Salt and Sanctuary on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information
Quick menu
Explore a haunting, punishing island in this stylized 2D action RPG. Salt and Sanctuary combines fast and brutal 2D combat with richly developed RPG mechanics in a cursed realm of forgotten cities, blood-soaked dungeons, and desecrated monuments.
Salt and Sanctuary is a souls-like, metroidvania and dark fantasy game
developed and published by Ska Studios.
Released on May 17th 2016 is available on Windows, MacOS and Linux
in 13 languages: English, German, Japanese, French, Italian, Spanish - Spain, Korean, Portuguese - Brazil, Polish, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Turkish.
It has received 20,652 reviews of which 18,485 were positive and 2,167 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.8 out of 10. 😎
The game is currently priced at 17.99€ on Steam.
The Steam community has classified Salt and Sanctuary into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
Get an in-depth look at Salt and Sanctuary through various videos and screenshots.
System requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- OS *: Windows Vista
- Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8 GHz or equivalent
- Memory: 1 GB RAM
- Graphics: DirectX 10 compatible video card with shader model 3.0 support
- DirectX: Version 10
- Storage: 2 GB available space
- Sound Card: 100% DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card and drivers
- Additional Notes: Xbox360 Gamepad recommended
MacOS
- OS: Lion 10.7.5
- Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8 GHz or equivalent
- Memory: 1 GB RAM
- Graphics: OpenGL 3.0+ support (2.1 with ARB extensions acceptable)
- Storage: 2 GB available space
- Additional Notes: SDL_GameController devices fully supported
Linux
- OS: glibc 2.15+, 32/64-bit. S3TC support is NOT required.
- Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8 GHz or equivalent
- Memory: 1 GB RAM
- Graphics: OpenGL 3.0+ support (2.1 with ARB extensions acceptable)
- Storage: 2 GB available space
- Additional Notes: SDL_GameController devices fully supported
User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
Salt and Sanctuary is what happens when you compress the DNA of Dark Souls into a bleak, hand-drawn 2D world—and then inject it with blood, grit, and indie charm. Ska Studios’ grim action-RPG is equal parts brutal and rewarding, offering a deep and atmospheric experience that thrives on its challenge, minimalist storytelling, and surprisingly rich RPG systems. While not without its rough edges, it helped define a subgenre and still stands tall nearly a decade after its release. Combat in Salt and Sanctuary is deliberate, punishing, and familiar to fans of FromSoftware's titles. Players must manage stamina, learn attack patterns, dodge roll, parry, and strike back with timing and precision. Shields, magic, two-handed weapons, bows, and quick weapons all offer viable build paths. While the 2D perspective simplifies spatial awareness, it intensifies positioning—spacing and timing are everything. Where the game shines is in its variety of weapons and playstyles. From whip-like scythes to massive greathammers, combat can feel wildly different depending on your build. Melee-focused players get satisfying, crunchy fights, while spellcasters can unleash destructive powers—at the cost of fragility and a longer learning curve. Boss fights are frequent, grotesque, and memorable. Each boss offers a unique challenge, though a few can feel a bit spammy or less mechanically refined than others. Salt and Sanctuary presents a sprawling, dark world full of ruined castles, poisonous swamps, haunted crypts, and forgotten temples. It’s a Metroidvania at heart—expect to unlock new abilities and shortcuts as you explore, often revealing how closely the world is intertwined. The atmosphere is oppressive and lonely. Torchlight flickers across walls soaked in decay, while eerie ambient music and enemy growls create a constant sense of unease. Though the visuals lean toward a grungy, sketch-like aesthetic that can sometimes obscure smaller details, it contributes heavily to the game's nightmarish vibe. There’s no fast travel at first, and that’s a design choice—not a limitation. You’re meant to feel isolated and vulnerable. Every shortcut found, every sanctuary unlocked, feels like a precious reprieve from the bleak world trying to tear you apart. In a clever twist on Souls’ bonfires, Sanctuaries act as rest points and build hubs, and the game allows you to customize each one by placing NPCs: blacksmiths, clerics, merchants, or guides who unlock fast travel. This system adds a welcome layer of progression control and strategic planning. You level up using “Salt” gathered from slain enemies (and lost on death, of course), while skill points are invested in a sprawling classless skill tree, allowing for true hybrid builds. Want a heavy-armored greatsword paladin with fire magic? You can build it. The freedom is immense—and slightly intimidating. The story is opaque, delivered through sparse dialogue, item descriptions, and environmental cues. Themes of religion, war, sacrifice, and faith run deep beneath the surface. The game doesn’t hold your hand, but that’s part of its charm: you must piece together meaning from fragments. For lore hunters and fans of minimalist storytelling, there’s plenty to dissect. Salt and Sanctuary is a landmark indie title that successfully brought the essence of Dark Souls into 2D. It's brutal, atmospheric, and endlessly replayable, with dense mechanics and a rewarding gameplay loop. While the visuals and difficulty may deter some players, those who stick with it will find a dark gem with a powerful gravitational pull. Pros: -Deep and flexible character progression -Tight, skill-based combat with huge build variety -Interconnected world with strong exploration rewards -Atmospheric design and haunting soundtrack -Engaging boss fights and memorable enemy design Cons: -Art style may feel visually cluttered for some -Story is cryptic to the point of obscurity -Occasional difficulty spikes and wonky hit detection -Platforming can be stiff, especially in later zones Salt and Sanctuary is 2D Souls distilled into its purest form—savage, cryptic, and deeply satisfying. A must-play for fans of the genre, and a blueprint for future indie action-RPGs. Rating: 9/10
Expand the review
It's a good soulslike, but it has a hard time standing on its own two feet: Gameplay wise it's addicting and fun, but everything else feels a bit forgettable(?). I recommend it to anyone who enjoys souls like games in general, but i wouldn't say this will be a life changing experience. An 8/10 in my book.
Expand the review
You begin as a sailor shipwrecked on the Isle of Salt. You're on a mission to save some princess. Naturally, there's lore and characters talking in riddles, yet that's all you need to know. I took a liking to this game immediately due to its responsive controls - that's something a trailer can't convey. Loved it shortly. Love at first... not sight, I didn't even like the look before playing... at first goresplosion - definitely! Blood splatters and enemy torsos flying off their legs after I hit them with a gigantic morning star have sold me right off the bat. The executions are delightful, too! Soon, I learned to appreciate the grimy setting as it revealed its sights macabre. From rundown villages and foggy heights of abandoned fortresses to pitch-black dungeons with stairs going down for days, I relished in Salt's atmosphere and its epic music. Its style is unsophisticated yet uniform. Sure, the puppet-like animation is budgetary, but good particle effects and punchiness offset it. Various equipment that displays on your character's model never gets old, yet somehow I still looked like a bum by the end. As for the issues, I sometimes experienced baffling framedrops. Too slight to be bothered, too weird to ignore. Ooh, how dare they have mild technical problems. That's the extent of my rage, let's move on. Heights Genre-wise, think Hollow Knight with Dark Souls' deliberation. It's a metroidvania first, involving mandatory abilities required to progress. You're gonna obtain a slick moveset by the end, being able to walk on ceilings in certain areas, wall jump, air dash. It's also a soulslike since you get your sanctuaries for bonfires, salt as souls you can level up with or lose on traditionally quick death, upgradeable gear as an incentive for exploration, and stamina-based combat with a trusty roll as your saving grace. Not the only one, for some attacks are best avoided by jumping. When it comes to your means of offence, there are plenty of weapons, some sporting interesting combos or special moves. Not as intricate as Dark Souls, but let's face it: there, the battles are also 2-dimensional with rare exceptions, quite literally. You could fight in DS from a top-down perspective, couldn't you? While it's obvious that the metroidvania aspect took the wheel, Salt's combat is good enough. It's not that easy to master. And when you do, you still never feel safe. I mostly mean normal enemies who can put you in a world of pain if you aren't careful. At times, there's no escaping a wombo-combo, a tricky ability, or a malicious placement. I respect such an encounter design that makes you think before attacking. Also, f#ck them unicorns with a blowtorch. But nothing killed me as often as heights. Since the game is a platformer at its core, expect many frustrating falls. However, as I've said before, the controls are responsive enough to make traversal and fighting fun ordeals to master. I enjoyed platforming the most because it spiced up the main course, that being the exploration of this game's vast interconnected world. Filled to the brim with secret walls, shortcut porn, and branching paths, typically leading to several bossfights you can tackle in your preferred order. The biomes they inhabit are curiously themed if not that spectacular visually. Just check out the names: The Festering Banquet, Red Hall of Cages, Mire of Stench... Don't you wanna be there right now? A reductionist would claim these are just sets of the same old platforms in different colour schemes, but I think the authors managed to imbue each area with a unique charm. More importantly, unique monsters. Considering how sprawling and intricately looped locations can be, I could surely use a map to orient myself. Alas, there's none, so I had to rely on the rare landmarks and my own mental chart. As accurate as a treasure map drawn by a blind child. Following that map, I lost my souls left and right, getting killed in every dark corner of the world I couldn't always find again. Dips And I enjoyed my freedom to do so! Both in terms of RPG elements and the joys of enduring the hardships of a free-roaming adventure. The former are rather basic, so I won't even stop at them for too long. You get your boring skill tree where you invest in nodes that give you stats and class upgrades, allowing you to use better stuff. No interesting perks or anything. Mage, str, faith, dex builds. Flexible, if standard. Be wary, respec points are rare. I played as a paladin, using no shield, relying on one-handed weapons and cleric buffs. Not weak, nor peak. The progression system is nothing to write home about, yet the rest is regulated by plentiful gear and consumables, making it serviceable. Powerful gear, magic, and game-changing rings are dispensed at just the right intervals. Finding a well-hidden stash never ceases to be a cause for celebration. Good stuff. Two things that hinder exploration are wounds and stamina fatigue. Between the bonfires, your health and stamina bars caps lower the more you swing your weapon or take damage. I wouldn't say that dubious addition is crippling since it can be easily mitigated. Just worthless. Much like the real stinkers of the show. Yeah, we're going for the bosses. Most bosses were a cakewalk even for a scrub like me. I was waiting for them to get punishing, forcing me to learn my class and enemy patterns. It didn't happen, they only got tankier. Some had adds, some had instakill combos, but nothing interesting. There's a ton of bosses, alas, most of them have blurred from my memory. Their mechanics are paper-thin, they all sport extremely limited patterns, being weak to attack spam. At least killing them rewards you with ashes you can use for transmutation. A fancy word for converting your stick into a boss stick. I used it once or twice. In rare cases, you'll see badass designs like the Tree of Men. It is what it says it is, only less sexy. Some wear dubious names. Who called the Disemboweled Husk that? He was so much more than this! A pirate and... well, a pirate. And how can you forget some ghosts with an axe or a... big... brown... guy? Eventually, I stopped remembering their names. The Witch of the Lake was the first one to give me (bullet) hell. Her fight slapped. So did the final boss! And the dragon before him looks badass. But too little too late. Mere 3-5 out of 20+ bosses are decent. The rest popped like bubbles. But hey, not everyone plays to sweat and it makes for a good gateway drug. Not Just Hollow Souls Bad bosses and bland progression stop Salt two steps away from greatness. Two and a half if you count the lack of a map. That said, for the dimensions and budget Ska Studios had, some design flaws were to be expected. I think the game played to its strengths competently enough to look past its shortcomings. It's varied and gratifying in other regards, with exploration clearly being the top priority. Seeing how much thought went into building Salt's world, it doesn't seem to be a soulless cash-in on the trend I mistook it for initially. Instead, to me, it was a better substitute than most soulslikes I've seen. Or is it a wannabe? Can't say for sure, it depends on your preferences. I realise that it won't scratch the itch if bosses are the most important ingredient of Souls for you. I have respect for your position, it's understandable. But if you go in looking for a quality metroidvania with light soulslike elements and all the pleasant hustle packed in that combination, Salt and Sanctuary would be a bang for your buck. After all, I enjoyed the game for what it was, and I couldn't put it down for long until I was done. In my easily distracted world, such an engaging loop calls for a strong recommendation. All things considered, Salt is a hollow soulslike. But it's a rock-solid metroidvania. My curator [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/35305390-Big-Bad-Mutuh/?appid=262060]Big Bad Mutuh
Expand the review
Many people call it a "2D Dark Souls," and it truly feels like Dark Souls has been directly translated into 2D. On the downside, the 2D world makes navigating the world and its map design much more intricate than expected. On the upside, it's impossible not to have fun. 2D 다크소울.
Expand the review
Salt and Sanctuary is a certified hood classic when it comes to 2D Souls-likes, probably one of the best ones around. It's a must play if you're a fan of the genre!
Expand the review
Similar games
View all
Death's Gambit: Afterlife
Death's Gambit: Afterlife is a challenging 2D action platformer with deep RPG elements. As an agent of Death bound to his service, unravel the mystery of Siradon and discover the true price of immortality.
Nine Sols
Nine Sols is a lore rich, hand-drawn 2D action-platformer featuring Sekiro-inspired deflection focused combat. Embark on a journey of eastern fantasy, explore the land once home to an ancient alien race, and follow a vengeful hero’s quest to slay the 9 Sols, formidable rulers of this forsaken realm.
Blasphemous
Blasphemous is a brutal action-platformer with skilled hack’n slash combat set in the nightmare world of Cvstodia. Explore, upgrade your abilities, and perform savage executions on the hordes of enemies that stand between you and your quest to break eternal damnation.
Skelethrone: The Prey
This game is a challenging 2D action platformer with RPG elements inspired by games like Castlevania and Dark Souls. Skelethrone: The Prey is a free prequel to the main game, setting the stage for the events that will unfold throughout Skelethrone: The Chronicles of Ericona campaign.
3000th Duel
3000th Duel is action-adventure game that has speedy, exciting battles as its charm. Fight against monsters with your own style of battle to travel an unidentified world and discover a secret hidden.
GRIME
Destroy... Absorb... Grow... GRIME is a fast and unforgiving Action-Adventure RPG in which you crush your foes with living weapons that mutate form and function, and then consume their remains with a black hole to strengthen your vessel as you break apart a world of anatomical horror and intrigue.
ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights
ENDER LILIES is a dark fantasy 2D action RPG about unraveling the mysteries of a destroyed kingdom. On this sorrowful journey, encounter horrific enemies against whom a moment of inattention could be fatal. Overcome these hardships and seek the truth with the help of fallen knights.
The Devil Within: Satgat
Join Kim Rip, a Royal Guard whose humanity is gradually slipping away, on a thrilling 2.5D action-adventure platforming journey in 'The Devil Within: Satgat'. Uncover the mysteries of a desolate realm as you engage in stylish battles against formidable foes.
ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist
Decades after the events of ENDER LILIES, Homunculi — sorrowful, artificial life forms — roam the land. In this dark fantasy Metroidvania, face formidable enemies and explore a bewitching post-apocalyptic world. Humans and Homunculi — what awaits at the end of the quest for their salvation?
Aeterna Noctis
Aeterna Noctis is a challenging metroidvania that majestically combines action, exploration and adventure. With 2 game modes and difficulty based on action or the exclusive Noctis mode where a level of difficulty is added in precision platforming never seen in the metroidvania genre.
DARK SOULS™: REMASTERED
Then, there was fire. Re-experience the critically acclaimed, genre-defining game that started it all. Beautifully remastered, return to Lordran in stunning high-definition detail running at 60fps.
Frequently Asked Questions
Salt and Sanctuary is currently priced at 17.99€ on Steam.
Salt and Sanctuary is currently not on sale. You can purchase it for 17.99€ on Steam.
Salt and Sanctuary received 18,485 positive votes out of a total of 20,652 achieving a rating of 8.75.
😎
Salt and Sanctuary was developed and published by Ska Studios.
Salt and Sanctuary is playable and fully supported on Windows.
Salt and Sanctuary is playable and fully supported on MacOS.
Salt and Sanctuary is playable and fully supported on Linux.
Salt and Sanctuary offers both single-player and multi-player modes.
Salt and Sanctuary offers both Co-op and PvP modes.
Salt and Sanctuary does not currently offer any DLC.
Salt and Sanctuary does not support mods via Steam Workshop.
Salt and Sanctuary supports Remote Play on TV and Remote Play Together. Discover more about Steam Remote Play.
Salt and Sanctuary is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for Salt and Sanctuary.
Data sources
The information presented on this page is sourced from reliable APIs to ensure accuracy and relevance. We utilize the Steam API to gather data on game details, including titles, descriptions, prices, and user reviews. This allows us to provide you with the most up-to-date information directly from the Steam platform.
Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.
Last Updates| Steam data | 09 June 2025 07:26 |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 09 June 2025 22:53 |
| Steam price | 14 June 2025 12:43 |
| Steam reviews | 12 June 2025 22:00 |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about Salt and Sanctuary, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about Salt and Sanctuary
- SteamCharts - Analysis of Salt and Sanctuary concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck Salt and Sanctuary compatibility
Game modes
Features
Online players
44
Developer
Ska Studios
Publisher
Ska Studios
Release
17 May 2016
Platforms
Remote Play