Choose Salt and Sanctuary
Choose Salt and Sanctuary if you want an Indie and RPG experience. On Steam, it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 88.1% positive across 7,119 reviews.
Salt and Sanctuary vs Source of Madness
Salt and Sanctuary and Source of Madness both land in Action on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both are Action games on Steam. Salt and Sanctuary (2016) is 6 years older than Source of Madness (2022). Salt and Sanctuary scores higher on Steam reviews (88.1% positive) than Source of Madness (73.5% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Source of Madness
Choose Source of Madness if you want the Shared/Split Screen PvP and PvP side of the pairing. On Steam, it's the newer release (2022) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Source of Madness launched in 2022.
Both Salt and Sanctuary and Source of Madness sit in Action on Steam and both list Multi-player and Shared/Split Screen, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 Salt and Sanctuary |  Source of Madness | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2016 | 2022 |
| Genres | Action, Indie, RPG | Action |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Deck Verified |
| Price | 17.99 USD | 19.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 88.1% positive (7,119 reviews) | 73.5% positive (604 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player | Multi-player |
| Developers | Ska Studios | Carry Castle |
Side by side
- Both are Action games on Steam.
- Salt and Sanctuary (2016) is 6 years older than Source of Madness (2022).
- Salt and Sanctuary scores higher on Steam reviews (88.1% positive) than Source of Madness (73.5% positive).
- Salt and Sanctuary is currently ~10% cheaper on Steam than Source of Madness (17.99 USD vs. 19.99 USD).
- Both are Deck Verified.
Salt and Sanctuary vs Source of Madness — FAQ
- Which is better, Salt and Sanctuary or Source of Madness?
- On Steam reviews Salt and Sanctuary scores higher (88.1% positive) than Source of Madness (73.5% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, Salt and Sanctuary is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play Salt and Sanctuary or Source of Madness first?
- If you want chronology, Salt and Sanctuary (2016) came out before Source of Madness (2022). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Salt and Sanctuary and Source of Madness similar?
- They overlap on Action on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.
- Do Salt and Sanctuary and Source of Madness both run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — both are Steam Deck Verified, meaning Valve confirms they run with full controller support, legible text, and default settings out of the box.