From my own experience, it's difficult to praise a game solely for its inclusion of a co-op mode, as I find a great deal of value in the sheer fact that I get to play a game with friends. Of extra importance, though, is the chance to delve into these darkened catacombs and forests with a friend at your side. Whereas lone explorers are forced to account for all facets of combat, if not in stat designation then in tactics, your duo are able to specialize their abilities and approaches to combat much more keenly. Two player local co-op certainly doesn't make the game any easier, as Salt adjusts enemy health and damage to accommodate the extra player it does, however, provide an added layer of complexity into character growth and tactics. Where else would these be if not tucked into some hard-to-reach corner of a forgotten terrace or cellar? Before too much time spent in the game, one quickly gets the feeling that death could be staved off for just a moment longer if they had just a couple extra levels, or a shiny new spear or helmet. Doing so feels like a conscious decision to actively invite quick and bloody demise, which feeds naturally into the latter end of the formula, desire. As such, a veneer of danger covers every instance one pushes into an unexplored room or makes an uncertain leap to a far-off ledge.
SALT AND SANCTUARY COOP SERIES
The game's difficulty is more or less precisely what one would expect from anything willing to put the Souls series on a pedestal. In Salt's case, this effect is twofold, melding danger with desire. The need arises, then, to attach a more tangible effect to the exploration process. In large part, Ska Studios hurdles these problems quite skillfully and, more importantly, manages to include a surprisingly fulfilling co-op mode in the process.Įxploration for its own sake can be employed to great effect, such as in Gone Home or Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, but doing so for too long puts one in a very precarious position in terms of diminishing enjoyment. Salt & Sanctuary is almost aggressively willing to show you all of its similarities to From Software's now-ubiquitous franchise, but condensing a game with such an intense focus on exploration and mystery into a flattened environment exhibits its own obstacles. It's why I have such a deep affection for the Souls series.
SALT AND SANCTUARY COOP MOD
It's why I placed so much hope into a doomed co-op mod for Mount & Blade. It's partly why my friends and I spent many an hour watching each other play Morrowind in a dingy bedroom/basement combo. I, by my very nature, do not deal with the unknown very well, making it apparent from an early age that I would require a companion in my expeditions into Virtual Realms.
0 kommentar(er)
