A shipwreck, a hostile island, and that familiar feeling that death is about to be your main teacher.

On gut feeling alone, Salt and Sanctuary holds the middle of the pack. The detail confirms a solid game rather than a crushing one: the feel with a controller in hand and the art direction both land ahead of two thirds of the titles, and fun holds up nicely too. Two lines drag it down: the sound environment, way down at 13%, and above all connection, at the same level, on the most-voted criterion of the whole set. That is the real tension. People love handling it, people love its grimy inked linework, but they do not grow attached to it. The world keeps its distance, as if it did not want you there.

Against the genre's references, it owns its bet: take the demanding formula and flatten it into two dimensions, with sharp side-on fighting and a sprawling skill tree. The bet lands, but the soul of the model travels less well.

So who is it for? For you if you like heavy-tempo combat, exploration you have to earn, and builds you tinker with. Much less so if you want a world that haunts you long after you have left it.