TL; DR Definitely a great game, it has atmosphere, build variety, punishing gameplay, interesting areas to explore, and jumping puzzles. Certainly not for everyone but a must-play if you like a bit of challenge, or if you do not mind getting a bit salty.

Note there is co-op, but only through Remote Play Together, only the host needs to own the game, but only the host’s characters can be used.

You have been charged with escorting the Princess, to take her across the seas to her betrothed, and to put your kingdoms to peace. What a shame that you fail in your duties, the vessel is attacked by pirates and an unspeakable horror, there is nothing you can do, the ship is shattered to splinters but you do not drown, you reawaken on a strange, unfamiliar shore…

I really like Salt and Sanctuary, it has a short but captivating introduction and quickly envelopes you in the mysteries of the island. Where are you, how did you get here, how does this island exist at all, these are one and all good questions and your only hope of finding any answers is by setting out on a journey to the other shore and to the very depths of the isle.
It draws inspiration from certain other titles, and asks you to make connections, pay attention to dialogue, and read descriptions to fully understand the lore, however, the actual narrative is a lot more transparent. Yes, it is missable but Salt and Sanctuary makes an effort to draw your attention to the most important NPCs and the information you need to understand the most fundamental questions.

Another thing in Salt and Sanctuary is all the company you get, you have various NPCs on their own quests, some not too different from yours, but you also have a set of smiths, merchants, and other vendors in each Sanctuary.
It is always great to see friendly faces, especially when the rest of the world is filled with so much hostility, therefore it feels so welcoming to return to a Sanctuary, even if they are filled with nameless NPCs. It is also a nice touch that each Creed has their own views and values, because that can give each playthrough its own flavour, especially if you feel like roleplaying a bit.

Salt and Sanctuary was made by Ska Studios, so it has the Ska Studios art style, and I like that. There are so many cool designs, frightful monsters, tortured souls, and bloated corpses, and everything is so consistently the same style that it immerses you and you can feel like a part of the world, even though it is a far cry from appearing realistic.
It uses darkness, murkiness, muddied and damped tones to sell an atmosphere of a washed out, strange isle in the middle of the ocean. Surprisingly, the areas are very diverse, it is a mishmash of different climates, and ecosystems which ensures that there is always something more to see, and that it can be wildly different from what came before.
This all serves to give Salt and Sanctuary a sombre beauty, and that is an achievement when so much of the game is morose greyscales.

The score is also good, they make use of electric guitars to create tense but thrilling moods, while other songs are more imposing, and even the song that plays in the Sanctuary, where you are safe, feel apprehensive and melancholic. I like all of this but there is one issue, repetition, there are unique themes, but areas and bosses have two repeated tracks each, the only difference between one and the other are slight variations such as the tempo, this means that bosses, and areas lack identity.
The only exception is the final boss, and the associated area, those are by far the best songs in the game, they are fantastic on their own, but it also upends that lack of identity and makes the entire thing even more memorable because it sticks out without any effort at all. That could not have happened if each had their own unique songs, so in summary, I do not know if the repetition works in Salt and Sanctuary’s favour or not.
What I do know is that I think the sounds are great, especially the screams of agony, the throes of death, and the hiss as bosses die and salt gushes forth from their carcasses.

Salt and Sanctuary can be a bit bemusing, finding the Princess seems like a good start but you have no leads, so you explore without a clear idea of your goals, forcing you to rummage through room after room, however, the game does do a good job at funnelling you to new areas, and new abilities, so it all manages to feel very natural. The fact that it can be confusing works in the game’s favour and reinforces the fact that you are in a strange and mysterious land.
It helps that exploration is fun, many places have unique enemies and challenges, rewarding you with neat equipment, interesting problems, and enjoyable encounters. The world is also very interconnected, with several alternative paths to reach a given area, as well as secret locations, which encourages you to revisited, and reexplore, especially after receiving new movement abilities.
You might also find yourself drawn to certain Sanctuaries, filling them with important NPCs, buffing the entire region and spreading your Creed!

As for its combat, it is very deliberate, and pretty slow. You need to manage your stamina and keep an eye on your opponents and their movements. If you make a mistake Salt and Sanctuary is quick to punish you, nor will you be able to survive too many hits, but you are also given plenty of tools to alleviate the harshness and put a fight in your favour.
Enemies are quick to stagger, and since their attacks are easily memorised, you can get in massive, and satisfying counter, seeing enemies fly off after a great hit, feels extremely good. Not to mention that you have tons of weapons, Creed exclusive equipment and a number of spells to make each playthrough unique and interesting, Salt and Sanctuary’s moment-to-moment gameplay is brutal and feels great.
You can exemplify this with the boss fights, generally simple movesets with attacks that can be avoided or exploited in numerous ways, they are fun to figure out and to beat. A few of them act a bit clumsily but most of them feel perfect for this sort of game, so beating a good boss is always great, but especially so when you struggled with it, however, a couple of bosses feel a bit frustrating…
Salt and Sanctuary has jumping puzzles, they are often fun, but I quite dislike bosses that pair platforming with instant death, and Salt and Sanctuary does do that. It is only one boss, but it can be very difficult for certain builds, and certain players, but more importantly it is simply not fun. That is why the Tree of Man is the worst boss in the game, even if other bosses like the Witch of the Lake are more difficult.
There are other platforming challenges with instant death falls, and while they are often optional, they are also worthwhile to do. Just remember to spend your gold before you attempt them as you might find yourself completely broke if you die too much.

Another kind of tree is the skill tree, and Salt and Sanctuary’s skill tree is so large that it feels overwhelming. There are so many paths, and nodes, that new players will not know what to do, therefore the most important thing is figuring out what sort of character you want to play as. As soon as you have a weapon type picked out things will clear up and you can focus on that as you make your way through the massive skill tree, but it is always important to increase your healing capacity.

honestly, i dont give out negative reviews like.. ever? but this one earned one.

i get that i havent been playing this game often, or that i havent played it in a few years time but last night i had the itch to get back in there and explore some stuff on my main file [70+ hrs] and when i booted the game up, there was an update that occurred in may of 2023 that completely wiped out ALL my character saves, and all my game data.

im pretty sure i was on NG+4, with soooo much cool ♥♥♥♥ unlocked/forged/upgraded and now none of that matters.

ive combed everywhere to try and find out what happened to the game saves and they just simply do not exist, and the cloud saves dont exist either and for that, this totally fun and cool take on a 2d souls-like vania, gets a negative review from me.

This game f*cking slaps, it's very challenging and some game mechanics feel downright evil but getting trough it feels incredibly rewarding. There are some aspects of the game where I feel it's more frustrating than fair (NPC quests and a few enemies) that might take away a bit of enjoyment from your experience but overall it's a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ masterpiece. Cop this game if you like souls games.