The nice thing is that Salt and Sanctuary is always dirt cheap during sales, and definitely worth picking up, but yeah, I think most people prefer the first game to the second.

If you don't mind investing a couple more dollars, I'd definitely recommend playing Sanctuary first, and then Sacrifice if you have a hankering for more. I replay Salt and Sanctuary pretty much every year - it might be my favorite 2D metroidvania.

Then again, there are the rare reviewers who prefer Sacrifice, so shrug emoji.