Salt 2: Shores of Gold

Salt 2: Shores of Gold is an open-world pirate-themed game emphasizing exploration, crafting, and survival over traditional naval combat. Players start on a deserted island and gradually build up their ships, explore procedurally generated islands, and engage in quests, crafting, and underwater exploration. The game’s sailing mechanics and atmospheric visuals, including dynamic weather and beautiful ocean views, receive high praise for creating a relaxing and immersive experience. Multiplayer is cooperative and instanced, allowing players to explore together without PvP interruptions.

However, the absence of ship-to-ship combat and PvP elements is a frequent point of contention, with some players feeling the game lacks the core pirate experience. Combat and crafting systems are considered functional but occasionally clunky or simplistic. Procedural generation leads to repetitive environments, and some technical issues, such as UI bugs and performance fluctuations on lower-end hardware, have been reported. Despite this, the game is appreciated for its charm, depth in exploration, and steady updates from a small developer team.

Highlights

Players especially praise the relaxing sailing mechanics and the beautiful, atmospheric visuals that enhance exploration. The navigation system using a sextant and compass is lauded for adding depth and immersion. The game offers a wide variety of activities—crafting, treasure hunting, underwater exploration, and dungeon crawling—that keep gameplay engaging. Multiplayer co-op is well-implemented, allowing shared adventures without PvP stress. The soundtrack and environmental sounds complement the serene pirate-themed world, creating a meditative experience. The game’s open-ended nature and quest variety provide satisfying progression for exploration fans.

Criticisms

Common criticisms focus on the lack of ship-to-ship combat, which many feel is essential in a pirate game. Combat is described as clunky and simplistic, with enemy AI lacking challenge or personality. Procedural generation leads to repetitive island layouts and quest design, reducing long-term excitement. The game’s pacing is sometimes too relaxed, and the narrative is considered light or minimal. Technical issues such as UI responsiveness problems, input glitches, and performance drops on lower-end PCs detract from the experience. Some players find the co-op system too instanced, limiting shared progression and interaction.