Even though your moves are animation-locked in the same way as Dark Souls or Monster Hunter—once you swing, you can’t interrupt—there’s a fluidity to Salt and Sanctuary that makes it feels faster and more dynamic. (More Bloodborne than Dark Souls, if we’re keeping the comparisons up.)

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Some games would probably bristle at being so closely compared to another, but Salt and Sanctuary doesn’t seem to have a problem with it. I mean, the comparisons are really hard to ignore after a while!

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None of this is meant to denigrate the game, of course. I love how much this game unabashedly embraces what From Software’s been doing in 3D, and plants a fresh twist on the idea. It’s both Dark Souls and its own thing.

I’m only a few hours into Salt and Sanctuary, but the hooks are digging in. Right now, I’m bumbling around as a spear-wielding soldier, the kind of bulky build I usually gravitate towards in Dark Souls. But as with that game, players aren’t locked into a particular build; if you want to become a magic user or start wielding arrows, there’s nothing stopping you. (I’m starting to shed heavy armor, for example, and embracing an assassin-like approach.

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Salt and Sanctuary is only out on PS4 and Vita right now, but it’s also coming to PC and might hit other platforms down the line.

Praise the salt?