Salt and Sanctuary PC Review

2D Dungeons Done Distinctively

There are many things that make a video game great including gameplay, narrative, characters, camera, challenge, detail and so many more. One that often goes unappreciated is style, but it couldn’t be any more important. Style is what grabs your eye and tells you that this game is different, this game is fun, this game is new. It’s hard to develop your own way of presenting older ideas, to make it stand out from everyone else. There’s always a generic hero, but what makes him different from the other 1,000,000 other heroes in their own games? The usual answer is not much, so many build on top of others and try to put their own spin on it, and such is the case here.

It has to be said that this is very much a Dark Souls game but remade into its own creature, and instead based on platforming in a 2D environment. There are clear similarities like the death system that lets you keep your equipment, but not your monetary rewards and the overall gothic inspiration for architecture is definitely represented. The main character is a bit different, and allows for some greater variety then the source material, with a bit more of a classic RPG class structure. Boss battles are tough but not impossible, and they are all play pretty differently which makes for nice gameplay.

While it’s definitely got a cool look with the dark gloomy environment and grotesque bosses, there is room for improvement in the graphics.  I’ve seen plenty of flash animations that looked way smoother and played much faster than what can be experienced here. The attacks are slow and unresponsive, and the character models never even emote at all to any change which really takes you out of the game. I realize that this is not some perfectly rendered 3D AAA title, but its still missing some key animations and graphics that are just expected at this point. Also, even with its lower resolution, and less advanced graphics, it still seems to chug with lower end graphics cards, which seems to defy logic.

Ska Studios definitely pays respect to those who came before, but didn’t just stop there, and put their own style on what was already a winning formula.  While having some downsides, there are plenty of great things to see and play, and with so many play styles, classes, items, and weapons there is a real bang for your buck here as you can just play it again and again and get something different each time. If you don’t want to break the bank, but you want that Dark Souls feel, then this is something you really shouldn’t miss.