Salt and Sanctuary for Windows

Salt and Sanctuary is a cross-platform action RPG with a hardcore combat system, atmospheric scenery and a dark fantasy style that instantly plunges you into oncoming darkness.

Expressive design is just the tip of the iceberg: the developers from Ska Studios have thought out the gameplay, crossing together the concepts of Dark Souls and the mechanics of Castlevania, and multiplied by uncompromising boss battles in gladiatorial arenas, unforgiving of mistakes. The hero’s life is already hanging by a thread, and therefore it is time to join the battle and move towards perfection.

Salt and Sanctuary Features

• The story is linear, but curious: the events are retold by an unknown hero who collided with a mystical island after a shipwreck;
• The battles are intense and spectacular: victory is possible only with the right strategy of action – you need to control your stamina, roll and jump;
• The stylistics are unique: the developers from Ska Studios crossed pixel art, dark fantasy and mysticism together;
• The role-playing part in Salt and Sanctuary is full of surprises: the hero learns abilities, acquires passive skills;
• The story mode is supplemented with the possibility of cooperative passage – with friends, exploring every element of the world around is much easier.

Gameplay and atmosphere

Although Salt and Sanctuary occasionally hides a connection to the Dark Souls series, only those who have diligently ignored DS for many years are able to fail to find a connection with the original. The same bonfires (sanctuaries), a story retold through items and equipment, battles with huge bosses, covenants and NPCs who periodically issue assignments. Similarities are also noticeable in style – the world of SaS is gloomy, covered with a veil of obscurity and literally bleeds. Full of madness on the way – talking birds, strange divine messages and unique equipment that turn the chosen hero into a mummy, doll or samurai.

Gameplay elements have been written off from Dark Souls almost completely: rolls and jumps, a scale of endurance, an increase in characteristics, a selectable “salt” necessary for the development of abilities. The difference lies only in the additional abilities that are developed as you progress, and in the way the world appears – instead of 3D, full-format 2D with impressive detailing of the scenery and expressive stylistics.

History, content and updates

The plot in Salt and Sanctuary is abrupt and devoid of the classic narrative line – events are retold through items collected as they progress, dialogues with characters rarely appearing on the way, and pick-up notes. Despite the heterogeneity of the presentation of history, it is quite possible to understand the details: the hero is the bodyguard of the king’s daughter, who travels by sea to the neighboring continent on the eve of the wedding with the prince. But the ship crashes, half of the characters immediately disappears, and the sacrament of rituals begins to take place around. How events unfold further – only the Nameless God will tell …

There are plenty of events in Salt and Sanctuary on the way, but here’s the trouble – the story ends abruptly and quickly enough: after 10-15 hours (with a sufficient amount of skill) there is nothing to do – no additional tests and goals. It’s a pity – the developers have already gathered a sufficient number of fans who dream of content updates, innovations and additional tests. But the launch of the DLC is hardly expected – no announcements have been made for many years, and the two-dimensional version of Dark Souls has long been “mothballed”.