Five years ago, fans of the Soulslike genre got a slightly different take on the genre. Salt and Sanctuary picked up many core elements of Dark Souls, from consistently challenging combat to a strong emphasis on the player's build, and applied it to a 2D platformer. Indie developer Ska Studios earned praise for this unique take on the Soulslike formula, and so it's no surprise to hear that a Salt and Sanctuary sequel called Salt and Sacrifice will release next year. From the looks of things, Salt and Sacrifice will offer players a lot of the same imposing enemies and desolate environments that they've grown to love.
The gameplay in Salt and Sacrifice looks like it's similar to Salt and Sanctuary in a lot of departments. Players have classes to choose from, gear to collect, and towering bosses to slay. However, the lore of Salt and Sacrifice differs a little bit. The new 2D Soulslike casts players as something called a Marked Inquisitor, a type of unwavering warrior tasked with hunting Mages who threaten to destroy the kingdom with chaotic primordial magic. The life of a Marked Inquisitor has an impact on the experience of Salt and Sacrifice, so fans of Dark Souls and Ska Studios' previous work would be wise to contemplate their Inquisitor's backstory.
The Marked Inquisitor's Quest
In the world of Salt and Sacrifice, when someone commits a crime worthy of capital punishment and gets caught, they're offered a choice. Either the criminal can accept the death penalty, or they can choose to become a Marked Inquisitor. Anyone who becomes a Marked Inquisitor is sworn to service to their kingdom for the rest of their days as a form of penance for the crime. When customizing their character at the start of the game, Salt and Sacrifice get to choose the crime that their character committed, and that crime will give their character certain bonus perks or items, so each Marked Inquisitor's misstep has a mechanical impact.
Marked Inquisitors don't just serve as a military force for their homeland; after drinking a substance called Magebane, they're specifically tasked with hunting creatures called Mages who menace the kingdom. In Salt and Sacrifice, Mages aren't just humans with magical powers. Instead, Mages are elemental chaos made manifest, standing many times taller than the player in abstract or monstrous forms that wouldn't be out of place as Dark Souls bosses. Whenever a Marked Inquisitor slays a Mage, they consume its heart, claiming some of its power while ridding the area of the Mage's influence.
While Salt and Sacrifice's lore views magic as something that threatens humanity's existence, Marked Inquisitors are uniquely capable of using magic. Salt and Sacrifice has a system of magical power available to Marked Inquisitors called runic arts, something that players can make more use of as they kill more Mages. As a matter of fact, gathering parts from fallen Mages and crafting them into stronger, more magical gear is a core part of Salt and Sacrifice, something that has earned comparisons to Monster Hunter's love of hunting and crafting. Much like Capcom's monster hunters, Marked Inquisitors turn the strengths of their enemies against them through crafting.
Salt and Sacrifice's Unlikely Heroes
Overall, the Marked Inquisitors sound like compelling players characters for Ska Studios' new game. These condemned figures from all kinds of backgrounds, once regarded as enemies and traitors to their homeland, will now stand tall against the Mage incursion and possibly save the world. It's a little reminiscent of the first Dark Souls game's premise, where players go from one of many victims of hollowing to the figure deciding the ultimate fate of the world. Regardless of whether or not Salt and Sacrifice's plot focuses on whether or not the Marked Inquisitors can be redeemed, their new duty makes them an interesting brand of hero.
Salt and Sacrifice releases in 2022 for PC, PS4, and PS5.