Salt and Sanctuary is a 2D platformer and action-RPG.
Salt and Sanctuary takes heavy inspiration from the Souls series of action RPGs developed by FromSoftware. It retains much of Souls' mechanics, but translates them from a 3D action game to a 2D platformer.
In Salt and Sanctuary, you play as a person washed ashore a mysterious island following a shipwreck. The ship was carrying a princess, who is now missing. The player must explore the island and survive against its myriad inhabitants if they wish to rescue the princess.
The player explores each region of the island, finding new paths and battling enemies and bosses to earn salt. Players will also find sanctuaries, where they can heal up and use the salt to upgrade their character's stats and abilities through a skill tree. If a player dies, all of the salt they were carrying will be lost, unless they can kill the enemy which killed them first.
Players can also bring statues to sanctuaries and make offerings to bring various characters to a sanctuary, including blacksmiths which sell gear and guides which can transport the player to a previously-visited sanctuary. It is also possible to summon a second player to assist the player in couch co-op.