Salt and Sanctuary (Vita). This game really frustrates me. I want to like it because I love the art style and the Castlevania vibe and all the cool weapon options. Here are my gripes:

  • Lack of pause button. Going into your inventory keeps your character live on the screen and able to be hit. This isn't a problem most of the time since you can find safe spots, but it's annoying and unnecessary in a 1 player game.
  • Item usage. Every other action in this game is a button but for some reason the items require you to use the touch screen. Very annoying to be jumping and dodging around and then need to slide your thumb over to drink that potion. Also, the lack of pause means you have to switch through items in real time which is also annoying since it uses the d-pad meaning you can't move around and switch at the same time.
  • Respawning. The game does give you plenty of save points but sometimes they are far from your objective. So if you beat 4 challenging spots and die on the 5th, you have to redo those 4 things again. The game is very challenging and while I don't mind that I do mind having to repeat several areas just to get back to where I was. Reminds me of old NES games and not in a good way.


I hear this game is like a 2D Dark Souls. I always wondered if I was missing something by not getting aboard the Dark Souls train. I think it's safe to to say these aren't the games for me (at least not anymore) so I'm not sad I passed them up. They would frustrate the hell out of me!