Once a Saltborn dies, they will be sent to the Isle of Salt, while Lightborns will cease to exist. Saltborn are ostensibly largely composed of salt, while Lightborn are made out of light. The player places this icon in the first Sanctuary and then continues exploring the island, gathering salt in order to gain power, as in this universe, There are two types of human: Saltborn and Lightborn.

There, the player meets a strange old man who gives them an icon of one of three creeds the player says they are a member of, helping them in their quest to find the lost princess. Whether or not they are able to defeat the marauders and the powerful kraeken, the ship is wrecked, sending them drifting to shore on a mysterious island. If the player kills all the marauders and escapes to the deck, they are then set upon by a giant 'Kraekan' (a corruption of kraken) of the sea resembling Cthulhu. However, a group of marauders attack the ship, murdering its crew. The game begins with the player stowed away in a ship that is also carrying a princess from an unnamed country who is to be married to an opposing country's king in order to avert war. The game also provides a local multiplayer option for co-operative and versus play, and asynchronous features such as messages that may be interchanged between players. The game implements RPG concepts such as origins, classes and stat development, as well as an extensive skill tree providing hundreds of combinations. Magic and ranged attacks can also be performed. Players can wield two handed weapons for additional power, and shields to defend and parry. There are 600 items players may use, and the several weapon categories have special movesets including air attacks. The game features 2D hand drawn visuals, as well as gameplay mechanics similar to the Dark Souls series. Salt and Sanctuary combines aspects of the metroidvania and soulslike genres. A sequel, Salt and Sacrifice, was released in 2022. The game received positive reception from critics, who praised its graphical style and gameplay. It is heavily inspired by the Dark Souls series by FromSoftware. The game was released on March 15, 2016, for the PlayStation 4, with later releases for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. Salt and Sanctuary is a 2D action role-playing video game developed and published by Ska Studios.

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