They know when to take advantage of other enemies' protections, like the accursed Heartseeker who's capable of shielding its comrades.Īnd woe be unto thee if you're snagged by a pack of enemies. They block, weave, duck, and leap from branch to branch while sniping at you with arrows. And I've become quite proficient with shields, because enemies in Salt and Sanctuary hit hard.įoes are plentiful on the dread island you're tasked with exploring, and many of them are clever. I built up my strength a bit because some of the whips I wield are bolstered by my strength stat. Sure, starting the game as a Hunter means my closest stat boosts favor dexterity, but I can wander where I please - and I have. I started as a whip-wielding Hunter, and even though I've continued to build myself up thusly because someone out there has to scratch my Castlevania itch, I'm not locked into place. In fact, your choices are nearly endless thanks to the game's expansive skill tree, which lets you pick from myriad skills and stat buffs whenever you level up.

You're not restricted to any one fighting style. Salt and Sanctuary is a little more flexible and definitely more challenging than Konami's old works, however. So from my angle as a Souls maiden, Salt and Sanctuary is a tough, expansive platforming game that reminds me of Konami's best Castlevania games on the PlayStation and Nintendo DS. Does that have any impact on the fact Terraria is great, and might even be preferable for people who feel a bit overwhelmed by Minecraft's 3D world? Not at all. Is the former inspired by the latter? Absolutely. Heck, even I can see the thematic similarities despite the fact Souls, Bloodborne, and its ilk are all on my 'To Do' list.Īnd while I suppose I can understand why some players might be bothered by the similarities between Salt and Sanctuary and FromSoftware's work, I find myself thinking about Re-Logic's 2D building / exploration game, Terraria, and its similarities to Mojang's Minecraft.

It's important because Ska Studios' Salt and Sanctuary has been noted (accused, even) for being derivative of FromSoftware's brutal action RPG series. Before I dig into Salt and Sanctuary, it's important for me to stand up in front of the class and admit I've yet to play a Souls game.

Salt and sanctuary