[xy_game]Salt and Sanctuary has been released for some time now, so this review is a little late. However, when I finally learned what the premise of this game was, I knew I had to try it, and I’m so happy I did.

Ska Studios is rather well known these days, both for quality games and excruciatingly difficult games. Salt and Sanctuary doesn’t change from their standard formula, and that’s a good thing. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” – am I right?

Essentially, this is Dark Souls but re-imagined in the form of a 2D side-scroller. Sure, the core idea is based off another title but it feels so very different yet so familiar from the moment you pick up the controller. Even having some Dark Souls (…and 100+ hours of Demon’s Souls, Bloodborne) experience under my belt, I had a few moments where I felt rather dumb on what to do, or where I should go. I think it took some time to get back into the mentality of how the Souls games work because Salt and Sanctuary just looks so original due to its stellar art design.

When it comes to graphics, there’s just something about the dark, shadowy backdrops that continues to make me say “Wow!” whenever I play a game from this developer. Everything looks and feels perfect for the atmosphere that they were trying to create. The enemy designs are fittingly creepy as well as the general level of detail in the levels, accompanied by stone staircases, rickety wood platforms and various torches, candelabras, and more. Quite frankly, even if this game had no enemies and was all about exploration – I’d still love to play it just to take in the visuals.

Gameplay is truly where Salt and Sanctuary excels though. Yes, it’s Dark Souls, but playing in the 2D form really changes up how you play and what you can do to make yourself better. You can time your roll to switch over the opposite side of the enemies, hang off ledges, and jump through many types of platforms such as wooden walkways or tree branches. Depending on your character class, of which there are eight to choose from, your weaponry will change, or you can take the magic route. You can even choose the rather humorous Chef or Pauper class to start with no skills and build your character completely from the ground up.

Salt and Sanctuary will  simultaneously punish you and reward you over and over again.

Choosing one particular class doesn’t limit you to only building upon your class’ chosen skills, but it gives you a basis to start with. There’s an in-game skill tree accessible in each sanctuary you unlock where you can choose new skills and build up your main stats. If you hadn’t guessed already, you build up your stats by leveling up at sanctuaries using….you guessed it… salt.  All enemies in the game drop salt, and occasionally even a bag of salt that gives you a larger amount once you use it. There are really quite a few items, most of which I’ve never even come across yet, but I’m sure it’ll happen.  If you die at any point, and you will die, you’ll drop all your accrued salt at that point.  Make it back to that point and kill the glowing enemy to regain it, or die again and it’s gone forever. Start over.  You know this already if you played those other games.

There are also some multiplayer components involved with the game, but it’s a little confusing for some players. You’ll need a particular item called a Stone Sellsword if you’re looking to bring a friend into your game to help you out. Some classes can start with the item, but I’m unsure at this point on how to obtain one otherwise.  Jumping into co-op will increase the difficulty by ramping up enemy health levels, but it has certain benefits as well. For example, if you need to get past a locked door and the invited player has that key, they can get you beyond that previously inaccessible point.  Gold isn’t shared and it’s a first-come-first-serve although item drops are copied to both players. If you really want to get your ass kicked, you can find an ‘Egg of Wrath’ and crush it. This will initiate a PvP battle where one player has to die before the battle ends.  Die and you’ll lose your salt and end up back at your current sanctuary.

Bosses are probably the last major point I’d like to mention. Each area in the game has a boss battle. There are 19 bosses that you MUST defeat to finish the game plus four other option bosses. Each one that I’ve encountered so far has been very challenging and they each seem to have a unique set of skills and their own battle patterns. You’re almost guaranteed to die at least once, although I did defeat The Queen of Smiles on my first attempt. Learning these patterns and being able to sneak in hits and avoid their counter-attacks is the key. Of course there is also the fact that you should be leveling up your character frequently to be able to withstand more attacks and deal more damage. No matter how often these bosses kick your ass and piss you off, you’ll go back for more – and it’s satisfying to take them down.

I’ve spent about 14 hours playing Salt and Sanctuary so far, and I feel like there’s another solid 20-30 hours left in there. It’s a grind and it’s really, really hard but it’s just such a beautiful game with extremely fun gameplay that I keep wanting to go back and get punished. Sturdy framerate, stunning backdrops, and so much to explore and discover – it’s a real treat to play this game. Ska Studios clearly has a winner on their hands with Salt and Sanctuary.

Salt and Sanctuary was reviewed using a code provided by Ska Studios.