Salt and Sanctuary: Porting a 2D Souls-Like to PS Vita

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Title: Salt and Sanctuary
Release Date: 2017
Developer: Ska Studios
Publisher: Ska Studios
Platforms: PlayStation Vita
Engine: Custom (Ska Studios proprietary)

Salt and Sanctuary is a 2D action-RPG from Ska Studios that takes the DNA of FromSoftware’s Dark Souls series and translates it into a side-scrolling Metroidvania… with hand-drawn watercolor art, punishing combat, deep RPG progression across eight character classes, and over 600 weapons and items to discover. The game launched on PS4 in March 2016 to strong critical reception, and Sickhead Games handled the PS Vita port, which shipped in March 2017. Getting a game like Salt and Sanctuary running well on Vita is a genuine technical undertaking: the combat system is fast and precise, with dodge rolls, blocking, and ability usage that demand tight input response, and the RPG systems underneath are dense. Pair that with the Vita’s constrained hardware and you have a port that requires careful optimization. Maintaining the feel of a game where split-second inputs matter, without sacrificing the richness of the RPG layer that makes it worth playing in the first place.

Sickhead Games is the leading game porting studio, skilled in porting Unity, Unreal, Godot, and custom engine titles to every major console and handheld including Playstation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and mobile. We’re trusted by solo indie developers and major publishers alike to handle everything from codebase assessment to post-launch support, bringing great games to the audiences they deserve. Satisfied clients and partners include Humble Games, Sony Interactive, Nintendo, Annapurna, Good Games, ConcernedApe, MegaCrit, 17-Bit, Maddy Makes Games, Zachtronics, Keen Software House, Thomas Happ, Pocketwatch Games, EXOK, Young Horses, Taito, Jaleco, and Microsoft. We’ve ported over 100 releases including Stardew Valley, Slay the Spire, TowerFall, Axiom Verge, and Space Engineers, and also specialize in bringing retro console and PC games to modern audiences like Grandia, Enclave, and Jaleco Sports titles.