Salt and Sanctuary

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Aug 2, 2018

Critic60/100

Agreement—

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.

IGN

Leif Johnson·May 23, 2016

Critic86/100

Agreement—

Praise the salt.

GameSpot

Miguel Concepcion·Apr 13, 2016

Critic80/100

Agreement—

This combat-intensive adventure manages to be more than the sum of its Dark Souls-influenced parts.

Game Informer

Matt Miller·Mar 30, 2016

Critic85/100

Agreement—

Ska Studios presents an ambitious adventure that perfectly melds the traditions of Castlevania and Dark Souls.

Eurogamer

Jeffrey Matulef·Mar 22, 2016

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Lots of games compare themselves to Dark Souls these days. Why wouldn't they? From Software's instant classic began as …

Polygon

Griffin McElroy·Mar 22, 2016

Critic—

Agreement—

Salt and Sanctuary lovingly adapts the Souls games into 2D

Push Square

Stephen Tailby·Mar 16, 2016

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Do not underestimate Salt and Sanctuary: it'll chew you up and spit you back out, drawing from From Software's modern action RPG blueprints and translating the hard-as-nails gameplay to two dimensions. It demands your attention, never holds your hand, and rewards your patience and skill. Some players will find the lack of information too obtuse and difficulty too harsh, and a few cheap enemies and well-hidden traps will certainly frustrate. For those willing to go the distance, however, this is an intricate and fulfilling game just waiting to be conquered. As far as Souls wannabes go, this is one that's certainly worth its salt.