Salt and Sanctuary (PS4)

[drahkon]

 

 

A doomed sailor is shipwrecked on an uncharted island. In fog-shrouded valleys, where grinning, mossy corpses cling to rusted arms, shambling figures begin to stir. Beneath crumbling, salt-worn structures, labyrinthine passageways lead to unspeakable evil, long forgotten by man.

 

Salt and Sanctuary seamlessly combines fast, brutal, and complex 2D combat with richly developed RPG mechanics. Discover, craft, and upgrade over 600 weapons, armor pieces, spells, and items as you explore a cursed realm of forgotten cities, blood-soaked dungeons, desecrated monuments, and the fallen lords they once celebrated.

It's out on PS4, will be released on Vita and Steam at a later date (to be announced).

 

 

Figured this could use its own thread (which will probably be used by only @ThePigMarcher and me ).

 

Started a new game with the Paladin class. Managed to kill the first boss and open up some shortcuts.

And that first boss was kinda cool. First phase was very easy, but then he added a lot more attacks - or rather combos. I died once, but on my second try I destroyed him : peace:

 

The skill tree is insane. So much to get. Think I'll focus on strength, heavy armor and maybe shields first. But I'd like to go down the wisdom-route for some prayers, too

 

So far the game is great as it nails the Souls-feeling.

[Hero-of-Time]

The game is probably not for me but I will say that visually the game looks gorgeous, in a dark, grim kinda way. I suppose the same goes for the Souls games.

[ThePigMarcher]

I played a bit more of this today and opened up a few more shortcuts as well as found a couple of secret areas which had some useful items in them.

 

Managed to get to the second boss but because I was foolishly treating the game as a hack-n-slash I had more trouble with that battle than I probably should have. As soon as I adopted the more measured 'Souls' approach I did get past it. Having a look through the menus I noticed the bestiary tells you how many of each enemy you've slain as well as how many times you've died to them, bosses included, I have a feeling that I won't be looking in there too often

 

Found a couple of new Creeds and have joined a new one, although I haven't really worked out the pitfalls/benefits of each one. That said, depending on which NPC's you add to a specific sanctuary owned by said Creed it does seem that different 'services' become available. Either that or I've just not picked up on how many different NPC's can be found in the game.

 

Also a bit more exploring led me to the fourth boss, I say fourth but the game isn't completely linear so I may be going in the wrong direction and given the beating I'm currently taking I could well be.

 

In short, absolutely loving this game so far and any fans of 'Souls-like' games REALLY need to pick this up.

[drahkon]

Decided to start again because I didn't realize that you could upgrade a skill-slot and because I wanted to use a Stone Guide in the first sanctuary.

 

Have only played for 20 minutes with the new character just now. Hoping to spend a lot more time with this during the weekend. : peace:

 

Edit: Man, those factions sure confuse me. When you're in one you can't make offerings in a sanctuary that are occupied by a different creed. That's kind of a shame, because my fast-travel-plans won't work

 

Anyway, I assume I have reached the second (?) boss, but haven't fought it, yet. There was a message indicating that a difficult fight might be ahead. By the way @ThePigMarcher: Have you noticed those candlestands? I noticed one just before the first boss and there's one at the place where I assume the next boss will be. I guess those are there to make sure you don't stumble into a boss unprepared. But maybe I'm wrong and it's a coincidence

 

There's also another place I've reached. Some kind of woods. Not sure what I'll do next: try to fight the boss or take a tour through this area.

 

Edit 2:

Managed to beat the boss. Was very easy. Using the shield to block her attacks and then use an opening to do damage. It was a much easier fight than the first boss...

 

I ended up in those woods, managed to beat an ogre or troll, progressed nicely through the forest...and then I fell to my death. Lost 1800 salt

Edit 3:

Killed the next boss. I hate enemies that spawn more enemies Now I have access to the Sunken Keep, but instead of going there I ventured further to the right. I got ganged by some little fuckers that ripped me apart Well, I'll have to get my 2900 salt back so I'll try to reach that point and again and kill 'em. If I manage to do that I think I'll go through the Sunken Keep.

Found another candlestand right before this boss so my assumption seems to be right.

 

This game...soooo good

Edited March 18, 2016 by drahkon

[drahkon]

If there's one thing that annoys me with this game it's the NPC situation. Without trial and error you don't know whether an offering to summon an NPC at a sanctuary is worth it or not. And if you realize that you've made a mistake...well, too late because you can't undo it.

 

And then there's the Creeds. Once you're in a creed you can only make an offering at a sanctuary that belongs to that creed. With my first character I've entered each faction as soon as I got the opportunity to do so. Turns out, this isn't the best idea. However, staying with one creed locks you out of certain sanctuaries as they require you to join a different creed. While I'm all for difficulty, this is just annoying...

 

Anyway, decided to start yet again because I'd like to do a full playthrough with that knowledge. This time I'm a mage. It's quite a different playstyle, of course. Looking forward to it

 

I'll keep my first character, though. Think I'll use him for my Vita playthrough when that version is out : peace:

[ThePigMarcher]

I also noticed the candle thing and someone told me that more candles light up according to the number of deaths to that particular boss, however, I didn't really notice that, especially when one boss yesterday resulted in numerous retries. I also noticed that a couple of the bosses appear to have gallows nearby which look to have the corpses of recent victims hanging from them.

 

I also agree that the creed thing is needlessly convoluted and that has been my only real issue with the game so far. It is bad enough that, at first, placements of NPC's at Sanctuaries is a crapshoot so it would have been nice to have been able to remove those that weren't needed. In a couple of Sanctuaries I have Sellswords placed but given that I have no intention of doing co-op in the game their placement is a waste.

 

Rejoining a creed that you've previously abandoned is also a bit of a pain and, despite numerous short-cuts, traversing back to the required NPC is still inconvenient. Also any progress you've made levelling up within the creed appears to be reset, I'd levelled the 'forest' creed up to 4 previously but after briefly leaving them I then had to re-level it. Not a particular issue as I still had numerous items needed but it may be a pain later on if the required items are rare.

 

I've done nine bosses so far, most haven't been too challenging (bar one or two) but they have been memorable and unique enough, certainly more memorable than any of those in Dark Souls II. I had a bit of a lucky escape with one as I was exploring an area I don't think I was supposed to be in yet, an area which had invisible/very hard to see enemies. Whilst exploring said area I fell off a ledge whilst fighting one of the invisible enemies and I thought the fall would kill me but I survived it with a slither of health, only to be greeted by a bloody boss. Thankfully, I recovered just enough and managed to kill the boss on the first attempt.

 

I'm currently running around a little lost now as most of the areas that I should be headed to next (I assume anyway) are gated off and it appears that I may need to find another 'brand' or two to progress. I am loving my Dex/thief build and have now transmuted my principle two weapons so I'm now sporting poison daggers as well as a pretty nasty sword/whip thing which has been levelled up a bit and on which I tend to swap between lightning/fire damage. I've also opted to build my guy to allow for use of some 'prayers' and have a couple of decent ones, that includes some for faster healing, removing poison and applying holy damage to weapons.

 

One other point worth mentioning is that Ska Studios have absolutely nailed the level design. One area in particular that I was in a couple of days ago must have contained 4 or 5 short-cuts in to/out of the place as well as really nice short-cuts from the Sanctuary (and another shrine) to the area boss. It was reminiscent of the very best of Dark Souls and Ska have aped that perfectly.

Edited March 20, 2016 by ThePigMarcher

[drahkon]

Also any progress you've made levelling up within the creed appears to be reset, I'd levelled the 'forest' creed up to 4 previously but after briefly leaving them I then had to re-level it.

 

That's good to know. I've levelled my devotion to The Three once, so I'll keep that in mind.

 

Can you confirm/do you remember whether you instantly converted to a different Creed when you used a sanctuary that belonged to a different one than you are a member of?

I'm a bit scared of activating the forest-sanctuary and maybe losing my devotion to The Three

 

I am loving my Dex/thief build and have now transmuted my principle two weapons so I'm now sporting poison daggers as well as a pretty nasty sword/whip thing which has been levelled up a bit and on which I tend to swap between lightning/fire damage

 

Sounds awesome I hope I can transmute my lowly wand into a better one soon. I need to find an Alchemist first (and maybe the specific material needed for a wand-transmutation).

 

My mage has become quite powerful. The lightning spell is amazing. Currently using a Soldier's Spear (which gives me a nice range boost for melee attacks in comparison to that sword you have from the beginning) and a Wand.

So far I have only moved through the Skill Tree on the "mage" path. Served me well

 

If I finish my first run on the PS4 before the game is out on the Vita I'll definitely wait with the NG+ run. I'd love to play this on my Vita

[ThePigMarcher]

Can you confirm/do you remember whether you instantly converted to a different Creed when you used a sanctuary that belonged to a different one than you are a member of?

I'm a bit scared of activating the forest-sanctuary and maybe losing my devotion to The Three

 

From what I recall, as long as it's a new Creed and not one that you've previously been a member of then yes, you'll be instantly converted the moment you pray to that Creed. That said, I have only discovered three Creeds and most of the Sanctuaries I have discovered lately have all been empty so it was simply a case of claiming them for my current Creed, so my memory may be failing me.

 

Hopefully I'll soon find a new Sanctuary which is already inhabited so I can refresh my memory , although obviously it would mean giving up my 'Stone Roots' membership which has now been levelled to 5.

 

 

If I finish my first run on the PS4 before the game is out on the Vita I'll definitely wait with the NG+ run. I'd love to play this on my Vita

 

Definitely yes, this game would be a perfect fit on Vita. However, given how badly they've implemented Remote Play, or so I've heard anyway, that Vita version may be a little way off yet.

[drahkon]

From what I recall, as long as it's a new Creed and not one that you've previously been a member of then yes, you'll be instantly converted the moment you pray to that Creed.

 

Hm, think I'll keep clear of certain sanctuaries, then. Getting back to where I'm supposed to go will take longer, though as I have only three sanctuaries available.

I need to go to Castle of Storms next (I assume) and I have to use the first sanctuary for now

 

Definitely yes, this game would be a perfect fit on Vita. However, given how badly they've implemented Remote Play, or so I've heard anyway, that Vita version may be a little way off yet.

 

Yeah, controls for remote play are really shitty and the text is way too small. Here's hoping they'll improve that for the Vita release (I wouldn't mind a complete inventory design overhaul).

 

 

I have to say, those issues I've mentioned aren't that big of a deal. Especially if you consider that Salt and Sanctuary is made by two (!) people. The game is incredible and the best 16€ I've spent since Necrodancer.

Edited March 20, 2016 by drahkon

[ThePigMarcher]

I need to go to Castle of Storms next (I assume) and I have to use the first sanctuary for now

 

Good luck! That place felt like a major step-up in difficulty, that just may have been me having an off day though

 

 

 

I have to say, those issues I've mentioned aren't that big of a deal. Especially if you consider that Salt and Sanctuary is made by two (!) people. The game is incredible and the best 16€ I've spent.

 

QFT! Despite a couple of very minor niggling issues this game has far exceeded the rather lofty expectations I had for it. By far one of the best downloadable games I've purchased in recent times.

 

As to your question re: Creeds and Sanctuaries. I finally found a new Sanctuary that wasn't empty nor already owned by my existing Creed and I can confirm that 'Offering a prayer' will instantly make you a member of that Creed. Now to level up my devotion again

 

EDIT: Two more bosses done today and on both of them I managed to get killed shortly afterwards before cashing in my salt and on BOTH occasions I failed to recover the salt due to stupid deaths on my part. Those two deaths alone cost me a fraction under 50k in salt so I was not amused. I did however pick up another 'brand' so have an idea where to head to next.

Edited March 20, 2016 by ThePigMarcher

[drahkon]

Good luck! That place felt like a major step-up in difficulty, that just may have been me having an off day though

 

I didn't have that much trouble with it. If I didn't have 4 Spice Meads (recovers fatigue and focus after casting spells) I would've probably needed to adjust and use melee combat a bit more, though.

My lightning spells are quite powerful : peace:

 

Found the sanctuary in the Castle of Storms and I'm close to the boss fight. Not started it, yet, because I'm hungry

 

I finally found a new Sanctuary that wasn't empty nor already owned by my existing Creed and I can confirm that 'Offering a prayer' will instantly make you a member of that Creed.

 

Phew, glad I dodged that bullet :p

 

Those two deaths alone cost me a fraction under 50k in salt so I was not amused.

 

Wow, what level is your character? I usually tend to not have more than 8k salt with me (except after a boss).

[ThePigMarcher]

Wow, what level is your character? I usually tend to not have more than 8k salt with me (except after a boss).

 

Currently level 63, which may be overkill.

 

I equipped the 'Grasping ring' quite early and have never really taken it off, combine that with moments of getting lost (so frequent farming) and that salt soon mounts up. I'm also not buying much in the way of gear from merchants as I have most elemental damage/resists covered already, so if the cash accumulates I just buy bags of salt, after all, it also means there's less cash for the 'mystery man' to grab every time I die

[drahkon]

I equipped the 'Grasping ring' quite early and have never really taken it off, combine that with moments of getting lost (so frequent farming) and that salt soon mounts up

 

I've chosen the Grasping Ring as my "Effect" (the gift you can take during character creation) and haven't taken it off since. Still "only" level 46.

 

The following spoiler is not a spoiler for you, ThePigMarcher. Others should be warned.

 

Defeated the Wyrm in the Castle of Storms. Possibly the hardest boss so far. But quite awesome

It was my lightning against his fire.

He killed me once, then I bested him : peace:

After that I ventured further down instead of right.

 

You said it earlier: the level design is great. I've unlocked two shortcuts to a Sanctuary which are kinda linked. It's so awesome.

 

Edit: Well, this happened:

 

 

Yes, I've realized there was a second array of breakable platforms too late...this fucking boss surprised me with its appearance.

Edit 2: 6 hours in, 8 bosses down. And according to the trophy list I defeated them in order.

 

Edit 3: Another boss down. And now I don't know where to go Something new opened up with a lot of branching paths, but there's still a road left that I haven't ventured on earlier. But if my assumption is right no matter which of those two paths I'll choose I'll end up in the same area.

Edited March 21, 2016 by drahkon

[ThePigMarcher]

Been on a bit of a roll since yesterday afternoon after taking down those two bosses which I failed to cash in the salt for.

 

I managed to drop three more bosses last night (inc the only one so far that I didn't get a trophy for :confused), found another 'brand' as well as another Creed. That latest Creed I managed to level my devotion to six straight away and I only have one more 'job' to do for them so I'll be really reluctant to leave them should I find anymore. That last job is going to be a bit of a pain though as the enemy required is rare enough in itself so getting the drops is going to be even harder.

 

This afternoon I have managed one more boss which also led to me finding the last 'brand', so now that I have them all it'll make exploring the island that much easier. Looks like it's time to backtrack to some of those paths that I couldn't access previously, assuming I can remember where they all are .

 

EDIT: Been wrapping up a few more of those bosses and I don't imagine there being many more left in the game. @drahkon, found a sort of solution to the unwanted NPC's in Sanctuary problem, although it means losing all the NPC's in one and not just the unwanted guest.

 

There's an item in the inventory, the name escapes me but I think it's something like 'spoiled page'. Crushing one in a Sanctuary is deemed as 'desecration' and will lead to all of the NPC's in said Sanctuary attacking you. Not just them though, although I'll let you discover that for yourself :wink:

 

I also means that you will get attacked should you visit any other Sanctuary that is owned by that same Creed. It's worth noting that it also costs a considerable amount of salt to remove the sin of 'desecration'.

 

That said, there are a couple of items gained from doing this so it's worth doing at least once.

 

Edited March 24, 2016 by ThePigMarcher

[drahkon]

There's an item in the inventory, the name escapes me but I think it's something like 'spoiled page'. Crushing one in a Sanctuary is deemed as 'desecration' and will lead to all of the NPC's in said Sanctuary attacking you. Not just them though, although I'll let you discover that for yourself :wink:

 

I also means that you will get attacked should you visit any other Sanctuary that is owned by that same Creed. It's worth noting that it also costs a considerable amount of salt to remove the sin of 'desecration'.

 

That said, there are a couple of items gained from doing this so it's worth doing at least once.

 

I see, thanks : peace: I'll probably need to do that as soon as I find that "mage Creed"

 

Haven't played this in a while. Might go back to it later today.

[ThePigMarcher]

Just finished this and man, what an excellent game.

 

Already touched on the level design and variety of bosses and these stayed constantly brilliant throughout, there were a couple of latter areas which seemed to rely on leaps of faith which undid some of the previously excellent level design but thankfully this was rare and for the most part there seemed to be subtle visual indicators on most of those.

 

Judging by the trophies, I discovered all the Creeds and bosses (including a couple of optional ones) but then exploring the island was such a joy it would have been hard to miss them. I did seem to miss a couple of the NPC questlines however so I'll need to be more mindful of that in the NG+.

 

Speaking of NG+, I did make a very brief start on it and it appears that it really does not mess about, even the first boss gave me a little trouble and that was with me wielding a maxed out weapon. Admittedly, I could probably have done more armour upgrades first time around and given just how hard that first boss could hit on NG+ that will be my priority should I continue on at this time. I would but my backlog is pretty nightmarish at the moment so I should probably tackle some of those instead, at least until the Vita version of this game arrives.

 

Money well spent and comes highly recommended. In fact, I'm a little surprised that only myself and Drahkon seem to have picked this up.

[Sheikah]

I will be getting this (avid Souls player with a plat for each game). Only thing is I'm currently in Japan, and this isn't available on Vita.

[drahkon]

Just finished this and man, what an excellent game.

 

Just defeated the final boss and I have to echo what you said: An excellent game.

 

Already touched on the level design and variety of bosses and these stayed constantly brilliant throughout

 

Agree. And I also have to agree with your point on leap of faiths. They are unnecessary.

 

Aside from a couple of minor issues (leap of faiths, mage is WAY too overpowered, inventory management is a hassle, trial and error with the Creeds, remote play controls) the game is really, reeeeaaally good. Definitely one of my GOTY contenders, no matter what.

 

Judging by the trophies, I discovered all the Creeds and bosses (including a couple of optional ones) but then exploring the island was such a joy it would have been hard to miss them. I did seem to miss a couple of the NPC questlines however so I'll need to be more mindful of that in the NG+.

 

I've missed out on joining one creed because I was scared of what would happen to my almost maxed out creed that I've been part of Sadly I descecrated it before taking an oath...well, not that bad as I'll do that in NG+

Did all NPC quests but one (the thief). Will probably consult a guide for that so I won't miss it again.

 

I "cheated" the ending trophies. Used the good 'ol "back up your saves" trick to get both endings. Wasn't really necessary but I got that out of the way now.

 

Now to decide whether to do a NG+ run immediately or wait for the Vita release.

I'm leaning towards waiting.

[drahkon]

Bump.

 

The Vita version is out next week.

 

2D Dark Souls-like Salt and Sanctuary is coming to Vita on 28th March, developer Ska Studios has announced.

 

This handheld version of the game is a Cross-Buy affair, so those who own the game on PS4 will automatically receive the Vita version at no additional charge.

 

The Salt and Sanctuary Vita port was developed by Sickhead Games, the studio responsible for bringing Stardew Valley to consoles and TowerFall Ascension to Vita.

 

Eurogamer.net

 

I said I'd wait with the Platinum trophy until the game gets a Vita release. I guess it's time to prepare myself

[ThePigMarcher]

I said I'd wait with the Platinum trophy until the game gets a Vita release. I guess it's time to prepare myself

 

That's also what I was intending to do, however, I've not read anything about cross-save etc. Also, according to Ska Studios' twitter there could well be a separate trophy list, as that is what they requested, whether that proves to be the case we'll find out soon enough.

 

That said, I'm still excited to go back and give this another playthrough and I hope it really holds up well on the Vita.

[Hero-of-Time]

That's also what I was intending to do, however, I've not read anything about cross-save etc. Also, according to Ska Studios' twitter there could well be a separate trophy list, as that is what they requested, whether that proves to be the case we'll find out soon enough.

 

That said, I'm still excited to go back and give this another playthrough and I hope it really holds up well on the Vita.

 

Yeah, the trophy list appears to be separate. They popped up over on Exophase the other day.

[drahkon]

Hm, I'll probably focus the Vita version first and get the remaining trophies on the PS4 at a later date.

 

@Hero\-of\-Time will you get this? You enjoyed Bloodborne, if I remember correctly, so this could be for you, as well

[Hero-of-Time]

Hm, I'll probably focus the Vita version first and get the remaining trophies on the PS4 at a later date.

 

@Hero\-of\-Time will you get this? You enjoyed Bloodborne, if I remember correctly, so this could be for you, as well

 

Possibly. I do like the look of it but I have no idea when I would get around to playing it. No doubt I would buy it, have it sit on the shelf for months and then it becomes free on PS+.

[drahkon]

Possibly. I do like the look of it but I have no idea when I would get around to playing it. No doubt I would buy it, have it sit on the shelf for months and then it becomes free on PS+.

 

Well, after reading your first impressions on I Am Setsuna, you should just play Salt and Sanctuary instead :p

[Hero-of-Time]

Well, after reading your first impressions on I Am Setsuna, you should just play Salt and Sanctuary instead :p

 

Haha. True. I've started it so i'll keep plugging away, even if it isn't really drawing me in at the moment.

 

I'm also playing Pokemon Moon and Persona 5 is out next week. Saying that, i'm still not sure if I will be keeping my preorder. It seems that it's more of the same and given that I didn't like Persona 4, purchasing it may not be the right move.