Salt and Sanctuary Reviews
All told, Salt and Sanctuary is just about what you'd expect it to be: it's more or less a 2D Dark Souls, but with a little more emphasis on less. Salt and Sanctuary does an admirable job of hitting all the right beats that it needs to provide a challenging and fun action adventure that will no doubt provide a solid bang for your buck, but it doesn't do a whole lot to stand on its own two legs; this is a game that can only thrive on the scraps generated by the overwhelming popularity of a much better game series. We'd give this one a recommendation to any Dark Souls fans - this is a decent way of capturing that game's spirit - but those who've never been interested won't find much new here to entice them.
This little platformer wears its influences loudly and proudly. Salt and Sanctuary is a tribute act of the finest kind, distilling the essential Dark Souls experience in 2D.
Salt and Sanctuary is dark. It's just how it is. And being honest, it's all the better for it. On the Switch's small screen though, the darkness of most of the environments coupled with the zoomed out camera makes it hard to see certain enemies and their attacks.
It is not easy to mix and mash different genres and end up with a solid result. Salt and Sanctuary looks like a weird fusion of different games from the outside, but it actually manages to work perfectly fine and ends up creating its own sub-genre. It has a beautiful dose of side-scrolling combat mixed with metroidvania exploration and a robust character class system on top of it, offering an endless amount of fun.
Salt and Sanctuary is an excellent love-letter to the Dark Souls franchise while still managing to provide a distinctly unique experience. As far as game design goes, this is a splendidly polished example of the Soulsborne mechanics appropriated correctly, and I eagerly anticipate playing all the way through NG+7 and beyond, just not on the Switch. Unfortunately, the dark screen and glaring performance issues in this port detract from the overall experience, docking points. On steam, however, I'd likely give this an 8 or a 9.
Salt and Sanctuary is a solid homage to its blatant source of inspiration. It doesn't supplant its predecessors, but it does an admirable job nonetheless, and offers players a moody, intricate, and fundamentally enjoyable dark fantasy experience. [OpenCritic note: Matt Sainsbury separately reviewed the PS4 (4.5 stars) and Switch (3.5 stars) versions. The scores have been averaged.]
The folks at Ska Studios have crafted something stellar here, though. Despite how much the Souls series has inspired this title, it still stands on its own two feet without feeling derivative.
As derivative as it may sound, Salt and Sanctuary is an enjoyable romp on the Nintendo Switch thanks to its entertaining combat. It's good enough to warrant checking it out despite some concerns. With Dark Souls for the Nintendo Switch missing in action, Salt and Sanctuary is an enjoyable way to get your Souls fix.
Recommending Salt and Sanctuary comes with a hefty amount of baggage. It is not just an action-combat RPG, it takes some of the best parts of a number of different series and combines them to create what could be called a 2D Dark Souls equivalent. However, that is a discredit to all of the smart design and punishing challenge the the developers have implemented in order to make that oppressive feeling work without an additional dimension. A patient video game enthusiast with some experience with this kind of game may get the most mileage out of it, but even newcomers will appreciate the crash course of mechanics and difficulty that Salt and Sanctuary features, especially with the fabled Dark Souls remaster eventually coming to Switch. If you’re looking to get your teeth kicked in by a well-made title, this is definitely the one for you, otherwise you might end up grappling with your Switch a bit too much.
An excellent soul-like with slight design flaws that fits on the switch like the salt to the pepper shaker.
Review in German | Read full review
Salt and Sanctuary is the result of a perfect combination of the metroidvania and "souls" elements in order to create a unique, hard and satisfying 2D adventure that knows how to reward players' skill. The Nintendo Switch version is indeed a great one.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Salt and Sanctuary is the most similar game in the market to a 2D Dark Souls. It's a very enjoyable metroidvania, with a journey with a lot of platforms in which we can found a demanding combat, but not unfair. Probably you die a lot of times, but, if you can win, the victory taste could be really nice.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
If you enjoy Souls-like games you need to play Salt and Sanctuary. The art style, music, and level design are unique and a joy to experience.
It stands on its own as an excellent addition to the genre while also bringing flavours of its own.
I enjoyed my time with Salt and Sanctuary, and if you enjoy challenging 2D games or just games with fantastic horror art design, you probably will too.
Salt and Sanctuary for the Switch is a great port. Everything is smooth and it works just as I had expected it to be. There are no slowdowns, the graphics look just as good, the audio is just as chilling as ever, and the adventure is still an awesome one to be had. If you haven't already had the chance to dive into this comber, and woeful tale, you should. It's worth it.
Salt and Sanctuary is purely a Dark Souls clone for the 2D style of gaming. It's not a carbon copy, but it offers rewarding combat and exploration. With an open-ended world and varied enemies & bosses, a decent character progression system, secrets to find, numerous weapon types and a grim atmosphere, it's easy to be sucked in and master being a better fight than you were since your last death. This isn't a game about impossibility, but rather adapting and honing your skills. For that alone, Salt and Sanctuary is one of the best 2D action-RPG's available.
If Dark Souls and Castlevania had a 2D child, it would probably be called Salt and Sanctuary. It may not be the most innovative game out there, but Ska Studios has managed to merge elements from both series to give birth to a truly great experience that we won't put down easily.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Salt and Sanctuary may be inspired by the Dark Souls series, but that doesn't necessarily mean every Dark Souls fan is going to love this game. The big problem with creating an entire game inspired by a well-loved franchise is that people's expectations are going to be sky high. As someone that loves Dark Souls, I can say I enjoyed aspects of Salt and Sanctuary, but comparing the two games side by side seems incredibly unfair. Similarly to the Souls games, Salt and Sanctuary requires time and patience for players to reap its true rewards. While that may be attractive to some, it doesn't quite have the same level of depth and finesse that would warrant it as a worthy substitute for one of the greatest RPGs ever created.
In size and scale, Salt and Sanctuary has a lot to offer for a 2D platformer -- but it is the attention to the small things that really gives the game its awesome stature. An amazing feat of imagination.
