Salt and Sanctuary, from Ska Studios, is a bit bloody good, serving up an enormously enjoyable, Dark Souls-inspired slice of 2D action-adventure. It’s also now eight years old – but that hasn’t stopped it from getting a surprise update this week, adding a tough new Randomiser mode.
Salt and Sanctuary, which initially released for PlayStation 4 and PC back in 2016, is a fairly explicit attempt to translate From Software’s now oft-replicated dark fantasy RPG formula, complete with considered combat and corpse runs, into two dimensions. It begins on the shores of a vast and broodily enigmatic kingdom, which players – in the role of the Saltborn – must explore and overcome, tackling enemies and imposing bosses along the way.
It’s good stuff, and not exactly a walk in the park, but it just got a whole lot tougher thanks to its new Randomiser mode. As detailed over on Steam, Salt and Sanctuary players looking to give themselves a real challenge can now select from three randomiser options: Item Randomiser, Monster Randomiser, and Scaling Monster Randomiser.
The first randomises all non-essential items around the world, while Monster Randomiser mixes up enemies and bosses without giving them stat changes. As for the Scaling Monster Randomiser, it also switches up enemy and boss positions, but this time does give them adjusted stats. Currently, the Salt and Sanctuary subreddit (which remains surprisingly active for a ten-year-old game) is having a grand old time documenting Randomiser mode’s cruelty.
Salt and Sanctuary’s latest update – which is out now for PC players on Steam and the Epic Games Store – also includes miscellaneous bug fixes, a Turkish localisation, plus support for 4K/UHD, with new higher resolution options now available.
Salt and Sanctuary received a sequel, Salt and Sacrifice, in 2022, but some changes to the formula – discrete zones linked by a hub replacing the first game’s interconnected map, for instance, and new Monster Hunter style boss encounters – didn’t seem to resonate quite so much with fans of the original. Still, the first game remains a treat (“shockingly good” is what Eurogamer said about it), so an excuse to return thanks to its latest update is a welcome one.