Almost every mechanic from Dark Souls is – in some form or another - implemented into Salt & Sanctuary. But in this specific case that is far from being something negative. I might even be a little addicted to the game’s concept: uncovering secrets, defeating humongous bosses and diving deep into the lore of the game. All of that manages to entertain me for dozens of hours. The only complaints I have with the game are the subpar German voice acting, the somewhat confusing skill-tree and – at least for my taste – boss-fights, which lack a certain challenge. However Salt & Sanctuary will undoubtedly bring a lot of joy to every fan of the Dark Souls-franchise, while people, who aren’t really into those, won’t be won over by this game either.

You could call Salt and Sanctuary a 2D mashup of Dark Souls and Castlevania, and you'd be right. But such a simple pronouncement would be a disservice to the tremendous amount of thought that's gone into Salt and Sanctuary, whether it's in the graphic style that evokes horror through the style of comic strips or in the intricate web of dungeons and castles serves as it map.

Salt and Sanctuary doesn’t want to innovate and doesn’t deny its inspirations. But once you accept this fact, you’ll find a more than solid game, full of challenges and death. It’s basically like a Dark Souls in 2D.

Salt and Sanctuary is a wonderful and honest tribute to Souls series. With great mechanics, a well designed dark world and dozens of hours of fun is a great game for every Dark Souls player.

If you want a 2D Dark Souls it’s hard to imagine From Software doing much better than this, even if it has too few original ideas of its own.