I could just say that Salt & Sanctuary is Dark Souls in 2D and be done with this review. But it's not that easy, so let’s do it properly. I enjoy my time with this game and co-op is tons of fun too in a way that Dark Souls doesn’t really offer.

As with all of my reviews, these are my own opinions and experiences; please check out other reviews too!

You can't pause the game and it can be really frustrating if you just suddenly have to go afk during a bossfight or bigger groups of enemies. There is no PVP other than fighting your own friends in split screen which is a bit disappointing. Some bosses can be really frustrating since they have unusual hitboxes and you often have to wait until they are done with their animations to be targetable again.

Sanctuaries and shrines let you save the game to refill your health and potions or level up and expand the skill tree, but using them will respawn previously slain monsters (not bosses). Choose between 7 different factions called creeds which all have different rewards for offerings. Expand your sanctuary with offerings to gain shops and passive bonuses to that specific region, the choice is limited to 4 offerings per sanctuary so chose wisely. The areas are not procedurally generated but instead crafted by hand and with care. Kick down ladders or open doors via switches to open up shortcuts that will help you traverse the rather huge levels faster.

Chose between 8 completely different classes each with their own stats and weapons which serve just as a basic layout, but you can just do whatever you want afterwards thanks to the rather huge skill board where you can branch off in the desired direction. Weapons have strength and dexterity scaling which tells you how good they are for your current class or rather chosen skill set. Manage a logical equipment system where having more weight on you slows down your entire movement, including rolling and ledge climbing. A basic stamina system for dodge rolls, blocking, and attacking which when empty renders you vulnerable to attacks. The smooth combat system features light and heavy attacks that can be chained together is very well done and response. Smash enemies to pieces with body parts flying all over the place and a good amount of blood everywhere with fitting sound effects. You can even throw enemies up to do some sick air combos! Claim passive upgrades to further enhance your gameplay like the ability to jump off walls or walking upside down.

Monsters drop salt that can be used to level up as well as upgrading your gear but they also drop gold which is used for buying equipment or paying the cleric who drags you back to the sanctuary after being defeated. Getting hit by monsters decreases your maximum health until you either use mending or visit a sanctuary shrine which should be avoided by all costs. Dying at bosses will cost you a bit of gold and will reduce your salt to zero but each salt lost this way is accumulated and can be regained after you come back and finally kill it. Dying twice to everything else however will lose you the previously dropped salt forever. Finishing off monsters with glory kills feels just great and you have to be very quick in order to execute them correctly. Salt & Sanctuary presents you with dozens of boss fights which are both challenging and interesting and can actually be pretty hard since they will change their attack patterns several times throughout the battle.

Thanks to its online functionalities, you can see players messages in form of bottle messages which tell you of dangerous areas ahead of time or just help you with telling you where the secrets are. Occasionally, you can see other players in the sanctuary as they mind their own business. Graves left behind near other players’ deaths will warn you about upcoming encounters. You can even see the corpses and sometimes just heads of other players hanging around in certain spots.

The game offers local co-op that can also be used for online play via hamachi and in-home streaming which worked like a charm; no screen or input lag at all. Your co-op partner will be a second character from your save file and keeps all the loot and dust he gets while he won’t disappear after each boss and you can safely play the whole game together. Additionally, enemies will be a bit stronger while playing together as compensation for the additional firepower.

You know nothing about the world and the game won’t tell you much about it, this mysteriousness really helps to keep up the atmosphere. The rather dark aesthetic mixed with flashgame-like graphics covered up with nice effects and multi layered back and foregrounds gives it a very dreamlike feel.

Huge parts of the game simply have no music at all, which combined with the presented artstyle works just perfect to set the tone the game is aiming for. Boss battles, sanctuaries, and some specific areas are the only exception to this so you always know when something is going on or in case of the sanctuary, when you can relax for a brief moment. The songs that are there are very subtle and fit the situations perfectly.

Checkout the composer’s website for a preview![skastudios.bandcamp.com]

There isn’t much of a perceivable story but rather one that has to be learned through the game’s world and characters. You are presented with a basic premise of what you have to do but additional story is for observant people only, and if you want to fully understand everything that is going on you will likely have to check out some story analysis online.

While borrowing a lot of things from the Souls series, Salt & Sanctuary can easily stand on it’s own thanks to having distinctive features and charm. I recommend it to fans of the souls genre who are not against the idea of it suddenly being in 2D and people who enjoy action oriented metroidvania games. Definitely check out the co-op too!

[h1][Introduction][/h1] I could just say that Salt & Sanctuary is Dark Souls in 2D and be done with this review. But it's not that easy, so let’s do it properly. I enjoy my time with this game and co-op is tons of fun too in a way that Dark Souls doesn’t really offer. As with all of my reviews, these are my own opinions and experiences; please check out other reviews too! [h1][Negatives][/h1] You can't pause the game and it can be really frustrating if you just suddenly have to go afk during a bossfight or bigger groups of enemies. There is no PVP other than fighting your own friends in split screen which is a bit disappointing. Some bosses can be really frustrating since they have unusual hitboxes and you often have to wait until they are done with their animations to be targetable again. [h1][Gameplay][/h1] Sanctuaries and shrines let you save the game to refill your health and potions or level up and expand the skill tree, but using them will respawn previously slain monsters (not bosses). Choose between 7 different factions called creeds which all have different rewards for offerings. Expand your sanctuary with offerings to gain shops and passive bonuses to that specific region, the choice is limited to 4 offerings per sanctuary so chose wisely. The areas are not procedurally generated but instead crafted by hand and with care. Kick down ladders or open doors via switches to open up shortcuts that will help you traverse the rather huge levels faster. Chose between 8 completely different classes each with their own stats and weapons which serve just as a basic layout, but you can just do whatever you want afterwards thanks to the rather huge skill board where you can branch off in the desired direction. Weapons have strength and dexterity scaling which tells you how good they are for your current class or rather chosen skill set. Manage a logical equipment system where having more weight on you slows down your entire movement, including rolling and ledge climbing. A basic stamina system for dodge rolls, blocking, and attacking which when empty renders you vulnerable to attacks. The smooth combat system features light and heavy attacks that can be chained together is very well done and response. Smash enemies to pieces with body parts flying all over the place and a good amount of blood everywhere with fitting sound effects. You can even throw enemies up to do some sick air combos! Claim passive upgrades to further enhance your gameplay like the ability to jump off walls or walking upside down. Monsters drop salt that can be used to level up as well as upgrading your gear but they also drop gold which is used for buying equipment or paying the cleric who drags you back to the sanctuary after being defeated. Getting hit by monsters decreases your maximum health until you either use mending or visit a sanctuary shrine which should be avoided by all costs. Dying at bosses will cost you a bit of gold and will reduce your salt to zero but each salt lost this way is accumulated and can be regained after you come back and finally kill it. Dying twice to everything else however will lose you the previously dropped salt forever. Finishing off monsters with glory kills feels just great and you have to be very quick in order to execute them correctly. Salt & Sanctuary presents you with dozens of boss fights which are both challenging and interesting and can actually be pretty hard since they will change their attack patterns several times throughout the battle. Thanks to its online functionalities, you can see players messages in form of bottle messages which tell you of dangerous areas ahead of time or just help you with telling you where the secrets are. Occasionally, you can see other players in the sanctuary as they mind their own business. Graves left behind near other players’ deaths will warn you about upcoming encounters. You can even see the corpses and sometimes just heads of other players hanging around in certain spots. [h1][Co-op][/h1] The game offers local co-op that can also be used for online play via hamachi and in-home streaming which worked like a charm; no screen or input lag at all. Your co-op partner will be a second character from your save file and keeps all the loot and dust he gets while he won’t disappear after each boss and you can safely play the whole game together. Additionally, enemies will be a bit stronger while playing together as compensation for the additional firepower. [h1][Graphics/Art][/h1] You know nothing about the world and the game won’t tell you much about it, this mysteriousness really helps to keep up the atmosphere. The rather dark aesthetic mixed with flashgame-like graphics covered up with nice effects and multi layered back and foregrounds gives it a very dreamlike feel. [h1][Music][/h1] Huge parts of the game simply have no music at all, which combined with the presented artstyle works just perfect to set the tone the game is aiming for. Boss battles, sanctuaries, and some specific areas are the only exception to this so you always know when something is going on or in case of the sanctuary, when you can relax for a brief moment. The songs that are there are very subtle and fit the situations perfectly. [url=https://skastudios.bandcamp.com/album/salt-and-sanctuary-original-soundtrack]Checkout the composer’s website for a preview![/url] [h1][Story][/h1] There isn’t much of a perceivable story but rather one that has to be learned through the game’s world and characters. You are presented with a basic premise of what you have to do but additional story is for observant people only, and if you want to fully understand everything that is going on you will likely have to check out some story analysis online. [h1][Conclusion][/h1] While borrowing a lot of things from the Souls series, Salt & Sanctuary can easily stand on it’s own thanks to having distinctive features and charm. I recommend it to fans of the souls genre who are not against the idea of it suddenly being in 2D and people who enjoy action oriented metroidvania games. Definitely check out the co-op too! [code] Enjoyed this review? Curious for more recommendations by Excurious Curations? Check it out over [url=http://store.steampowered.com/curator/28338439]here[/url]! [/code]