Salt and Sacrifice Review Summary

Seamless co-op and excellent map design shine, but repetitive mage hunts and the lack of a map frustrate, making it worse than its predecessor.

Game is fun and enjoyable: Many reviewers found the game fun, smooth, and engaging, with several noting it is especially enjoyable in multiplayer. The overall sentiment is positive, with players finishing the game and praising its playability.

Mage hunting mechanic fun: The mage-hunting mechanic is consistently praised as interesting, satisfying, and fun. Reviewers enjoy the challenge and variety that mage hunts bring to the gameplay.

Seamless co-op praised: Players highlight the seamless co-op experience, which supports two players without needing to exit during a playthrough. The co-op is described as stable, excellent, and very good overall.

Map design is excellent: The map design is considered high quality, with each map having its own characteristics, shortcuts, and layered exploration. Reviewers appreciate the variety and thought put into the level layouts.

Graphics and animations beautiful: The game is praised for its beautiful graphics and animations, which are considered a significant upgrade. The visual presentation adds to the overall enjoyment.

Worse than predecessor: Players consistently state the game is a significant downgrade from the first game, lacking its depth, spirit, and overall quality. This sentiment is echoed across multiple clusters, highlighting a widespread disappointment.

Repetitive mage hunts: The mage hunting mechanic is widely criticized for being repetitive and tedious, especially as the game progresses. Players find chasing mages across maps to be a frustrating and monotonous gameplay loop.

No map causes frustration: The absence of an in-game map is a major point of criticism, leading to players getting lost and feeling frustrated during exploration. This issue is frequently mentioned and significantly impacts navigation.

Boss fights are repetitive: Boss encounters are often described as repetitive and bland, with many bosses being mages that feel like reskins. This lack of variety and challenge makes boss fights forgettable and reduces overall enjoyment.

Combat feels clunky: The combat system is described as clunky, simplistic, and lacking the smoothness of the previous game. This negatively affects the core gameplay experience and contributes to the overall dissatisfaction.

Monster Hunter and Souls-like blend: The game is frequently compared to Monster Hunter and Dark Souls, blending their mechanics in a 2D format. It is seen as more Monster Hunter-like than a traditional Soulslike, with a focus on hunting and crafting.

Boss fights with chasing: The game features numerous boss encounters, including a vampire boss and final boss, with mechanics that require learning movements and chasing bosses across the map. Bosses can summon minions and even fight each other.

Mage hunting is core mechanic: The game revolves around hunting mages, which involves chasing them across different areas and fighting them in arenas. This mechanic is central to progression and gameplay.

Mages as enemies and bosses: Mages serve as both regular enemies and boss-like targets, often running away, teleporting, and summoning minions. They are fought in designated arenas and can fight each other.

Metroidvania exploration elements: The game incorporates Metroidvania-style exploration with backtracking and items that unlock previously inaccessible areas. This is combined with Souls-like and Monster Hunter elements.

Performance praised on low-end hardware: Players report the game runs smoothly on low-spec devices and on any PC, with very little battery usage on SteamDeck. This indicates good optimization for modest hardware.

Optimization issues and frame drops: Some players find the game poorly optimized, experiencing occasional frame drops or lag that disrupt timing-dependent situations. This suggests performance inconsistencies across different systems.

Fullscreen and borderless tab-out bugs: Fullscreen mode can bug out when tabbing out and prevent reopening the game, while borderless mode flickers white rapidly. These are display-related issues that impact usability.

Crash due to NullReferenceException: The game crashes with a System.NullReferenceException error, which is a specific technical issue that can frustrate players. This bug likely needs a patch to resolve.

Hit detection feels inconsistent: Players note that hit detection can sometimes feel inconsistent, affecting gameplay fairness. This is a common but vague complaint that may require further investigation.

Not for first game fans: Multiple clusters indicate that fans of the original Salt and Sanctuary should avoid this sequel, as it fails to meet expectations and is considered inferior. Players are advised to play the first game instead.

Buy only on sale: Many reviewers suggest waiting for a sale or purchasing the game at a discounted price, indicating that the game is not worth its full price. This is a common recommendation across multiple clusters.

Play first game instead: Several reviewers explicitly recommend playing Salt and Sanctuary instead of this sequel, stating that the original is a better option for this type of game. This reinforces the idea that the sequel is disappointing.

Avoid this game: Several reviewers strongly advise against playing the game, stating that players will not enjoy it and should stay away. This reflects a general negative sentiment toward the game's quality.

Recommended for soulslike fans: Some reviewers recommend the game to fans of soulslike games and 2D Soulsborne titles, particularly those who haven't played the first game. This suggests the game has appeal for newcomers to the series.

Community fair range: $8.00 - $12.00.

Game completion: 32.0h.

Story completion: 30.0h.

Session length: 0.8h.

Salt and Sacrifice is fun at first, with a compelling early feedback loop, but quickly becomes tedious due to repetitive mage hunts and chase sequences, though co-op can significantly improve the experience.

Friction: Repetitive mage hunts; Tedious chase sequences; Enemy respawning during hunts; Boss fights that feel like a slog.

Unlock drivers: Co-op play.

Disappointed Sequel Purist: Solo, focusing on exploration and build variety, but frustrated by repetitive Mage Hunts and dead multiplayer. Motivation: To experience a worthy successor to Salt and Sanctuary, but they are driven by disappointment and critique. Stance: deep sale.

Co-op Hunter: Plays in co-op, coordinating with friends, using varied builds, and focusing on teamwork. Motivation: To enjoy cooperative hunting and boss fights with friends, turning grind into a shared experience. Stance: buy.

Frustrated Solo Soulslike: Solo, focusing on combat mastery, but often frustrated by unavoidable damage and grind. Motivation: To overcome challenging solo combat and progression, but they are driven by critique of unfair mechanics. Stance: deep sale.

Steam Deck: The game runs well on the Steam Deck with good battery life, but some users experience control responsiveness and performance lag. Overall, it is a playable experience without major technical barriers like forced Proton or launchers.

External guides: The primary complaints are about bugs that occur when tabbing out to check guides, and a design issue of withholding information. There is also a positive note about the wiki's existence, which helps mitigate the dependency. The overall wiki tax is low, as the main issues are technical glitches rather than a need for extensive external data.

Comparisons to Salt and Sanctuary: Many reviews compare the game to Salt and Sanctuary, noting it is a different experience rather than a direct sequel. Some feel it is worse, while others appreciate its unique identity.

Different from predecessor: Many reviews highlight that the game is very different from the first Salt and Sanctuary, with changes to structure and gameplay. Some see this as a positive, others as a negative.

Monster Hunter comparisons: The game is frequently compared to Monster Hunter for its boss-hunting and crafting mechanics. Reviewers note it borrows elements but lacks the polish and fun of that series.

Unfavorable comparisons to first game: A significant number of reviews compare the game unfavorably to its predecessor, stating it is a downgrade in level design, atmosphere, and overall quality. The original is often considered superior.

Dark Souls comparisons: The game is compared to Dark Souls and Dark Souls 2, with some noting it shares soulslike elements but lacks polish. The hub-based world is compared to Demon's Souls and Majula.