Salt & Sanctuary is compared to Dark Souls a lot. There definitely are similarities, but if you'd play S&S to get "more" Dark Souls, you will get disappointed. S&S is more obscure both lore-wise and gameplay-wise, has less items to mess around with, and the loss of a dimension makes movement, perception and spacing less important in favor of twitch reactions and stamina management. However, S&S has "proper" couch co-op, the gameplay feels satisfying, and despite the game overall being worse than the 'real' Souls games, it's still well above average and a pleasure to play.

The main disadvantage of S&S is the systemic obscurity; you will need to have a plan to play properly, and a lot of important decisions you make early on (such as which creed to pick or how to level up skills optimally) are not explained in-game, meaning you can screw yourself over because you could not make an informed decision. While Dark Souls is about "making the best of what you have", Salt & Sanctuary is about "work towards an intended goal". If you're okay with that, or just want an easier game to see if the Dark Souls hype is something you want to get into, S&S is a solid metroidvania well worth the price of admission. Just make sure you bookmark a wiki or two before you embark.

Salt & Sanctuary is compared to Dark Souls a lot. There definitely are similarities, but if you'd play S&S to get "more" Dark Souls, you will get disappointed. S&S is more obscure both lore-wise and gameplay-wise, has less items to mess around with, and the loss of a dimension makes movement, perception and spacing less important in favor of twitch reactions and stamina management. However, S&S has "proper" couch co-op, the gameplay feels satisfying, and despite the game overall being worse than the 'real' Souls games, it's still well above average and a pleasure to play. The main disadvantage of S&S is the systemic obscurity; you will need to have a plan to play properly, and a lot of important decisions you make early on (such as which creed to pick or how to level up skills optimally) are not explained in-game, meaning you can screw yourself over because you could not make an informed decision. While Dark Souls is about "making the best of what you have", Salt & Sanctuary is about "work towards an intended goal". If you're okay with that, or just want an easier game to see if the Dark Souls hype is something you want to get into, S&S is a solid metroidvania well worth the price of admission. Just make sure you bookmark a wiki or two before you embark.