Salt and Sanctuary is a 2D side-scrolling dark action RPG coming to PC, PS4, and PS Vita in the late summer or fall of this year. The game is very much inspired by the Souls franchise and you will notice immediate similarities to these games. Some examples: you have a Stamina bar, which dictates the amount of attacking, rolling and blocking (with your shield) you can do before you have to wait for it to refill. There are Creeds, which are sort of like Covenants that the player can join. These will cause the player’s Sanctuaries to look different and to have different NPCs in them that sell different equipment and provide different benefits. When you die you lose your Salt, which is very similar to Souls, and can be spent to increase the player level, granting them a skill point.
As I am not a 2D genre player (in general), I was a bit skeptical about how much I myself would actually enjoy playing, even if others did. I can tell you right now, this game has completely changed my opinion about the genre. For starters, you will immediately notice the gorgeous and immersive hand drawn art style of the game. It has such a unique feel and setting, your jaw just drops. I can honestly say I’ve never seen a 2D game that pulls you in quite the same way. The next thing you’ll notice is the music. It’s subtle, but completely adds to the overall feeling of the game. It’s intense in intense places and soothing in your Sanctuary. It really dictates the mood of the game. The combat feels familiar and fluid. Souls veterans will get the hang of it in no time and feel as though they were right at home. And last but not least, the game is challenging. I got my face blown off repeatedly (and not just from gravity). There were areas of the game that really felt like they were meant to test your ability and THEY DO. This has instantly become one of the must play games of 2015!
Because the Souls community was taking interest in this game we reached out to Michelle and James (the Devs) at Ska Studios and asked them some questions about the game:
http://www.ska-studios.com/salt
