Salt
You wake up on the ground, dazed, shielding your eyes from a sun that seems far brighter than it ought to be. You know only two things: you are on an island and you are alone. Around you is a vast blue ocean, dotted with islands that look like either mere specks or mountains rising from the water. The island you’re on is uninhabited, but there’s another island almost close enough to swim to. If you only had a boat…
Salt is an exploration/adventure game by indie developers Lavaboots Studios. This three man team from Alabama have created a world of procedurally generated islands on a vast, possibly infinite ocean to tickle your sense of discovery. As soon as you find the means to create a boat and leave your starting island, those sensations of adventure and discovery are so strong you can almost touch them. Lavaboots Studio, who describe themselves as “based on a purpose rather than a product,” set out to create an experience that gives the player strong feelings that will stay with them long after they turn off the game and their goal is evident in every aspect of Salt.
Currently, Salt is in Early Access, which means it is far from finished and changes are constantly taking place, but the core gameplay is there. Almost all of your time in-game will be spent sailing from island to island, exploring, gathering resources, and leaving for another island once you’ve finished with the one you’re on. While the islands are similar—there are no biomes outside of lush jungle and sandy waste—the procedural generation ensures that what you find on those islands is randomized. It makes no sense to stay on one island too long, there’s always another just within your view, tempting you to get back on your raft (or your boat, if you’ve progressed that much) to see what it has to offer. At night, you can see the light from campfires on distant islands, giving you the first signs that you’re not actually alone out here.
I was originally going to spend some time talking about how Salt has little to offer other than exploration and some basic crafting, but I realized after a quick glance at the forums that my limited playtime has only shown me the smallest slice of what Salt has to offer. I ran into deer and a few pirates—did I mention there was pirates? Oh yes, there are pirates, and they have booty for you to pillage if you so desire—but otherwise my explorations have so far been unremarkable. According to the wiki there are also pirate villages, merchants, and spiders out there to encounter—I just haven’t found them yet. The desire to find more, to discover more secrets, to dig up more treasure chests and create more things is a powerful draw to continue playing.
Also, the game is beautiful. Sunsets and sunrises are stunning, and the light works exactly the way it ought to. Shadows are cast in the proper direction given the position of the sun, and they move as the sun sets and the moon rises. Nights are dark—very dark—and without a torch there’s nothing you can do except for wait. Salt puts you in a beautiful, tropical world with the sounds of the sea and the birds and lets you play in the sandbox without ever trying to hold your hand.
At this point, it’s important to reiterate that this game is still in early access. While the environments are gorgeous, some of the graphics leave a lot to be desired. The deer look majestic, but the models for the pirates and other people are cartoonishly bad. There is no tutorial or map, to foster the sense of exploration and discovery, but that can make it difficult to play when you accidentally find yourself on an already explored island. Pirates (and one assumes, spiders) break up the tranquility, and having a limited list of crafting recipes can make it difficult to progress. I have yet to figure out how to make a fishing pole, for example, even though I’ve found plenty of bait.
Buying an early access game is a bit like gambling. Games like The Stomping Land and Air Control are notable failures of Steam’s early access program, while games like Kerbal Space Program and Divinity: Original Sin prove that it is possible for a game to come out of early access and do remarkably well. Still, it’s a gamble. My rule of thumb is that if you’re going to buy an early access game, buy it with the understanding that tomorrow, the developers could abandon it and there’s nothing you could do about it.
Buy This If:
You like open world exploration games
You don’t need a goal to be happy.
You’re looking for a (generally) peaceful and non-frustrating experience.
You’ve always wanted to reenact Robinson Crusoe without the colonialism.
Stay Away If:
You’re frustrated by getting lost, not having a goal, or lacking instruction in general.
(Maybe) You have seasickness – I would not be surprised if this game triggered it.
You’re not comfortable with the concept of early access.
Anything Else?
RockPaperShotgun gave Salt their award for Best Exploration Game in 2014.
Salt is available for purchase both on Steam and at Lavaboots Studio for 14.99. Lavaboots Studio also has a generous demo available.