Action · May 17, 2016
Salt and Sanctuary (2016)
A doomed sailor is shipwrecked on an uncharted island. In fog-shrouded valleys, where grinning, mossy corpses cling to rusted arms, shambling figures begin to stir. Beneath crumbling, salt-worn structures, labyrinthine passageways lead to unspeakable evil, long forgotten by man. Salt and Sanctuary seamlessly combines fast, brutal, and complex 2D combat with richly developed RPG mechanics. Discover, craft, and upgrade over 600 weapons, armor pieces, spells, and items as you explore a cursed realm of forgotten cities, blood-soaked dungeons, desecrated monuments, and the fallen lords they once celebrated. From Ska Studios, the award-winning indie studio behind a long list of stylistic, visceral, and brutally executed action titles that includes The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile, The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai, and Charlie Murder, comes Salt and Sanctuary, the studio’s most ambitious title to date.
Action releases from 2016
168 Action titles launched in 2016 — top 6 by review volume.
Position in Action
| Metric | This title | Genre position |
|---|---|---|
| Review volume | 20.7k Steam reviews | Top 24% in Action |
| Positive rating | 90% positive | Genre average: 83% — this title sits in top 37% |
| Metacritic | 84/100 | Genre average 77 — top 22% of Action titles |
| Engagement hours | 13 h average | Top 39% for session depth among Action |
Community Tag Signals
Tag weights reflect how many Steam users voted each descriptor — larger pills = stronger consensus.
- Souls-like · 728
- Metroidvania · 366
- Dark Fantasy · 325
- 2D · 305
- Difficult · 301
- RPG · 282
- Action · 231
- Platformer · 213
- Indie · 159
- Local Co-Op · 154
- Atmospheric · 136
- Dark · 132
- Action RPG · 121
- Co-op · 114
- Gore · 113
Peer Action titles
Comparable titles in the same genre and review-volume band — ranked by Steam positive percentage.
Localization Coverage
Interface / Subtitles (12)
- English
- German
- Japanese
- French
- Italian
- Spanish - Spain
- Korean
- Portuguese - Brazil
- Polish
- Russian
- Simplified Chinese
- Traditional Chinese
Reception Metrics
Steam community
90%Very Positive · 20.7k reviews
18.6k positive · 2.1k negative
Metacritic
84/100 critic aggregate
Metacritic user score
8.1/10
Curator recommendations
19.5k
Features & Capabilities
Multiplayer
- Multi-player
- Shared/Split Screen
Community
- Steam Achievements
- Steam Trading Cards
- Remote Play on TV
- Remote Play Together
Input & Comfort
- Full controller support
Other
- Single-player
- Family Sharing
Press Quotes
“A stellar adventure with enough moments of surprise and excitement to rival even its own source material.” 90 – Polygon “A ton of fun, a great challenge, and a wonderful new take on the Souls formula.” 90 – Forbes “Shockingly good.” 90 – Eurogamer
Engagement Profile
All-time avg
13h
short (5–15 hours)
Median
6h
Typical completion time
2-week avg
1h
Current engagement
Achievements
37
Steam unlocks available
Release & Availability
| Release date | May 17, 2016 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Ska Studios |
| Base price | $4.49 -75% |
| Required age | 17+ |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Estimated owners | 1M–10M |
| External links | Official site · Metacritic page · Support · [email protected] |
Editions & Packages
Buy Salt and Sanctuary