There’s also Gigabash, GRIME, Tinykin, Prodeus, Shadowrun Returns, Shadowrun: Dragonfall – Director’s Cut and Shadowrun: Hong Kong – Extended Edition. The only PS4 title for Extra subscribers is Mega Man 11, which should be backwards compatible on PS5. Overall, it’s a solid selection of games, especially for those who never played the Shadowrun series or want to try Grand Theft Auto 5 before its sequel launches.

As for PlayStation Classics, available exclusively to Premium subscribers, there’s Mega Man Legacy Collection 1 and 2 on PS4, and Thrillville, Thrillville: Off the Rails and Buzz Lightyear of Star Command for PS4 and PS5.

The game puts players in the shoes of a Marked Inquisitor that has been conscripted to take on Corrupted Mages that are terrorising the Kingdom of Altarstone. Players will be able to choose from eight different starting classes, each with their own play style, as they set off on their quest to purify the kingdom.

As they make their way through Salt and Sacrifice‘s different zones, players will have to track down the Mages by finding clues to progress in their Mage hunts. Enemies players will face include Pyromancer, Venomancer, and even Corpumancers. Defeating these Mages will allow players to use their bones to craft new weaposn and armor.

Salt and Sacrifice also features co-op, as well as PvP invasions. The game features cross-platform multiplayer. For more details on Salt and Sacrifice, check out our review of its original release.

Set in a realm under siege by Mages, players control Marked Inquisitors who hunt them down. Unlike the first game, which took more of a Metroidvania approach, Salt and Sacrifice is more like Monster Hunter, as you pursue targets across stages. Defeat them to farm their materials and create powerful weapons and armor (including sets with unique bonuses) while also learning Runic Arts.

Co-op is also included – check out some gameplay from the same here. You can also read our review here. Though it launched with some performance issues and received criticism for its repetition, Salt and Sacrifice may be worth checking out for fans of the original.

Let’s look at the 11 hardest boss fights of 2022 and what made them so challenging.

Gna – God of War Ragnarok

The new Valkyrie Queen, Gna, is probably easier than Sigrun from God of War (2018). Underestimate her at your peril, though, as she possesses a wide variety of slashes, slices, ranged attacks (including Bifrost), unblockable attacks, and whatnot. If that weren’t enough, she can toss out two glaives in a spinning motion, afflicting you with Fire, Frost, Poison or Bifrost. Did we mention stomps and slams, each causing immense damage? You’ll need max level, fully upgraded gear and weapons, and much more to even stand a chance against Gna.

Gotham Knights

Gotham Knights may not rank among the worst DC superhero storylines out there (that honor still goes to Countdown, personally), but its ending is pretty terrible. Remember the Court of Owls? Irrelevant to the actual villains, aka the League of Shadows/Assassins/Idiots. The final boss? Talia al Ghul, because Ra’s is on extended leave in the afterlife, and no other major villains are available.

But the absolute worst is all those months of the developer convincing us that Bruce Wayne is dead and gone. And he is, but then they bring him back to life with a Lazarus Pit in some brainwashed state, after which he’s beaten back to his senses, and then dies again in a heroic sacrifice. It was absurd to the point of comedy.

The Callisto Protocol

After Jacob discovers the truth behind the virus, he goes up against the mutated Leon Ferris, now known as Subject Alpha, to synthesize a vaccine for an infected Dani. He does so, but because he effectively played a part in the outbreak on Europa, Jacob decides to remain in the prison while Dani escapes and Black Iron self-destructs. Of course, that’s not the end, as Dr Caitlyn Mahler suddenly intervenes, revealing that the two can escape if they work together. Ferris suddenly does a jumpscare scream, and we cut to black.

If the characters were better developed over a longer period, this ending wouldn’t have felt as abrupt or unsatisfying (especially with how many questions still lingered). But it also doesn’t help that there’s story DLC in development, making it feel like you need to pay extra for the “real” ending, if not to see what happens in the sequel.

New Tales from the Borderlands

New Tales from the Borderlands suffers from many problems, like being worse than the first game in almost every way. It also has a multitude of endings, each more underwhelming than the last. But the best ending, which sees the core cast (and LOU13) survive to form Galactic Healing Incorporated with the help of Rhys, doesn’t feel like a decent pay-off at all. Contrast this to how the first game ended and how well each character was written (including Rhys, who’s beyond ruined), and it’s just insulting.

Dying Light 2 Stay Human

The whole climax of Dying Light 2 revolves around the X13 lab and how Waltz, the main villain, will launch missiles on Villedor, The City. Aiden enters the lab to stop him and discovers that Mia is Waltz’s daughter and not his sister. X13 is keeping her alive, and stopping the missile strike means shutting down the facility, which can kill her. After Waltz is defeated, you can either save Lawan or Mia. The former results in the city being destroyed, so that’s no good.

The latter sees X13 destroyed and Mia dead, but Villedor survives, and Hakon may even save Lawan if the right choices were made. Aiden ultimately leaves, presumably to a better ending. Overall, very anti-climatic and unsatisfying, especially the final fight.

Shadow Warrior 3

I wanted to like Shadow Warrior 3, even if it failed on its one premise – Zilla and Wang teaming up – to focus more on Hoji. It all leads to Wang assaulting the dragon again in the finale. However, this time he gets inside, activating Hoji’s Chi cannon and destroying it from within. There’s a deeper message about Wang getting his mojo back, which isn’t given enough time to develop so it’s hard to care.

By the end, Wang, Hoji, Zilla and Motoko celebrate the dragon’s death by eating parts of it. What about Kamiko, implied to be the dragon when Shadow Warrior 2 ended? What about the world at large? Doesn’t matter, don’t ask.

Scorn

The “story” of Scorn involves two factions of the Homunculi waging war on an alien planet, one using biotech cyborgs and the other using exosuits. But none of that matters. Your story begins after the war is over and the planet’s ruined. First, you play as a character who tries to reach the citadel and fails, becoming a parasite. Then you play as another character, eventually infected by a parasite (which may be the first protagonist), and then undertake a big ol’ journey.

By the end, the parasite completely envelops the character, and they’re stuck in that form, seemingly for eternity. Who? Why? What was the point of any of this? Your guess is as good as ours.

ELEX 2

The plot of ELEX 2 surrounds the coming of the Skyand, responsible for the comet that struck the planet Magalan and unleashed ELEX upon the populace. Jax must gather allies to fight them, but it’s revealed that ELEX was stolen from a cosmic being called the Singularity and the Skyand fear its return. The Skyand attempt to reshape the planet and maybe stand against the Singularity, or something, it’s hard to say. When they’re defeated, Singularity is seemingly the next threat for Magalan’s people.

If this sounds like Horizon Forbidden West’s ending, then you’re more or less correct. Just imagine it with worse characters, a much worse final battle, lame choices, horrible presentation, bugs, and lots of jank, and you’ve got ELEX 2.

Salt and Sacrifice

There’s some decent lore in Salt and Sacrifice, but ultimately it boils down to the Undone Sacrifice becoming such to stop the gods’ wrath. However, this results in the prevalence of Magehood, and Mages aren’t very nice, judging by the sheer number you need to hunt. In the end, upon defeating the Undone Sacrifice, you can either take its place and perpetuate the cycle or devour the tree it hangs on, causing the world to end. All in all, it just pales in comparison to the first game’s set-up and ending.

Martha is Dead

Martha has died. Who killed her? Well, her twin sister Guilia did. But actually, Martha isn’t dead. Guilia is Martha. The former is her alternate personality, formed through childhood trauma. She’s taken to the asylum and eventually slits her arms, regardless of your choices. It’s revealed later that Guilia has recovered, and a message says there’s always something to live for.

It comes across as a powerful message at first but is also out of left field. So much is made irrelevant, like the photographs, the gruesome dissections, and the last hours of the story. Opinions may vary on the usage of mental illness as a major twist in a horror story, but it feels awkwardly implemented here.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands

The problems with the ending of Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands are rooted in the Dragon Lord’s character. Throughout the story, it’s implied that he exists independent of the Bunker Master, aka Tina. However, this isn’t the case. As it turns out, the Dragon Lord was originally Tina’s character when she still played, who turned evil when she used the Sword of Souls to wipe out all evil in the game.

This caused Tina to rage quit and the Dragon Lord to swear vengeance on her…to no avail since she controls everything as the Bunker Master. None of this matters as the player defeats the Dragon Lord, uses the Sword of Souls to revive the Queen, and effectively spares the villain. He’s sentenced to 200 years of imprisonment for his crimes and seems mostly fine. Riveting stuff, indeed.

Elden Ring

Elden Ring is as perilous as any of the Souls games, but on a larger scale. Nevertheless, knowledge is power, from knowing enemy placements and patterns to weaknesses, and will ultimately tip the scales in your favor. The Full-Grown Fallingstar Beast and its asinine hitboxes can still die in a fire, though.

The Callisto Protocol

Arguably one of the more anticipated games of the year, The Callisto Protocol was talked up a fair amount by Striking Distance Studios. With talent like Dead Space co-creator Glen Schofield involved, it seemed like a slam-dunk…until we played the game. And endured its awkward combat, lacklustre enemy variety, and lame final boss, all in a span of a few hours instead of the promised 12 to 14. Worst of all, performance was atrocious on PC with severe stuttering issues and crashes. The Callisto Protocol isn’t the worst game ever, but it ranked above average, which felt even worse.

Martha is Dead

LKA’s psychological horror looked special, and the setting of a German-occupied Italy during World War 2 could have presented something unique. Sadly, things fall apart after the opening, with the middle act suffering in pacing due to lots of meandering and wandering. Some controls don’t feel great, and the camera system also feels too complex for the amount used. Also, despite the handful of gruesome scenes, the real horror is reserved for the beginning and the end. Again, great ideas and an interesting setting with disturbing material, but the mishmash of other ideas and story elements dull the experience.

Salt and Sacrifice

Look, I’m not saying I expected another Souls-like Metroidvania that built on the first game and also had a large, interconnected world. Salt and Sacrifice kind of does that, but also inserts Monster Hunter-like elements when it comes to hunting Mages. The art style is polished, and the premise is intriguing. Yet, it doesn’t come together as well as its predecessor, either due to the progression, annoying combat aspects (like getting juggled in the air) or the controls.

Somerville

When you hear the story behind developer Jumpship, founded by former Playdead co-founder Dino Patti, you want to root for Somerville. Patti’s experience includes Inside and Limbo, and despite this not being a full side-scrolling platformer, the premise and aesthetics look great. However, the plot leaves much to be desired (especially with the “ending”), and the controls are not good. Having to deal with numerous issues and bugs doesn’t help either.

Trek to Yomi

Like Ghost of Tsushima, Trek to Yomi takes heavy inspiration from Akira Kurosawa’s work, both in presentation and aesthetics. The monochrome art looks incredible, and the camera work is impeccable. The problem is the rest of the game, specifically the combat, which feels annoying and clunky. Add boring enemy variety and level design, and you have a beautiful-looking side-scroller without any heart or soul.

Rainbow Six Extraction

One didn’t expect much from Rainbow Six Extraction. After all, it had been delayed multiple times, and the prospect of taking a limited-time event and turning it into a paid game still felt scummy. However, as it turns out, Ubisoft went even lower than my lowest expectations. Terrible AI, damage-sponge bosses, awful objectives, a complete lack of tactical gameplay, bugs – the list goes on. Extraction’s biggest achievement is how it manages to be so disappointing and yet so forgettable, with many still expressing surprise that it even launched this year.

Roller Champions

When Roller Champions was first announced, it seemed stylish, even if the concept of a 3v3 Roller Derby-style multiplayer game didn’t sound so intriguing. Then it got delayed again and again. When it finally landed this year, Roller Champions was a complete dud. It wasn’t downright awful, but nothing was captivating about it. The lack of polish, mode variety, and features like stats or quick chat at launch ensured a plummet into irrelevance.

Resident Evil Village – The Winters’ Expansion

We all had hopes for The Winters’ Expansion, particularly Shadows of Rose, which took place several years after the base game. Alas, not only did it recycle environments and fail to advance the overarching story, but it was only a handful of hours long. That would be fine if the expansion were cheaper. But the Third-Person Mode for the base game felt too clunky and awkward, and the additional Mercenaries content was simply good without being worthwhile alone.

Scorn

Announced in 2014, Scorn has been in development for a long time, but the disgusting art style, inspired by H. R. Giger and Zdzisław Beksiński, made it stand out in the sea of graphically beautiful titles. Unfortunately, its annoying combat and checkpoints, not to mention the frustrating puzzles, hamper it tremendously. It feels like a conflict between the art design and gameplay, resulting in an underwhelming – and short – experience.

Marvel’s Midnight Suns

Weird as it sounds, I always felt there was something off about Marvel’s Midnight Suns. This is even after all the gameplay streams showcased the myriad of tactics available. On release, it revealed some pretty terrible writing, not to mention an excessive amount of padding and grinding for something as simple as card rerolls. The combat was still decent, but performance issues and shabby visual quality held it back.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

The first-ever seamless open-world title for Pokemon. Three paths to follow with the freedom to choose. The start of the ninth generation. All these promises and more were made for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, and the results were…iffy. While the stories and gameplay felt good, the sheer range of technical and performance issues, shoddy presentation, and illusion of free choice made it feel like a severe downgrade from Pokemon Legends: Arceus and even Sword and Shield.

Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin

When rumors of a Final Fantasy Souls-like action RPG from Team Ninja, including the minds behind Nioh, first circulated, I was stoked. There’s no way Square Enix could mess this up, right? Unfortunately, they did, with a weird combat system, horribly optimized visuals, and some of the worst writing either company has put out (which is saying something). Subsequent updates and DLC improved it, but this is still a major disappointment considering what could have been.

FIFA 23

Since it’s the last title as part of EA Sports’ collaboration with FIFA, you would think FIFA 23 would be a worthwhile end to a long-running, mostly-controversial series. It’s not. New mechanics like the PowerShot, Active Touch and World Cup modes were nice additions. But it’s still microtransaction-heavy, as evidenced by the changes to chemistry in Squad-Building Challenges. The PC version still has several issues, and the Nintendo Switch version continues to be a joke. For those who enjoyed FIFA, it’s more FIFA and still sells millions, but it’s still lacklustre.

Rune Factory 5

Ever since the delay to its Western release, I had some decent hopes for Rune Factory 5. It’s fully 3D with a more impressive presentation and combat. Unfortunately, it also feels overtly grindy, while the premise and overall gameplay aren’t a big enough step up over its predecessor. The performance of Nintendo Switch left much to be desired (with the PC version faring better). Long story short, it’s not a terrible game but could have done much more. Those looking to discover what makes the series great are better off sticking to Rune Factory 4 Special.

Gotham Knights

Believe it or not, there were some expectations on Gotham Knights. Even for those who knew it was more of an action RPG than a brand-new Batman: Arkham, there was that promise of exploring Gotham City and beating up bad guys. Gotham Knights bungled this with bad dialogue, annoying combat mechanics (counters? What are those?), clunky stealth, and grinding for things that should be available by default. Worst of all? It completely wastes the Court of Owls as antagonists.

However, it seems that isn’t the case. Developer Ska Studios has issued a statement in which it explains that the game’s pricing on PC was adjusted in some regions prior to the game’s launch, and that the changes in question weren’t enforced by any platform holder.

“Storefront pricing was adjusted in various regions ahead of the game’s global PC launch at 9 AM PT on Tuesday, 10th May, 2022,” the developer explained (via Push Square). “The price has not changed on any storefront or in any region following launch, nor did any platform holder demand any changes to the game’s original pricing.

“Developers Ska Studios and Devoured Studios apologise for any confusion regarding the price correction prior to Salt and Sacrifice’s launch and, as a two-person development team, remain focused on supporting the game following a successful launch.”

Ska Studios or Devoured Studios haven’t provided any further communication on whether regional prices for the game in specific areas are going to be adjusted following backlash from users. Some regions in particular – like Brazil and Turkey, for instance – have seen the game’s price going up by roughly 300%.

Salt and Sacrifice is available on PC, PS5, and PS4. You can read our review of the game through here.

With an art style and combat similar to the developers’ previous game Salt and Sanctuary, fans of that game will feel right at home but also treated to a much deeper combat system and more fully-realized web of RPG systems like armor, weapon crafting, enhancements and so on that make Salt and Sacrifice feel like a game that earns the 15 to 20 or so hours it will take you to beat it. Most of the presentation and functionality of your inventory management and hub world activities will feel instantly familiar to most with very logical arrangements of information throughout the game’s menus and on-screen indicators. Combat is similarly intuitive yet with a give and take that of course relies on timing dodges and blocks, memorizing your enemies’ tendencies, as well as the pros and cons of your own weapons.

"With an art style and combat similar to the developers’ previous game Salt and Sanctuary, fans of that game will feel right at home but also treated to a much deeper combat system and more fully-realized web of RPG systems like armor, weapon crafting, enhancements and so on that make Salt and Sacrifice feel like a game that earns the 15 to 20 or so hours it will take you to beat it."

This is of course seasoned with the handful of key tenants that make it Soulslike. This extremely familiar approach to most of what makes up Salt and Sacrifice can make it feel a little conceptually stale in 2022, but it’s largely executed well nonetheless as it reaps more rewards from that decision than it suffers losses. The game’s several levels are large, and meant to be backtracked through as new modes of traversal are learned and the game’s mage hunts have you running all over the place. The enemies are perhaps a bit too similar at times, but they are broken up by the epic mage battles often enough to where it isn’t noticed for long.

With everything being as intuitive as it was, it wasn’t long before I found myself in those recognizable loops of slaying enemies, taking advantage of newly acquired abilities, and comparing recently looted armor, charms and weapons with what was already in my inventory. This along with trips back to the hub world from any checkpoint adds just a drop more flexibility into the formula without necessarily subtracting from the moment-to-moment challenge. Speaking of difficulty, I wouldn’t say Salt and Sacrifice is a particularly hard Soulslike most of the time. It’s certainly more challenging than a non-Soulslike, but as far as these games go, it’s a little more on the welcoming side of the spectrum than average. Enemies are tough and will kill you multiple times, but they telegraph their attacks in a fair way and rarely do you die without having a pretty good idea of what you should be doing differently.

What can present an unfair challenge however is working around the game’s occasional lag and frame-rate drops that I was more than annoyed to encounter in a game so heavily reliant on timing and split-second decisions. These moments didn’t plague my time with it, in fact they were somewhat uncommon, but they did threaten to drag it down quite a bit when I missed an important dodge or a block because the game decided to chug in the very moment I pressed the button. With such short windows of time to dodge in certain boss fights, it can be very costly for a button press to fail to register. I can’t imagine this not getting smoothed over in the near future but it’s still worth a mention.

"I wouldn’t say Salt and Sacrifice is a particularly hard Soulslike most of the time. It’s certainly more challenging than a non-Soulslike, but as far as these games go, it’s a little more on the welcoming side of the spectrum than average."

It’s also worth a mention that these epic battles with the mages were immensely fun and satisfying otherwise. While the designs of the low-level common enemies sort of ran together a bit for me, the bosses are awesome and really effectively show off the personality of this art style. The variety in their attack patterns and general designs makes them the star of the show here. Given that wiping out these entities is heavily tied into the story, if you aren’t fighting one or getting ready to fight one, then you aren’t fully taking advantage of the game.

Traversal is another major spoke in Salt and Sacrifice’s wheel. Outside of wall hopping up narrow vertical tunnels, basic platforming and climbing up ladders, you also have some spots where a special ability is needed like windy updrafts, helpful ziplines, and glistening grapple points. These serve as the gatekeepers to a lot of areas in the game’s massive levels, which is where the backtracking mentality comes in. It’s a shame that using these techniques isn’t as satisfying as it could have been though, as an annoying amount of pin-point accuracy is often needed to do it right and most traversal abilities won’t work until the prompt for them is visible, which makes everything feel more stilted than just being able to use them when your naturally in range to do so. Plus, the animations for some of them, the grappling hook in particular, don’t look quite right. Still, the large levels are well designed with lots of splintering paths to explore and mini-bosses and interesting NPCs hidden pretty evenly throughout.

Salt and Sacrifice’s art direction is perhaps the most familiar part of it all that only lets characters move flatly and at their most basic joints, which doesn’t give different personalities much with which to express themselves. It’s certainly done better here than how a lot of other games handle the style though, as it’s accompanied by a lot of great background detail, multiple independent layers behind and in front of the action, as well as a nicely withered and pale look that gives the whole vibe of the game a desolate, moody character that’s hard to not like. I just wish the animation style was as expanded as the rest of the visuals instead of bottlenecking them with dimensionless movement.

"For veterans of Soulslikes, especially 2D ones, Salt and Sacrifice will fit neatly into your library as yet another largely successful interpretation of the subgenre. Those looking for the next level of challenge, artistic creativity, or gameplay innovation in it will almost certainly be left wanting though, as so much of this game’s DNA has already been explored countless times."

The sound effects and music seem to have been intentionally minimal throughout most of the game. While no sounds feel wrong or out of place, nothing really caught my ear as particularly interesting either. With that, and only the occasional decent piece of music rumbling beneath the more meaningful battles and revelatory moments, there’s not nearly as much to talk about with this game’s sound as I wish there was. Still yet, what’s here certainly serves its purpose.

For veterans of Soulslikes, especially 2D ones, Salt and Sacrifice will fit neatly into your library as yet another largely successful interpretation of the subgenre. Those looking for the next level of challenge, artistic creativity, or gameplay innovation in it will almost certainly be left wanting though, as so much of this game’s DNA has already been explored countless times. Still, while Salt and Sacrifice’s few wrinkles do add to the format, and with how well the boss fights pop off the screen, it’s still a game that has much more to like about it than not.

This game was reviewed on PC.

Salt and Sacrifice

Set against the backdrop of a high-fantasy world, this follow-up to the 2016 release Salt and Sanctuary is a more fleshed-out take on FromSoftware’s classics like Dark Souls and Demon’s Souls. In addition to brutal difficulty and gargantuan bosses, Salt and Sacrifice will also feature a healthy assortment of multiplayer options – from summoning other players to engaging in PvP to invading other players’ worlds. In all honesty, it’s Dark Souls – but in 2D.

Salt and Sacrifice releases for PS4, PS5, and PC on May 10th, 2022.