Salt and Sacrifice – Review

Our Score: 9/10

Welcome to Salt and Sacrifice, where an unrelenting storm of Mages, wreaks havoc on what used to be a quiet land, bringing bouts of elementally charged destruction in their wake. You take on the role of a member of the Marked Inquisitors, the order who has risen once more to seek and hunt the mages. Although you are bound by the Inquisition, you have the ability to make your own decisions on your quest to quell the magical threat once and for all.

Return of the Salt

Salt and Sacrifice transports players to a realm overrun by mages. These beings have completely surrendered to the power of the elements. Taking on warped and perverted forms to spread disaster across the world. The Inquisitors hold the key to stopping this tide of disaster. These are criminals who would have been sentenced to death. Had they not been given a second opportunity to hunt down and kill mages.

The player takes on the role of one of these criminals-turned-Inquisitors. Who sets out to aid other Inquisitors in the hunt after completing a deadly rite that provides them their eternal duty. Players in Salt and Sacrifice will begin by establishing a base camp. Which will grow over time and serve as their hub as they recruit blacksmiths, shopkeepers, faction leaders, and other characters. Characters that will assist them improve their abilities, equipment, and mission progress. You go to several mage-ravaged regions throughout the game to collect runes that will allow you to travel to other destinations. In addition, you can complete faction objectives to assist or hunt other Inquisitors in co-op and PVP, as well as pursue unique mages.

Salty Lands

Many new locations are filled with twisty tunnels, locked doors, and shortcuts. Diverse opponent encounters, treasures and gear, and, of course, wizards. You’ll fight with a combination of melee and ranged strikes, as well as magic skills. Delicately timed dodge rolls, and high-damaging critical attacks are key as always. Salt and Sacrifice’s combat is even more refined than the original game’s. But I didn’t care for any fights that took place near ladders. As I found myself fighting to keep from grabbing onto them in the middle of a fight.

Despite offering a permanent health recovery option, similar to a flask in most Soulsborne games, Salt and Sacrifice also connects health charges to a resource that can be depleted. It’s simple to gather them. However during a difficult boss fight, I ran out of supplies several times and had to waste time restocking before returning to the fight.

Mage Hunter

When you come across a mage, it will engage you in a brief battle and call minions (alongside other enemies in the area which will sometimes even fight with the mage, often getting decimated). It will teleport away to a new area once enough damage has been done. You must track it down to a final battleground and slay it once and for all. Earning their hearts, salt (the game’s levelling money), and gobs of stuff in the process. Hunting a new mage for the first time is always a thrilling experience, as you must contend with them, the area, and its traps and inhabitants.

You can use the various components from a mage’s treasure to construct elemental armour, weapons, accessories, and other equipment to help you get stronger. Each every mage you meet adds a new piece of equipment tailored to the element the mage used, whether it was fire, ice, light, dark, poison, or a combination of elements. Based on the class you choose at the start and how you level up through a skill tree, you can specialise your character in various sorts of gear and weaponry. You must level up a variety of weapon classes in the game, including katanas, spears, bows, greatswords, and many others. This also gives you the opportunity to specialise in higher-level weapons and gear by choosing your path via the skill tree.

Final Verdict

Salt and Sacrifice is a phenomenal follow-up to Salt and Sanctuary- an already incredible game. The souls-like influence carries on with a lot more refinement, a new story and a whole new world to explore, fight and die in.