Zero Punctuation Season 10 Episode 12 Salt and Sanctuary

In this episode of Zero Punctuation, the famously acerbic and irreverent Yahtzee Croshaw turns his attention to the game Salt and Sanctuary. The game, which bills itself as a "dark, hand-drawn world filled with horrors and secrets," is a 2D platformer that draws inspiration from games like Dark Souls.

Yahtzee spends a lot of time in this episode praising Salt and Sanctuary for its visual style, which he calls "gorgeous" and "a pleasure to look at." He's particularly impressed with the "fluidity" of the animations, which he says give the game a real sense of weight and impact. He's also impressed with the game's attention to detail, noting that he loves the little touches like the way enemies will hunch over and gasp for breath after taking damage.

However, as is often the case with Zero Punctuation, Yahtzee's praise is measured against his blistering critique of the game's flaws. And Salt and Sanctuary is no exception.

The first thing Yahtzee takes issue with is the game's combat system. While he concedes that it's "fine" for the most part, he finds it lacks the depth and complexity of Dark Souls. He says that the combat in Salt and Sanctuary is "too simplistic," and that there are only a handful of different attack animations for each weapon type. He also takes issue with the fact that there's no way to parry attacks, which he says makes things feel a bit one-dimensional.

Yahtzee also has some complaints about the game's exploration and level design. While he again praises the game's art style and attention to detail, he finds that the levels themselves feel a bit "same-y" after a while. He says that the environments lack the kind of memorable landmarks that you find in other games like Dark Souls or Metroid. He also criticizes the game's dependent on backtracking, saying that it becomes tedious after a while.

Another issue Yahtzee has with Salt and Sanctuary is the game's "grindiness." He says that the game is very punishing, and that you'll often have to farm for experience and items just to make progress. He also calls out the game's "Souls clone" mentality, saying that it feels like the developers were just trying to cash in on the popularity of games like Dark Souls without really understanding what made those games so great in the first place.

Finally, Yahtzee talks about the game's boss fights, which he calls a "mixed bag." He says that some of the bosses are well-designed and challenging, while others are frustratingly difficult or feel like they're just there to pad out the game. He also complains about the lack of variety in the bosses, saying that most of them feel like "human-shaped things with weapons."

Despite all of these complaints, Yahtzee does end the episode with a note of reluctant praise. He says that, while Salt and Sanctuary isn't a great game, it's still a "good" game that's worth playing if you're a fan of the genre. He particularly recommends it to people who are looking for a game with a strong art style and a lot of challenging gameplay.

Overall, this episode of Zero Punctuation is a typically entertaining and acerbic take on a game that has its share of flaws but also some real strengths. If you're a fan of salty, hilarious game criticism, this is definitely an episode worth checking out.