Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Salt & Sanctuary casts you as a lone wanderer, armed with nothing but your trusty starting weapon, exploring a ruined land filled with devious traps, hostile wraiths, and hulking bosses. Even basic enemies like skeletons and zombies can claim your character’s life if you’re careless. But don’t fear: You can always grab all of your resources from your dead body—assuming you can survive long enough to get to it. 

Yes, Ska Studios’ Salt & Sanctuary is an unapologetic Soulslike, but you don’t have to be a fan of From Software’s popular series to have a good time with it. Though it features the famed corpse runs and measured combat of its inspiration, it actually plays much more like the classic Metroidvanias that prefigured the Souls series in the first place. Its maze-like levels are sown with secret passages, shortcuts, and subtle loops for you to discover, as well as plenty of hidden enemies that leap from the shadows to end your exploration session.

Salt & Sanctuary’s fog-shrouded island is arguably the real star of the game—and one of the more memorable worlds I’ve encountered in a Metroidvania in a long time. Like the original Dark Souls before it, this island has forking paths and connective tissue that make it feel more like a real, lived-in place and not just a collection of random levels stitched together. You can spend resources to unlock limited forms of fast travel, but I personally opted to explore every inch of the island instead.



One of my favorite aspects is its Sanctuary system, which offers a unique twist on the usual pseudo-bonfires that you’ll find in Soulslikes. Each Sanctuary the player finds belongs to one of the game’s “Creeds,” which are factions that you can choose to join throughout. I chose to swear myself to The Iron Ones: a steel-worshiping sect that suited my pure melee build well. You can spend items called Stone Idols to summon NPC merchants like blacksmiths and traders to these Sanctuaries, which can help make the game significantly easier.

However, these Creeds aren’t just cosmetic, as they offer distinctly different rewards that suit certain playstyles. (For example, if you’re trying to play a spell-slinging wizard, you’ll probably want to join the Keepers of Fire and Sky, not The Iron Ones.) Turning in monster parts from defeated enemies increases your devotion to your Creed, which earns these rewards, and determines what items vendors sell. You’ll even run into Sanctuaries that are consecrated for other Creeds, which gives you the opportunity to forsake your Creed to join a new one—or take it for your own sect, by force if necessary.

It should go without saying that this Soulslike features a number of brutal boss fights, from the projectile-spewing Witch of the Lake to the ultra-intimidating final clash with the Lord of the Island. But whether you opt to swing your heavy greatsword (which is S&S’s version of easy mode, by the way) or stick to quick dagger strikes, you will conquer these foes with time—if you have enough patience, that is. Or you can always spring for that heavy shield.

Salt & Sanctuary doesn’t rewrite the Soulslike formula, but it doesn’t have to. It’s a faithful devotee to a worthy style of game that puts its own stamp on the expected systems, doing just enough to stand out in the process. If you're a fan of Soulslikes and 2D platformers and you haven’t given it a try, you should—and if you have, you should check out its sequel, Salt & Sacrifice.

Salt & Sanctuary is available on the Epic Games Store.