Hey everybody! I posted about the demo version of this game almost a year ago, and I’m happy to announce that the full version of the Salt Keep is out now! You can purchase it:
The Salt Keep is a character-focused text adventure and RPG (think interactive fiction with mechanics reminiscent of CYOA games or classic gamebooks) set in a high fantasy world where the traditional medieval aesthetics of swords and castles are set against the industrial creep of decaying feudalism. Follow traveling salesman Doyle as he stumbles into the brutal mystery of what happened to the village of Cardwyke, struggles to escape the seemingly unstoppable forces pursuing him, and hopes to find anybody who can free him of his debt. You can:
- Guide Doyle through the village of Cardwyke and the keep that looms above it.
- Collect items and discover their uses.
- Equip gear to improve Doyle’s ability scores.
- Succeed or fail at percentage-based challenges.
- Earn experience and level up based on those challenges.
- Talk to and work with NPCs to make progress.
- Uncover secrets and missable areas.
- Risk grievous bodily harm.
Despite the prevalence of choices and risks, there is no chance of death or dead-ends. The story always moves forward. In turn, you’ll change the outcome of Doyle’s story (as well as those of the NPCs he meets) not just through the things you choose to do, but through the things you fail to do, as well as the things you choose to ignore.
THE DEMO
A demo version is playable in the browser on itch.io if you want to see if the story interests you first. It covers the prologue and first chapter of the game (roughly two hours of play time), so it should give you a good taste of both where the narrative is taking you and how the game plays.
If you finish or decide at some point you want to continue into the full version, any progress you made can be transferred regardless of platform by following these instructions.
No technical knowledge needed!
THANK YOU!
To everybody who played the demo or gave feedback after that first post, I truly appreciate it. I hope you enjoy this! If you pick up the full version and you’re into it, be sure to leave a rating and/or review on whichever platform you chose. I’m a solo indie dev and this is, as you probably know, kind of a niche genre, so every bit of word of mouth makes a massive difference.
Have fun, and good luck, everybody! Doyle needs it!
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As an iOS voice-over user, the demo appears to be accessible enough on the browser. However, I’m hesitant to make the purchase, for fear that the app may not behave the same as the browser. I’d appreciate some feedback on this from a fellow voice-over user.
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The Android/iOS versions are basically built using an embedded browser (cordova app), so they should behave the same way. I haven’t had feedback from any frequent voice-over users yet, though, so I’ll update you here when I do. If it’s lacking, I’ll definitely see what I can do to improve it, as it should be a good candidate for that kind of thing.
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Is there a new game+ mode to restart with ending skills from a prior playthrough?
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No, though that’s an interesting idea. That said, there are two settings unlocked after completing the game called Sad Sack Mode and Hotshot Mode, which you can toggle to automatically pass or fail skill checks. In subsequent play-throughs, they’ll let you control/guarantee results.
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I saw those. I try avoid the extremes but i do appreciate the option.
Good luck with the release. Enjoying it so far.
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I took the plunge and had a blast. My first playthrough was quite the tragedy, but the hotshot mode was very welcome after what that poor character went through. I will recommend this to voice-over users. Thanks for this.
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That’s fantastic to hear, thanks so much! Also wow, you must have moved through it pretty quick. It’s been a labor of love over a long time, so it’s really great to see people enjoy it.
And thanks, I very much appreciate any recommendations (or ratings/reviews), I’m pretty sure word of mouth will be everything for this.
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Not sure if I’m allowed to do this, but I guess the only way to find out is the hard way. Here is a link to the game’s directory on Applevis, where the app’s accessibility will hopefully be discussed.
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Very much appreciate the detail in there. Gonna wait a bit for any potential bug reports before I get another version out, but I’ll definitely smooth out the labeling and stuff you mentioned there when I do.
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I had some unexpected delays getting this out, but the next version (v1.0.9) with fixes for the things you mentioned on AppleVis is up on all platforms. I also added a “no transitions” setting and fixed a couple of UI bugs, but the main button labels and settings page should be clearer for screen readers now.
Thanks again, this kind of feedback is really fantastic.
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