
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Salt and Sanctuary is a gem for Souls-like fans, offering a dark and immersive experience that hooks the players from start to finish. I was pleasantly surprised by the game's atmosphere. The game does not visually hold back, from splashing the background with blood to the disturbing bosses. The bosses are often unexpected and are rather easy, due to the simplicity of the combat. The leveling and progression system is flexible, allowing you to customize your character to suit your preferred playstyle. While the gameplay may seem straightforward at first glance, it quickly reveals its depth and interconnectedness of the world. Suddenly you start to recognize areas again and unlock shortcuts. The game could really need navigational tools though. While the interconnected world is a joy to explore, the lack of an in-game map can make orientating a daunting task. While online maps are available, they often contain spoilers and ruin the joy of discovery and exploration. Despite the simplicity of the combat and the map issue, the game is amazing, and I can highly recommend trying it out yourself.
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It's not Dark Souls, it's Dark Salts. For a game that imitates the Dark Souls formula, I gotta raise my hat to S&S. Wow, does it almost nail everything. This game is fun. This game is captivating. This game is unique. This game is rewarding. It's super fun, I played around for 17 hours in 2 days back to back, the world is fantastically woven together, dark, grim, and gritty yet has glimpses of hope and life. It's not so common when a game takes a leap of faith and tries something new in an already established, wanted, and much-loved genre, such as the Metroidvania and Soulslike genres like S&S did to the point of excellence. Exploration is rewarding, maps are Metroidvania-esque certified, small and condensed, easy to reason about and remember, and almost always end with a boss that after beating you can progress to the next area. Your progress, as with Metroidvanias, is halted by certain abilities and tools you lack till you progress in the right direction, beautifully done as well. One point of concern is how fast travel works and how hubs work, you can only fast travel to a hub where there's a fast-travel NPC that you added (Or by consuming one of two items that let you travel to a hub, regardless of its NPCs state) and some NPCs in that hub (such as the ironsmith, will only do business with you if you follow the same religion as them, more on that later) so this might be uncomfortable at first. Those NPCs can be added to any hub by using items you find while exploring the island. And the same applies to upgrade-my-armor NPC, sell-me-stuff NPC, etc. You have to find their items first to have access to them, but this isn't an issue at all as you find them as you play. I'm not sure if there are enough items for each hub to have all of its NPCs, but I just traveled to where my ironsmith is and did what I needed to do there. At the start, I was a bit bothered by the lack of a map I should mention, (this game has no map) and how fast travel works. For a Metroidvania, to me, it's heresy to not have a map, or markers, to see the full picture, what have to you missed, etc., So you should be aware of this, it's going to take a lot of memory power to remember what you are doing, where are you going, and what area is linked to what area, and where does this shortcut take me to. But also, honestly, it's quite straightforward unless you want to check every part of the map, of course. You keep progressing till you can't due to lack of ability, and then you circle back till you find said ability. Ultimately, there are a lot of shortcuts (as is in Metroidvanis and this is par for the course) that can get you, unexpectedly, from very deep underneath to high above, and from the far East to the far West across the water (shout out to Castlevania and its ferrymen) The weapons, armor, shields, charms, and spells? It's mind-blowing, for a 2D, there are so many weapons and playstyles, upgrades, and resources, truly it felt like a Souleslike and I loved it so much. The fighting is fun, melee weapons are generous in range (I only played a knight build), and enemies are fair for the most part (be careful of the peaceful horse-looking thing... it's not peaceful). The fighting is satisfying, there are buffs and potions, for both you and your weapons. You level by consuming accumulated salt (DS's souls), in a tree of abilities and skills. The game balances itself by predefining routes in which you can progress, so you can't for instance dumb all your salt into strength or stamina, you have to get to the next stamina node in the tree by purchasing the strength node before it, etc. I think for the most part, it's well laid out, but it's hard to say for certain without playing the game multiple times with different playstyles. You pick a direction to branch into from the start based on your playstyle (knights go for strength and equip load, mages go for wisdom nodes on the opposite end of the tree, etc) and then you progress in it and it should have reasonable nodes that help your playstyle but at any time you can unlock any node given it's not very deep in the tree. There are so many bosses, most of them you can beat on 1st or 2nd try if you have played those kinds of games before, so not a challenge there but still, I appreciate what they tried to do given the restrictions of 2D vs 3D. Although having played other top-tier Metroidvanias games, such as Hollow Knight and Blasphemous, I know for a fact that bosses can be done better, and in a more engaging and challenging way. For the most part in S&S, bosses are just something to bulldoze your way over (at least that's how I did it). Ultimately, I wouldn't say the not-so-difficult bosses take away from the experience as it is more in the world and exploring anyway. Down to the story and how it entangles itself at the end, and how it reaches the usual Soulslike epilogue, where no secrets are left, no darkness unlit, and no salts unshaken. There are a lot of NPCs that have their quests, need your help, and offer theirs, a lot of inspirations again from Soulslike even here but that is much welcome. There are creeds, tribes, or religions you can enter and leave (DS's covenants) they control what kind of healing potion you get, very slightly your ending, they stand for different ideals and ideas, aspirations and goals, so you can pick accordingly. Or you can just ignore all that and pick based on gameplay benefits that is a better fit for your character. You can anger them, side with only one, or be a man of many faiths, though such a path is a fool's path. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this game, it's something new despite masterfully pasting together ideas from multiple other games and it felt original and very, super unique. Glow ever brightly, Saltborns. We are made from it and to it, we return.
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If you're looking for souls, you'll be disappointed, but castlevania gang's got some good eats coming their way. Just remember: OG wiki's dead, Fandom is 30% complete and half of that is plagiarized from the OG wiki, never trust John Fextralife's lies. There is no in-game map, Fextralife maps are pathetic, [url=https://kaszub09.github.io/SSMap/]this github leafletjs thing is the best you're gonna get. [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/saltandsanctuary/mods/5]Pax Empyrean is a great mod, even especially for your first playthrough. Is it worth the 20? I pirated it, beat it, bought it, beat it, installed an overhaul, beat it again. I'd say it's alright.
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Well, hello there. You're just a fleshy bit of flotsam, washed ashore with the rest of us, hmm? Introduction This review is based on playing on the Steam deck. Salt and Sanctuary is a 2D souls-like, heavily inspired by the Dark Souls franchise in nearly every facet of its creation. You will build your character from nothing, give them the strength of men and Gods, and determine the fate of the land once and for all. But does the game provide the Sanctuary we are hoping for, or does it simply rub Salt into the wound? 🟩 Positives 🟥 Negatives 🟩 A well-thought-out gameplay loop that allows you to level and take on challenges at your own pace. As well as a lot of items to help bolster your abilities or hinder your enemies. 🟩 A considerable excess of weapon and armour choices that allow you to build your character in whatever way you want. 🟩 Boss fights are unique and epic battles that test your mettle and reflexes. 🟩 A large and sprawling open-world map for you to venture across, filled to the brim with secrets and treasures for the dedicated hunter. 🟩 The creeds mechanic allows you to align with a God or Gods to attain their favour, which can significantly assist you in the challenges ahead. 🟥 The game is perhaps a bit dark at times, making it particularly difficult to see bosses or map segments. Story You begin the game as a character of your own construction, sailing on a ship to a faraway land with a princess in tow to an arranged marriage that will bring peace to the Kingdoms. But things rarely go so smoothly in stories like these, for the ship you are on has become besieged by brigands who are plundering and killing without remorse. You quickly dispatch the pirates as you come across them heading towards the deck in search of the princess, only to discover a great beast looming over you. Moments later, your screen goes white, and you find yourself in another place entirely. The place you awaken is unlike any you have ever seen before. Where shipwrecks dot the horizon in every direction, and the dead pile up on the now-blackened sands. With only one path before you, you set forth in search of the princess and perhaps answers to why you're here. The story of Salt and Sanctuary is much akin to Dark Souls in how it's told. Plot points don't get told to you in a conventional sense, and you must discern certain aspects of the story by reading item flavour text or analysing the environments you're running through. I really enjoy this type of storytelling, as I like to build the world on my own as I progress through it. But with that said, what is written here and plotted out is exceptionally well-designed and will keep you intrigued until the end. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3098259554 Gameplay Analysis To arms, for nightmares stalk these halls. As always in these games, combat is a crucial aspect you will rapidly become familiar with as the story progresses. You have the standard abilities to attack, dodge, and jump but very little else at the start. And additional skills will unlock as you kill more bosses and get to understand the world you're in. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3098256574 Fighting off enemies and bosses will provide you with two valuable resources. The first is money, which, as you can imagine, is used to purchase items. The second resource is salt, which is your levelling catalyst in this game, and upon sacrificing it at an altar, grants you black pearls to invest in a large talent tree to improve your combat prowess across multiple pathways. Grab your torch and plunder the darkness. Exploration plays another important part in this game, as many of the best items and armaments remain hidden in the darkest, deepest reaches of the world. The wise traveller will seek these items at their own peril, but should they return victorious, power beyond imagining will be at their fingertips. Choose your creed and carry their token across the lands. Creeds act as a religion of sorts in Salt and Sanctuary and provide you with specific boons for devoting yourself to them. With any religion, you also have the mechanic of sin, which is gained minorly for betraying your own or majorly when you commit violence against any creed. It's not terribly important to worry about in the early stages of the game, but as you progress, it's best to pick one and stick with it, as devotion ranks cost you enemy trophies, which can be a pain to farm. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3098259669 Audio and Visual Salt and Sanctuary is indeed a beautiful game in its own right, and with a unique art style and sombre colour tones, you will begin to feel the pain that radiates throughout the world relatively quickly. The audio is much the same, with each area providing a new ballad to carry you through its halls or mires. You will be immediately captivated by the soft trilling that seemingly calls you deeper and deeper into the recesses of the game. Deck Performance and Specifications At its default settings, Salt and Sanctuary had little issue running on the Steam Deck hardware and held a firm 60 FPS the entire time. With a full charge, I was able to get around ~10 hours minimum playtime. Final Thoughts - Excellent [url=https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2529084785]Review chart here. Salt and Sanctuary is up there as one of the most incredible soulslike experiences I have ever had. The world has been lovingly designed and implemented with well-thought-out decisions, and every aspect of the game feels solid. With the second game now out on Steam, players who weren't quite sure about the investment should jump straight into this one and give this game a shot. I 100% recommend it at any price. When all you have is a flickering flame in the growing dark, and the terrors begin to encircle you, remember that [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/43064204/] Hell, Purgatory and Paradise is here to provide you sanctuary and salvation.
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Last Updates
| Steam data | 19 November 2024 05:26 |
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| SteamSpy data | 18 December 2024 09:21 |
| Steam price | 23 December 2024 12:44 |
| Steam reviews | 22 December 2024 19:53 |
Online players
126
Developer
Ska Studios
Publisher
Ska Studios
Release
17 May 2016
Platforms