Salt And Sacrifice Review (Nintendo Switch OLED)

by Jim Smale · Published November 13, 2023 · Updated November 9, 2023

For our Salt And Sacrifice Review, we travel to a place called Altarstone, The Kingdom’s precious peace is threatened by the arrival of “Mages” – creatures of pure elemental malice. The Kingdom has responded by forming a Marked Inquisition, a cursed organization assembled of the condemned, charged with rooting out and destroying all Magic.

Salt And Sacrifice Review Pros:

Beautifully dark grim graphics.
1.1GB Download size.
Character creator choices – name, 8 classes (assassin/cleric/fighter/duelist/high blade/paladin/ranger/sage), 12 crimes (alchemy/arson/blasphemy/brigandry/drunkness/forgery/heresy/lasciviousness/smuggling/sumptuousness/ursuary/vagrancy), male/female, hair/eye/whiskers/eyebrow colours along with hairstyle, 7 ancestry (dusk/highlander/Mountain/oasis/sun/wood/Valley).
Powerful soundtrack.
In-game cutscenes.
Graphics settings – legible font, camera zoom slider, HUD scale slider, and menu scale slider.
Blood – on/off.
Cross play – on/off.
Gameplay settings – player markers, ranged mode (default/toggle/release to fire), hide helmet, and screenshake slider.
Action RPG gameplay.
A love letter to Dark Souls-style games.
2D perspective.
Tutorial pop-ups as you play.
Can rebind controls.
The network interactions can be turned on and off along with optional password protection.
Player marker choices – always-on, local co-op only, Co-op only, and off.
Pardoners Vale is your main hub/safe space where you can use shops, blacksmiths, heal, and more unlocks as you play.
The portal to take you to the world is controlled by runes, enter runes to open the door, and mission and found rune codes can be auto-filled otherwise you have free control.
Button prompted interactions.
Runs really well in both handheld and docked.
Obelisks in the world can be touched to activate and with them, you can rest and resupply, return to camp or nothing.
Stamina-based system for jumping, attacking, and dodging.
Scavenge resources from bodies, the environment, and mining.
Dark grim atmosphere.
Easy to learn controls.
Salt is the currency used for leveling up and is dropped from enemies and items.
Leveling up will increase stats and must be done in the hub.
Tree of Skill is where you can unlock new abilities and buffs.
You can pet the animals.
Leave and read messages from other players.
Enhanced equipment allows you to upgrade all your gear with resources.
For crafting recipes you have to hunt down mages with the portal.
Mages act almost like a boss fight but first, you chase them down, they can enhance enemies with magic and it all culminates in a face-off.
The grappling hook allows a lot more verticality.
Bestiary fills in as you fight new enemies.
Factions support allows you to play PvP online.
Craft and earn powerful weapons and armor from mages.
Multiple choice encounters.
Handy file bug integration.

Salt And Sacrifice Review Cons:

No touchscreen support.
The tutorial approach taken is limited and often missed, it’s pop-ups but you have to hit the very small stakes in the ground for them to appear.
Hard to see enemies.
Difficulty spikes.
The main hub is so large it’s easy to get lost or confused.
Doesn’t offer any in-game achievements.
It takes a while to get used to the gameplay loop and controls.
Does a bad job of introducing new players into the world.

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