Indie development studio Ska Studios, most well known for their work on Charlie Murder and The Dishwasher series, have announced their latest game: Salt and Sanctuary. The two-person Seattle based team wrote on the PlayStation blog this morning to introduce the new game and provide information on their latest creation.

Salt and Sanctuary story puts you in the shoes of a sailor shipwrecked on a mysterious island that is insulated from a perpetual worldwide war. In this world, Sanctuaries are  protected dwellings where people unite under common creeds to take shelter from the many hostilities that exist in this conflict. The developers promise that the games premise and gameplay are heavily inspired by not just their own history as a studio, but games like Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow and the ongoing Souls series.

The emphasis of Salt and Sanctuary, though, is in its lovingly hand-drawn art, brutal curb-stomping combat and a passionately crafted in-house soundtrack. Stylistic side-scrolling combat is at a premium, with a variety of tools at your disposal like dual-wielding swords, throwing daggers, off-hand crossbows and staffs for magic. Load-outs can effect stamina and movement, barring you from performing continuous rolling dodges or prolonged air combat, promising to give the game a well tuned balance.

Marking their first venture onto the PlayStation platform the developers wrote in the blog that:

Developing with Sony is a new and exciting thing for us, but as seven year indie veterans in search of some next-gen direction, we were absolutely blown away by their support, enthusiasm, and devotion to giving us a home on their new platforms. We’re proud to announce that Salt and Sanctuary will be launching exclusively on PS4 and PS Vita next year.

Salt and Sanctuary will be shown to the public this weekend at PAX Prime in Seattle. You can check out a trailer with gameplay footage below.

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