While the 2D hand-drawn sprites look great in motion, they create some limitations of their own. Don’t be fooled by the game’s somewhat cutesy character design, as there’s still tons of violence and gore to be found in Salt and Sanctuary. The world of Salt and Sanctuary is a beautifully crafted assortment of hand-drawn locations and characters, each with a unique personality of its own. Instead of going for realism, developers Ska Studios went for a more sketchbook-like approach for the game’s visuals. Something that immediately distances Salt and Sanctuary from any title in the Souls franchise (and even in the Castlevania series) is the game’s visual style. That might sound pretty basic at first glance, but the lore behind the Saltborn and the isle itself is pretty rich, and players with a knack for finding backstory pieces in their games will surely have a blast with Salt and Sanctuary. As “Saltborn” – a mortal being–, your task is to defeat the Nameless God of a deserted island. Thankfully, however, the lore is not as obscure as it was in From Software’s games, with some plot elements that can even be considered “weak” by dark fantasy standards. Much like the Souls series, the plot of Salt and Sanctuary is made up of tiny bits of lore the player must piece together themselves to understand. Both narratively and gameplay-wise, Salt and Sanctuary feels like a match made in heaven between Dark Souls and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

Of Salt and SoulsĪs soon as you get control of your character in Salt and Sanctuary, you’ll immediately realize what the developer’s inspirations were. Beautiful yet incredibly difficult, Salt and Sanctuary is, without a doubt, the dream game of most modern Metroidvania fans. This combination of different genres will put players to the test as they try to navigate the game’s unforgiving 2D world.

It might not be a wholly original idea, and its Souls-like inspiration is pretty easy to spot, but Salt and Sanctuary still delivers an excellent experience of its own. A tough as nails mash-up of two beloved genres, Salt and Sanctuary manages the impossible – being a proper adaptation that avoids becoming a mere copycat.

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