Going in, I had heard Salt and Sanctuary described as “2D Dark Souls”. Given the not-uncommon trend to call games “The Dark Souls of X” that’s cropped up lately, I didn’t think much of it. I did suspect it would feature larger-than-life bosses (in no small numbers), and that my experience points would be what spilled out when they gutted me. Beyond that, though, Surely Salt and Sanctuary would be its own beast.
Having spent hundreds of collective hours with everything from Demon’s Souls to Bloodborne I can say with certainty that I was wrong. Developer Ska Studios bored their way to the bone when mining Salt and Sanctuary‘s inspiration. The similarities range from the obvious, like those listed above, to cuts so deep you’d need a microscope to catch them.
Specific levels, items, and even more mechanics seem entirely lifted from Salt and Sanctuary‘s three-dimensional counterparts. Anyone who’s ever crushed the Large Soul of a Proud Knight, or bunny hopped their way through Blighttown will recognize their analogues immediately.
“2D Dark Souls” is no hyperbole. It just doesn’t tell the whole story.
That story concerns a nameless, custom wanderer. Said vagabond wakes up in a mysterious land, with only a vague purpose and even less forthcoming NPCs to guide them. So far, so Dark Souls. The most obvious differences came to me just a few minutes after the intro. When it became apparent just what kind of tone Salt and Sanctuary had set for itself.
Angry guitar riffs and jets of watery blood replace the understated and isolated purgatory of the Souls games. I warn you not to expect subtlety from a game that plasters “obliterated” across the screen after every death. Nor from the bosses, which bear names like “The Disemboweled Husk,” and “That Stench Most Foul.” Besides being very memorable, names like these pretty much set the tone for the heavy metal hell they inhabit.
You’ll explore and traverse that world to reach all the big-name baddies. Here there’s a healthy dose of (mostly) simple platforming to overcome. Doing so unlocks shortcuts that bypass the more pedestrian enemies. Though, occasionally, you’ll still have to stand and deliver. What you deliver depends on your character’s build – your options for which are uncannily reminiscent of Dark Souls and Dark Souls 2.
Bank enough experience (a.k.a. Salt) into miracles and you’ll unlock healing prayers. Strength is great for clubs, axes, and greatswords, while magic peels away at your stamina to summon bolts of lightning and streams of fire. Typically, I drift towards the bog standard sword and shield combo in these sorts of games. Here, though, I allowed myself to experiment.
My wanderer began life as a ranged “hunter.” Discovering a wicked looking two-handed sword a few hours in meant trading in her crossbow and whip for harder hits, as well as a lot of dodging and rolling. So, I minored in miracles to mend whatever harm couldn’t be avoided.
Each style felt viable, and downright essential in the moment. I never dove into magic, and ranged combat quickly fell by the wayside. After finishing my first run on the game’s final boss, however, I’m already itching to dive in a second time and give these tactics their due. That may seem excessive, but Salt and Sanctuary smoothes the process of actually playing it in ways not found in Dark Souls and its ancillaries.
Gold and experience are separate currencies, for instance. That may seem like a small tweak, but it makes a major statement. One that says Salt and Sanctuary speaks a language more common to other role-playing games. In this case, that experience is for leveling up, while gold is for buying things. Besides removing the need to prioritize one at the expense of another, this means keeping some semblance of progress between deaths. Unlike experience, 90 percent of gold is retained after death. Which is especially useful since you can convert gold into bankable experience points.
Add to this the game’s bosses. Which, while visually impressive — as the stellar art straddles a line between horrific and adorable — typically hew to the Dark Souls 2 school of design: quantity over difficulty. I’d say I beat about a third of the game’s bosses on my very first attempt, with about that many taking just one or two tries more.
In a game with a broader scope this might have irked me, but here it works to Salt and Sanctuary‘s advantage. It stokes the feeling of being a tightly-packed powerhouse in a human-sized body. One that topples gods and monsters two to five times their size. All without the exasperation of seemingly insurmountable difficulty spikes.
Which isn’t to say the game is no challenge. When a “serious” boss does rear its rotten head it leaves a lasting impression. I suspect I’ll be thinking about “The Tree of Men” for some time to come.
The one core facet of Salt and Sanctuary that’s slightly out of place is “wounding.” After getting stomped on, tossed around, or otherwise mauled by a particularly nasty enemy, your character’s health doesn’t just deplete, it becomes capped. Losing maximum health is nothing new to games of this sort (dating as far back as Demon’s Souls), it’s just usually reserved as punishment for death.
Here, wounding takes root after every hit. Meaning every dip into every dungeon — every boss fight and every frantic search for a sanctuary at which to rest and replenish healing salves — is a battle of attrition. It’s an element that feels far more punitive than the rest of the game, though there is a remedy. Certain abilities will mend wounds at the cost of capping stamina (used for dodging, striking, jumping, etc.) instead. Not to worry, though, since there are yet more items that can remove that.
I found the constant push-and-pull to be a fun consideration in its own right, but I suspect not everyone will enjoy the micromanagement. Particularly in a game that ill prepares you for it, like Salt and Sanctuary. In fact, Salt and Sanctuary seems to keep one or two too many things obscure. That’s fine when it comes to the story, but core elements like wounding could have used a better breakdown. The same goes for Metroid-style power-ups (here called Brands). These are buried behind menus within menus, for seemingly no reason besides “that’s how it’s done in a game like this.”
Given that Salt and Sanctuary is entirely built on carefully collected details from other games, it’s tough to believe this was anything but intentional.
That said, nearly every other homage compares favorably, whether it’s the deliberate, hard-hitting combat from Dark Souls, or the exploration and traversal that feels like it fell straight out of Symphony of the Night. All of which is papered over with Ska Studios’ smoother, more accessible take.
So, sure, Salt and Sanctuary is “2D Dark Souls.” It just so happens there’s plenty of room for a friendlier vector into that sort of game.
Verdict: Yes
