8) Salt And Sanctuary
The ongoing Souls series of games have had a huge impact on the industry, though not in the ways you might expect. Sure, plenty of games are now embracing much higher levels of difficulty, by demanding that players focus on patience and strategy as opposed to running into combat without a plan of action. But what’s more interesting, at least to us, are the number of games that have released over the past few years which draw heavily from the Souls series, while injecting their own ideas and flair.
While its simplistic, 2D visuals might not invoke fear, be warned; Salt and Sanctuary is as intricate and complex as its 3D counterparts. A familiar combat system features a multitude of single and double handed weapons, ranged and magic abilities, and the ability to defend and parry incoming attacks. Salt and Sanctuary wears its influence on its sleeves, but it also takes a few nods from the Metroidvania genre, and it’s all the better for it.
