Ska Studios surprised with this game that was the starting gun for the Souls formula in two dimensions. A challenging title with the characteristic aesthetics of the creators of The Dishwater and Charlie Murder, which now comes to Nintendo Switch with a clean port, but with the challenge intact. In this analysis of Salt and Sanctuary we expand on all the details of its gameplay both in dock mode and in portable mode.
Two years have passed since Ska Studios returned with this profound tribute that was also the free way to Souls-like games, also in 2D. Few things have changed since then in Salt and Sanctuary , except for the subsequent release on PC and PS Vita that we saw a year ago, so it is not surprising that this new version suits you like a glove. This Nintendo Switch edition is a direct port of the original PlayStation 4, so you can expect the same features, without any add-ons.
In its original release, the game arrived in English, but with the passage of time a Spanish translation has been included which, while not the best, helps to understand the background of its story. Only the messages from the players will make you raise an eyebrow at not being well represented with the change of language.
With the Nintendo Switch version, it is not the first time that the game has been brought to a laptop. The title was made Cross Play with PS4 when it was released on PS Vita last year, but the truth is that the peculiarities of this dark game mean that it sometimes requires a somewhat larger screen to perfectly detect all the elements of the scene. In particular, some traps and hidden enemies that can play tricks on us if we are not really attentive.
Salt and Sanctuary is confirmed for Nintendo Switch. Trailer
NOTE: This is a technical analysis of the recent Nintendo Switch version of Salt and Sanctuary . You can check the complete analysis of the game we made for PS4 here .
The bosses are spectacular in both design and size. The area is more limited, making it difficult to keep up with attacking, defending, and healing.
The version for the Nintendo machine behaves perfectly, as can be expected for a 2D game with these characteristics, making the game work smoothly at 60 frames per second with the console in dock mode. In portable mode, we have found some very little specific slowdown, but it can affect some combat. Also, and as a personal appreciation, it seemed to us that the image was by default somewhat darker than the other versions for a game that is already very gloomy, which plays a lot with hiding traps, enemies and unstable platforms, using consumable torches. On a television this can be adjusted by the screen’s own brightness options, since the game does not contain its own range options, but in the portable version it has not been possible to retouch the image brightness,
A new opportunity to discover a very striking title, which knew how to detect the best of the Souls mechanicsOn the other hand, the options of being able to expand the image HUD in portable mode are appreciated. While on a television, the menus are well framed, in this mode it can be somewhat more expensive to read all the information of the objects or comfortably view the statistics of our equipment. Thus, this HUD can be expanded above 100% to make it more comfortable, but while team management gains integers, it comes with the counterpoint that, while we are playing, the health bars, energy and item boxes will also consume a good portion of the game screen.
In each sanctuary we can bring different merchants according to the stones that we use. Choose well because the number is limited.
The game also has multiplayer options in local mode . By making an offering in a shrine, a second player can be summoned, although for this they must have a character created on a second account on the console. On Switch, this option is maintained, but it cannot be invoked by each using a joy-con on the controller, since Salt and Sanctuary makes exhaustive use of all the buttons. You will need a Switch Pro Controller or a second set of the two joy-con to enjoy this mode.
In short, the Switch version of Salt and Sanctuary is a direct port that does not offer any addition to the original version of the Ska Studios title. The game never had DLC either, because what it offered from the first moment was already an experience that felt complete, with a multitude of enemies, final bosses, different areas and secrets to explore and that is precisely what we will find in this edition. . A new opportunity to discover a very striking title, which knew how to detect the best of the Souls mechanics; that feeling of being lost in a hostile world in which you progress slowly and with great difficulty, to take it to a 2D environment that was subsequently followed by numerous other proposals.
“Excellent”
Salt and Sanctuary
9.0
Readers
(1)
Salt and Sanctuary does not seek to innovate and does not deny its inspirations. But once you accept them, you will find a more than solid title, full of challenges, that takes the Souls formula to two dimensions, mixing everything with the Metroidvania genre. A long and exciting title, which will now also delight Nintendo Switch users.
- Well-built deep progression system
- Labyrinthine and well connected level design
- Deep and challenging
- Some color filters blur the image too much.
- Specific problems when facing combat and during platform jumps.
