ARC Raiders
ARC Raiders
Game
Game2025
Salt 2: Shores of Gold
Developer Lavaboots Studios
Salt 2 is a pirate-themed open world adventure focused on exploration, crafting, and survival. Play solo or with up to 5 friends, sailing the sea with your ship as a mobile base. Discover islands full of quests, towns, caves, and secrets. Level up, craft gear, hunt, fish, and customize your ship. From the Steam store page
248 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Oct 9, 2026 · last updated Oct 11, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
76
LovedLoved
174 positive · 56 negative
95% range 70–81%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 174 | 56 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 4 | 1 | 12 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
1,283 of 1,520 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
75% recommend · 174 yes, 57 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 231 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (2,010 of 2,380 positive).
Players praise the game as a chill, relaxing pirate adventure without PvP. [1][2][3] Some reviewers note the lack of naval combat and repetitive gameplay. [4][5][6] Co-op issues and bland execution are criticized by several players. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [4]
A pirate game, with ships, but no ship combat. I don't know, it's disappointing. It's fun and all but definitely a bit silly to me.
- [1]
Very simple and enjoyable game. I would like to see ship combat but for what it is, im having a good time. Honestly, it's a breath of fresh air that its not some kind of pvp game.
- [3]
I'm at 260 hours and realized I should probably recommend this game, and I do. Chill and relaxing. Sometimes it's just nice to sail. Anyone expecting Assassin's Creed Black Flag or Sea of Thieves won't find it here. Think more of a bit of Skyrim mixed with a bit of LOZ Windwaker (and I stress JUST A BIT of each) and the focus isn't so much on plot as just go at your own pace exploration with some mild survival …
- [10]
5/5! If Sea of Thieves were a PVE-focused RPG rather than a PVP Action game, you'd get Salt 2! I'm 5.5 hours in and I keep giddily shouting at my wife every time I discover some new cool item or game feature. Beautiful graphics in an immersive environment, from the wind in the tree leaves to the waves on the sea. The RPG elements are fun, well-balanced, and seamlessly implemented. The skill bonuses and skill trees …
- [2]
I've been playing Salt 2 since the earliest days of Early Access, and its evolution has been great to watch. As it stands now, it is a mostly chill seafaring adventure game I'd recommend to anyone who is into a chill seafaring adventure. Everything surrounds traveling by a series of boats which you can decorate separately to fit your purpose, and summon at will. You venture out in search of quest points, factions, …
Summarised from 34 of the 249 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 12, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Salt 2: Shores of Gold sits at 76% positive across 230 opinionated reactions from 3 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Reactions
60 of 248 · most liked firstA pirate game, with ships, but no ship combat. I don't know, it's disappointing. It's fun and all but definitely a bit silly to me.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very simple and enjoyable game. I would like to see ship combat but for what it is, im having a good time. Honestly, it's a breath of fresh air that its not some kind of pvp game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Let me preface by saying this, for a game made by 2 people it is freakin impressive. This is one of the few open world crafting games I really enjoyed playing. Granted the game does feels short of few features as a pirate game like canons on ship or ship combat in general. But it does makes up for it with sailing, cave dungeons, dynamic weather, crafting, treasure hunting even underwater, fishing, hunting animals, ship building, general combat, plethora of quests, boss fights and navigation…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Some of the other geniuses who leave reviews don't read the game's description before buying. I bought the game SPECIFICALLY because there's no naval combat. There are TONS of games that provide this. I wanted one that didn't. Every other aspect of the game is what I was after. If you're wanting naval combat, play another game. Just don't buy one that specifically says it's not in there and then leave a review complaining about it. That makes you stupid. I play this with my 9yo and we have a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have played over 200 hours in this game. This game is leagues better than Salt 1. This game is not SoT. It isn't like SoT in ANY capacity. I have over 5000 hours in SoT. I know what I'm talking about. THIS IS NOT LIKE SOT AT ALL. It isn't like Windrose, either. If you're coming into this game thinking it will be like that, you best turn around right now. This game is NOT for you. This game is not for players that want high octane, instant gratification. This game is a slow…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Feels bland and the co-op system is not well made, everything is instanced even walking into a store requires your friend join you, also friends don't share quests. It does look very pretty, especially underwater. The gameplay just doesn't do it for me though. No naval combat is a big miss imo
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Compared to other titles in the same genre and price range, Salt 2 falls short in meaningful content. The gameplay loop quickly devolves into repetitive grinding: sail to an island, gather resources, move on, repeat. What should feel like an exciting voyage instead becomes a monotonous cycle with little sense of progression or discovery. While the concept of exploring a vast ocean world is appealing, the execution lacks depth, variety, and reward. Instead of feeling like an adventure, Salt 2…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Formulaeic and dull. Somehow, all of the charm that Salt 1 had is taken out of this one, and is replaced with something that could just as well be made by an AI, since it's devoid of any creativity what so ever. You enjoy finding rare items? Well, when you level up to the next tier, they'll be everywhere. Completely removing the point of them being rare in the first place. Find a rare item on this tier? Guess what'll be a common drop on the next tier. The quests are also generally dull, and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I want to like this game. I want to PLAY this game. I picked it up for co-op with my wife and son. Unfortunately, there is one little problem with co-op play that ruins the whole experience. You cannot enter or exit ANY location in the game unless ALL players are together with you. Yes, in this co-op open world game your group has to follow each other around everywhere, all the time. It ruins the experience and sadly makes the game unplayable. Maybe I'll play it solo and actually enjoy…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Advertised as a co-op game but most aspects of the game are not shared between players. Boring combat, generic survival crafting system, boring navigation, uninteresting locations. A good idea with very lacklustre execution. Can't recommend without a very substantial overhaul.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This could’ve been a great pirate survival game, but it just isn’t. The idea is solid and there are some nice touches, but everything feels half-finished and overly simple. It gets boring really fast. You keep doing the same thing over and over: sail to an island, loot everything, kill a few enemies, sail or fast travel back. That’s the entire loop. Every island looks the same, every encounter feels identical, and the puzzles are extremely basic. There’s no real sense of progress or long-term…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sailing is good, especially under the night sky box, some constellations and/or identified stars would be awesome. Navigation of the seas is engaging and simplistic enough to enjoy. The lack of interactivity with the game world is not good. For a survival-crafting title, expectations are that a player can find a tree, chop down said tree, and gather the resources. Most stones the player cant break, trees the player cant cut down, foliage the player cant take. This leaves myself with the feeling…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's pretty good except for one thing, in coop all players have to stay together. That means if my wife doesn't want to join the marauders guild and I do I miss out on content because all players have to be on the same level of the quest for any of them to access it and they can't habit different instances of the same world. The coop experience is infuriating, it feels like 2003.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've been playing Salt 2 since the earliest days of Early Access, and its evolution has been great to watch. As it stands now, it is a mostly chill seafaring adventure game I'd recommend to anyone who is into a chill seafaring adventure. Everything surrounds traveling by a series of boats which you can decorate separately to fit your purpose, and summon at will. You venture out in search of quest points, factions, and materials, navigating using a compass and a sextant (though both are…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm at 260 hours and realized I should probably recommend this game, and I do. Chill and relaxing. Sometimes it's just nice to sail. Anyone expecting Assassin's Creed Black Flag or Sea of Thieves won't find it here. Think more of a bit of Skyrim mixed with a bit of LOZ Windwaker (and I stress JUST A BIT of each) and the focus isn't so much on plot as just go at your own pace exploration with some mild survival elements. Arachnophobes beware, there are spiders in a few places, and they're all…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great game when you don't feel like dealing with the stresses of Sea of Thieves. Things I would love to see added: Recruitable NPC "crew" Harsher sea conditions (much more ship motion, and bigger waves) Remove or mitigate waves clipping through the ship when sailing
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm a sucker for pirate games, but this feels like they just took everything from Salt 1 and added new, interesting things. Haven't seen a sequel that just does the first game but better in a long time.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Salt 2: Shores Of Gold Review Salt 2 is a solid exploration-based action game, with enough depth and variety to last for the long run, without being too complex to become annoying for the less-hardcore audience. Clearly, a great amount of attention was put into making a world that is virtually infinite, and yet keeps up interest for a long time; something not every game manages to do—quite the opposite, in fact. Not counting ship customization, Salt 2 isn’t particularly great at anything, but…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Currently cannot recommend. Your ship is just an inventory item you can place at will, it doesnt feel like an actual presence in the world. There is no naval combat in a pirate game... There is so charm here but it is crippled by one thing. There is no penalty for death. You die, you respawn 2 feet away and the enemies dont. So this is an adventure game with no danger in it. It feels flat and lifeless as a result. If they add some difficulty settings for people who enjoy some risk in their…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Im glad I didnt heed the negative reviews. Ive played it solo and it is a fun game. Still got stuff to do to finish the game, so bye.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was very close to giving up on the game in the first couple hours. I'm glad I stuck with it though. If you're thinking about buying this, keep in mind that it was only made by two people. It does not have naval combat, the sailing mechanics are very basic, and the enemy AI and combat isn't the greatest. That said, you won't find anything else like this game out there. The best part for me is that you can basically focus on whatever you feel like, whether it's exploring, questing, or just…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not a bad game, and there is fun to be had here and there. But it splits itself apart in semi-procedural generated and disjointed bits that makes it all very basic, and this to such a degree where everything that makes a game interesting is lost. It would probably had been much better served with collecting its ports and villages into combined units that could produce larger and meaningful hubs that had more life, quests, factions and maybe even an opposing pirate queen or duchess to vow or…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Seemed like a fun exploration game but you shouldn't be able to kill literal future "QUEST NPCS" that don't have the ability to respawn. I found "Pirate Island" early in the game like a hour or two in killed all the pirates. It turns out that there is a intro quest called Marauders Initiation where you need to kill the Pirate Captain. Well he no long exists and the only fix is to start over? TERRIBLE GAME DESIGN.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a very chill experience, and that is appreciated. I get that the devs wanted it to be this and they hit their target. I'd like more to do, I love exploring but nearly every island is some kind of locked door requiring some kind of token. It's become just a game of finding the place I can't go and trying to figure out how to enter, before I give up and just go fishing. Maybe storms? Hostile reefs to damage the boat? I get that it's supposed to be a chill time but it currently is so…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →its a fun game but i feel like the combat system needs a rework. it feels clunky. its a pirate game with no ship combat so i'm not sure what the devs were thinking on this one. if your not going to add ship combat why even make a pirate game?
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great game, well polished. Nice to see it out of EA, hope they keep expanding content. Would be great to see Pets or NPC Companions introduced at some point and a greater variety of Islands. Still needs some love and attention with the food mechanics: you have to eat quite a lot of food items to fill the hunger bar. Needs more enemies/mobs in dungeons and camps.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wanted to like this game so bad but it's impractical to play solo because you have to manually operate everything on the ship so you have run to the sails to rais or lower them then back to the wheel over and over. it's like trying to play sea of thieves alone. there also is no cannons or ship combat, the only pirates are small groups on islands.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This ones a little confusing i want to like it but i feel its gameplay loop is what kills it. (go to this island loot and murder everything, on to the next) its not a bad game and a definite improvement from the first salt but falls short due to its repetitive gameplay with just barely enough new things to stay entertaining if the devs make a 3rd edition to the series i hope they include naval combat i know its a PvE but it would make the world feel more alive having to fight off other ai…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love this game and have grown very fond of it. As a young widow, the nights are hard, the days are almost unbearable, but knowing how my late husband loved to game keeps me coming back to games like this. The atmosphere is tranquil and the music is soul food. It is grindy, but that is exactly what I need. The space to just zone out and remember and work through some emotions. My husband and I have gamed together for YEARS. This is the only game that gives me nostalgia and I can honestly say,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →When I saw this game on the store page, I instantly had a feeling I was going to enjoy it. Beginning the game was an easy experience and from there on out it was smooth sailing. As somebody who doesn't get to enjoy the pleasures of having friends to play these games with, I found it enjoyable being able to go on a solo adventure and complete quests without feeling like the difficulty was too much. I often feel as if other pirate themed games are quite difficult without a crew to maintain your…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you are looking for a more relaxed version of the Sea of Thieves experience then this game is for you. Salt 2 focuses on a more casual PVE experience with your pirate ship also doubling as your base and crafting center. You can fully customize the layout of your ship with all kinds of neat decorations and freely explore the ocean to find 50+ little islands with loot, plunder, enemies to fight, and mysteries to solve. Overall the game has cool graphics, great sound, music and the controls are…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I feel a little like I was lied to with this game. When I bought it, it was sitting at a Very Positive/Overwhelmingly Positive rating, and now it's firmly in Mixed, which is where I feel like it belongs. Where did all those positive ratings come from? Great question. Moving on. What you get here is a fairly boring survival crafting sandbox where your house is just a ship that you don't get to build or really customize besides placing crafting stations. Everything is procedurally generated and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →5/5! If Sea of Thieves were a PVE-focused RPG rather than a PVP Action game, you'd get Salt 2! I'm 5.5 hours in and I keep giddily shouting at my wife every time I discover some new cool item or game feature. Beautiful graphics in an immersive environment, from the wind in the tree leaves to the waves on the sea. The RPG elements are fun, well-balanced, and seamlessly implemented. The skill bonuses and skill trees are exciting, the crafting is casual-friendly, and the equipment is terrific -…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There is so much to do and explore. Fighting, cooking, crafting, sailing, fishing, hunting, diving, mining and more! It can be mellow or frantic. The water graphics are stunning. Moon and stars, storms, boss fights, crafting. I liked Salt. I really like Salt 2.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I came into this game blind not knowing or ever hearing about it. It seemed like something I could sink my teeth into thinking it to be a simple and straight forward experience. Having some hours put into it thus far, I can say the game went deeper than I thought offering interesting RPG mechanics and stunning visuals along with fun pirate lore you can read as you find books upon your travels. Is the game simple? Well, yes, but in a good way. If you are an elder scrolls fan, you will like this.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Thank you for making a game i didn't know i needed. Haven't played this game nor the first salt much but the first one was really relaxing just floating over the sea with your little raft, navigating into the horizon, not knowing what lied ahead, doing some quests here and there. And the funny part was, it just was simple and yet so vast. Glad to see the game doing so well and even went out of early access just now. Definitely going to put some solid hours into this one so see you on the other…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's fun at first but soon becomes repetitive, especially the trips that become extremely monotonous. After a certain point everything becomes the same, that is, the enemies are no longer a challenge, the islands always look the same and on top of that having to look at the screen for ten minutes every time you have to go to an island becomes frustrating The water physics are top notch
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Extremely fun sailing game, go on adventures, with friends or solo, the world slowly gets more complex as you level up thanks to the world tier system, and there's loads of different kinds of dungeons, islands, and ocean points of interest you can find, all with varied variations of them. There's treasure maps, puzzles, riddles, and exploration is absolutely the name of the game. Inventory management is basically a non-issue, as you're allowed to carry rather huge amounts of items as well as…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wanted to like this game.. But there isn't enough game to like. I like the idea of a multiplayer pirate simulator but this game doesn't have the primary pirate stuff I was looking for, like ship to ship combat and raiding NPCs. Overall the game feels half baked and I refunded it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game looks very nice and the previews seemed interested, but ultimately it just feels "hollow". There's not enough going on in the world, it all feels very empty, not truly random. I want to find cool stuff exploring but its all just, empty. No ship cannons, lots of stuff missing.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →On the one hand, this is a big upgrade on Salt and a good sandbox adventure in its own right - there's a whole load of island types and different POIs to discover, gear to craft and upgrade, puzzles to solve, big ships to work towards, and enough side quests and activities to keep you engaged for a good chunk of time. On the other hand, to some extent it sacrifices the freedom of the first game for a carefully-designed strictly-tiered progression system. You're not going to get to build that…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →IDK, when I first saw the game my immediate thought (having never seen or played Salt 1) was that it would be an RPG version of Sea of Thieves, which honestly was my dream. But after actually playing it, the game feels very dull. It’s not what I hoped for and that’s partly on me for having the wrong expectations but it was just boring. I know I’ve only played for about 2 hours, but I have zero desire to keep going. The missions felt repetitive, and all the islands blended together. I think…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Simple yet so ambitious. A good RPG-pirate-like game. Remember that this game was made by only 2 people on my knowledge. And here is the thing, its a game that gives me peace and good memories. When my dad was hospitalized, i played this game as a form of escapism, just the cozyness of the game, the desprentecious exploring and no stress with ship battles and loosing all your loot. Whatever, returning to the main point, my dad was hospitalized for 3 months until, sadly, he was gone, died with a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →chill game. keep the graphics and improve the performance/framerate on lower end pc's. would like to see better enemy hit reaction physics, boat cannon warfare, and more underwater content like scuba diving or fun stuff like in subnautica. 9/10 game and keep the updates coming please, great job!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Worth the money. I've sunk quite a bit of time in it and done almost everything. Good times. The combat is cheeks but whatever. Parry is fun. Co-op is actually pretty good.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not nearly as fun as it looks. Clunky and confusing, this one gets old fast. AVOID
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a really good game. Big thank you to the developers for offering an optional "Easy" mode for those who prefer casual easy gameplay.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am enjoying this game. Its very pretty, there are lots of things to explore. The water physics makes the sailing pretty nice. Its not a complicated or super deep game. I would describe it as a casual adventure game. Update after quite a few more hours: I want to be clear, while this feels casual in that it is fairly simple to learn, does not have complicated combat and lets you take your time while moving through the world, there is a LOT to do in the game; crafting, fishing, hunting,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a casual sailing simulator, nothing more. If you bought it thinking it will be a pirate game you will be disappointed. There isn't even much to do on the sailing front.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I took a chance on this game after lengthy consultation with Copilot AI. In many ways it reminds me of the Elder Scrolls games, which were among my all time favorites - Salt is just a little watered down version set to a pirate theme. I'm not looking for intense combat, just very relaxing exploration, very light combat. I'm already putting in 8-12 hr days and really feeling drawn into it. This is NOT pirate PVP, but it certainly fills a niche for those players who aren't looking for that…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →So I bought this a long time ago and have been waiting for naval combat or actual death penalties at the least. Right now there feels like no point to this game since you just respawn right where you die with no negative consequences. Also the lack of other ships in a pirate game is pretty absurd.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really cute game! It's a pretty cozy title to spend some time in the evenings with, especially if you have someone to play with. The recent updates have really been making improvements to the game. You can explore watery caves, fight skeletons, build on your ship, and sail through storms! There's tons of interesting quests and things to find. There isn't ship to ship combat, and the world is procedurally generated to the point that it's pretty random. I wouldn't describe this game as…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Honestly, its a great game especially considering how small the development team is. If you're looking for something more casual and relaxing, this is the game with a lot of nice features that help keep it relaxing. The fighting is fairly basic but still enjoyable enough and the fact their is no PVP makes this game immediately better then Sea of Theives in my humble opinion. It may take you a little over an hour to get absorbed into it, but once you get absorbed into it it's a fun game to take…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Decided to give it a try, and I'm really enjoying it! So much to do, but more relaxing to play for an older gamer like me. Highly recommend!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Out of all the Pirate games I've played, this is the best one. Most of these Pirate games end up going one of two ways, you're a trader and there isn't any combat (so you're not really a pirate), or it turns into Sea of Thieves with forced PVP and a toxic cesspool of a community. This hits that sweet spot for me where it has combat, treasures to find, and infinite islands to explore AND its singleplayer. I love it, and can't wait to see what else will get added later! :)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →good, not great, but good
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is a nice, relaxed pirate game. I had fun, but the game crashed every ten minutes or so. Maybe I'll revisit it once it is developed, patched a but more, but it is unplayable in its current state.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Oufff... there's a lot to say here. I forced myself to finish the main storyline and I probably shouldn't have. Salt2 is a very very basic game, in all aspect. Graphics, gameplay, world building, puzzles, it's game making like we did in the late 1990s early 2000s. If you are intimidated by videogames, are looking for something to get your feet wet, and the theme appeals to you, this game might be for you. The price is friendly too. In many ways it feels like a student project where the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Do NOT buy this game if you want to play it with friends. I would return it if I could, because I have never seen worse multiplayer functionality in a so-called "released" game. We were really hoping for a good Sea of Thieves replacement, but this ain't it. Pros: - The map/sextant functionality is actually kinda fun and I enjoy game maps that don't hold your hand - Some minor boat customization, I guess? Cons: - The game does NOT look good. As in: the style of islands to sea/sky is completely…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don't understand how this game has very positive reviews - terrible co-op experience, terrible optimisation, poor balancing and no direction.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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