Salt and Sanctuary

Salt and Sanctuary asked a question that sounded like a joke when it was first announced: what if Dark Souls was a 2D side-scroller? Developed by Ska Studios, a two-person team of James and Michelle Silva, the game arrived on PC in 2016 and surprised the community by actually pulling it off. The stamina-based combat, interconnected world design, cryptic lore, and punishing difficulty all made the transition to two dimensions more gracefully than anyone expected.

Community opinion is largely positive, with particular praise for the combat system and boss variety. The most common criticisms target balance problems that emerge in the mid-to-late game and the absence of an in-game map, which can make an already confusing world harder to navigate. Players who connect with the Souls-inspired combat loop tend to become strong advocates for the game, while those who bounce off it usually cite balance frustrations or the occasionally unclear progression.

The fact that two people made a game this ambitious and this large still impresses the community years after launch. That context doesn’t erase the rough edges, but it does explain why players tend to be forgiving of them.

Weighty Combat and a World Worth Exploring

Combat is where Salt and Sanctuary earns its strongest praise. Attacks carry real weight, with different weapon classes offering distinct movesets that feel meaningfully different from each other. Greatswords swing with slow, punishing arcs while daggers offer quick, stamina-efficient combos. The stamina system forces careful resource management during fights, preventing the kind of mindless button mashing that flattens the tension in lesser action games. Rolling, blocking, and attacking all draw from the same pool, and managing that pool during a tough boss fight creates genuine tactical decisions.

Boss encounters are numerous and varied. The game throws a large roster of bosses at you across its runtime, and the quality holds up better than expected. Many of these fights require learning specific patterns and punish overaggression, delivering the kind of earned victories that Souls fans chase. The sense of accomplishment after downing a boss that killed you repeatedly is strong, and the game spaces these encounters well enough that they punctuate exploration rather than overwhelming it.

World design follows the interconnected philosophy, with areas linking back to each other through shortcuts and hidden paths. Discovering how different zones connect creates moments of clarity that reward patient exploration. The Sanctuary system, which serves as bonfires and hubs combined, lets you customize rest points with NPCs that provide different services based on what you offer at the altar. This gives players some control over the infrastructure of their journey in a way that feels personal.

Local co-op deserves mention as an unexpected feature. The Sellsword system lets a second player join through a summoning mechanic at any Sanctuary. For a game in this genre, having couch co-op available adds real value, and fighting through tough areas with a partner changes the dynamic in interesting ways.

The Balance Problem in Salt and Sanctuary

Balance issues are the most consistent complaint. Certain character builds, particularly magic-focused ones, can trivialize large portions of the game, while other builds hit difficulty spikes that feel out of proportion with the game’s general challenge level. The difficulty curve isn’t smooth. Some areas and bosses feel dramatically harder or easier depending on your build and equipment. This inconsistency can be disorienting, especially for players expecting the gradual escalation that the best Souls-style games maintain.

The absence of an in-game map is a divisive design choice. In a 2D game with numerous interconnected areas, shortcuts, and vertical exploration, tracking where you are and where you’ve been relies entirely on your memory. Some players appreciate this as part of the game’s commitment to not holding your hand, but many others find it creates unnecessary confusion. Getting lost in a 3D Souls game at least offers visual landmarks in every direction. Getting lost in Salt and Sanctuary’s 2D spaces can mean running through identical-looking corridors without clear orientation cues.

The respec system is restrictive. Trying a new weapon type or combat approach mid-playthrough requires significant investment, and the game doesn’t make it easy to experiment after you’ve committed to a build path. Given that balance issues can make certain builds feel much weaker than others, the inability to easily adjust your approach compounds the frustration when you realize your chosen path is struggling.

Some enemy placements feel more cheap than challenging. Enemies positioned to knock you off narrow platforms or ambush you from off-screen occasionally cross the line from “demanding” to “annoying.” These moments are scattered rather than pervasive, but they stand out in a game that otherwise handles difficulty with more care.

Two People Built This

The scope of Salt and Sanctuary relative to its team size is worth sitting with. James Silva handled the design, programming, and art while Michelle Silva contributed additional art and writing. The game contains dozens of bosses, hundreds of weapons and armor pieces, a massive interconnected world, and multiple character classes with distinct playstyles. That two people shipped something this large and this mechanically ambitious helps explain both the game’s strengths, a unified vision executed with obvious passion, and its weaknesses, balance testing and polish that a bigger team might have caught.

Should You Play Salt and Sanctuary?

If you enjoy Souls-style combat and want to experience that formula in a different format, Salt and Sanctuary is one of the best translations available. The combat is satisfying, the boss variety is impressive, and the local co-op is a genuine bonus. Players who enjoy figuring out interconnected worlds without explicit guidance will find the exploration rewarding, even without a map.

Skip it if balance consistency matters to you, or if the lack of a map sounds more annoying than immersive. Players who prefer tighter difficulty curves and the ability to experiment freely with character builds may find Salt and Sanctuary’s limitations more noticeable than its strengths. It’s a game best approached with patience and a willingness to accept some rough edges alongside excellent combat.

The Verdict on Salt and Sanctuary

Salt and Sanctuary proved that the Souls formula could work in two dimensions, and it did so with a tiny team and obvious love for the games that inspired it. The combat is the star, with weapon variety and stamina management creating fights that feel tactically rich and deeply challenging. Balance problems and the missing map pull it back from the genre’s top tier, and the respec restrictions feel needlessly punishing. But the ambition on display, and the degree to which that ambition is realized, makes this a game worth experiencing for anyone who wants their side-scrollers to hit as hard as their 3D counterparts.