Salt and Sacrifice Reviews
Salt and Sacrifice may not be the best Metroidvania ever made, but as a 2D distillation of the Soulslike formula, this is pure gaming alchemy.
The Steam release adds nothing new to the game overall, but if you have access to a Steam Deck then Salt and Sacrifice comes highly recommended.
With all of that said, it cannot be understated how compelling this game feels. It takes all the best things from its inspirations and blends them together in a way that works. It’s a game with the combat of a Soulslike, the gameplay loop of a Monster Hunter, and the exploration of a Metroidvania, all set against a beautiful backdrop - conflicting flavours that come together to form a delicious experience. It’s greater than the sum of its parts, and it’s a game I won’t be putting down for a very long time.
Occasional minor frustrations with the controls aside, it’s hard to find fault with Salt and Sacrifice’s challenging combat and level design. The original was one of the best 2D Soulslikes, and this follow-up has a more appealing style and plays even better, with more varied mechanics and deeper choices. While recent FromSoftware games have encouraged more assertive approaches to enemy encounters, Salt and Sacrifice has an old-school vibe that demands patience, determination, a willingness to grind and the ability to find satisfaction in doing so. Fans of the original won’t be disappointed, and more recent Souls converts will find a new addiction as well.
Salt and Sacrifice is bloody, brutal, and beyond enjoyable!
Salt and Sacrifice is a game that can be frustrating for those who are not used to it, but it manages to be very fun, addictive and with a considerably high replay factor, thanks to New Game Plus. In the end, it is worth the investment for fans and for those looking for a 2D action RPG with a good duration.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Salt and Sacrifice isn’t just a great game, but a great sequel. It’s the result of building upon the things that worked so well in the first game, tweaking the things that might not have worked so well, and cleverly taking the occasional mechanical risk here and there in order to ensure that Salt and Sacrifice truly felt like its own game instead of just “Salt and Sanctuary 2.” It’s fun, frantic, and frustrating in all the right ways, and I’m incredibly happy with what Ska Studios has given us. Salt and Sanctuary was able to build such a large community around it and stick around for such a long time because of how high-quality it was at the time of its release. I’m sure that Salt and Sacrifice will manage to surpass those heights.
Salt and Sacrifice is a passion project that seamlessly merges aspects of much larger games and delivers a focused and unique experience. Humbly priced, its addictive gameplay and multiplayer aspects will leave you feeling like you got a great bargain and asking for more.
Salt And Sacrifice is every bit the sequel I could have wanted for Salt And Sanctuary. Everything about the gameplay has been elevated a polished better than any previous title from Ska Studios. With excellent combat, and a flexible progression system that lets you alter your build and playstyle how you like, mixed with amazing art, creature design, and atmosphere, this is the latest must-buy indie title.
Salt and Sacrifice is like Salt and Sanctuary, just less ugly – at the same time, it's definitely more than just '2-D Dark Souls.' Indeed, this game blends the Souls, Hollow Knight and Monster Hunter in nearly perfect proportions.
Review in Polish | Read full review
If Dark Souls was a 2D action role-playing game, I imagine it'd look and play similar to Salt and Sacrifice. And I mean that comparison to a tee because this game really does have it all: a fantastic story, interesting lore, creepy memorable worlds, visually arresting bosses and incredible gameplay variety and depth. Aside from a handful of frustrating difficulty spike moments this game was a total joy to play through and I'm already on a NG+ run and started my second character.
Despite some flaws here and there, much like its predecessor Salt and Sacrifice is a solid soulslike that will keep fans of the genre diving into it, one "obliterated" after the next. Everyone else should be wary of its often unforgiving enemies, though.
Review in Italian | Read full review
It's really incredible to think that only two people made Salt and Sacrifice. The new project of the small team does not propose the level of balance of the most impressive productions but still manages to go close. Net of a series of uncertainties, Salt and Sacrifice is a gem that will make the joy of all soulslike lovers eager to delight in an adventure capable of putting them to the test but decidedly smaller in size than a giant like Elden Ring.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Salt and Sacrifice does a lot of cool things on top of the Soulsborne 2D action-platforming system created for the first game. The focus on hunting mages is a cool twist and getting their components and making new gear was the stuff that’s made Monster Hunter a blast for decades. Even then, there’s plenty to explore in each biome between the mage hunts. I’m not fond of collecting berries for my healing flask and I feel it can get unfair when mages team up on me. However, getting stronger and coming back with enough might that not even multiple mages could stop me made Salt and Sacrifice’s 2D Soulsborne exploration and mage fights an intoxicating quest to wield the very power I was hunting.
Despite my minor complaints, Salt and Sacrifice is an insanely fun Souls-like featuring brutal challenges, great level designs, beautiful hand drawn graphics, interesting enemies and boss fights, cool gear to find and upgrade, a fun leveling system, and one of the most enjoyable co-op experiences I've had in quite a while. The fact that this game was designed by so few people and is of such high quality for a relatively low MSRP of $19.99 is nothing short of astounding. While not perfect, Salt and Sacrifice kept me entertained for well over 20 hours and made me excited for the next entry in this incredible series.
Salt and Sacrifice to Salt and Sanctuary is like Dark Souls 2 to Dark Souls 1. It diverges a lot from the original, with some ideas that work well and some that don't. All in all, it's still an excellent 2-D Souls-like Metroidvania that brilliantly infuses Monster Hunter elements with challenging combat. Despite some poor design choices and questionable difficulty spikes, it's still astonishing to think this game was created by a team of just two people.
Salt and Sacrifice is a good game that takes some ideas from FromSoftware games, as well as other popular projects, but does it very neatly, while offering an interesting visual design.
Review in Russian | Read full review
As it stands, Salt and Sacrifice continues to nail down all of the moving parts and elements that go into creating an impressive Souls-like game. For most players –especially those just discovering the genre for the first time– this is an easy recommendation. But for the rest of us, it’s not quite enough anymore.
While the opening can be off-putting, Salt and Sacrifice is a huge game that picks up almost instantly once you're past the beginning, with multiple large areas that will each take a good amount of hours to explore and track down all the Mages that roam there.
Salt and Sacrifice is a labor of love, one that will scratch any Souls veteran's itch for more mysterious worlds to explore, even if it doesn't succeed at everything.