Survival horror – mostly dark, dingy, deathly affairs yeah? Think again because Saturnalia is delivering one of those survival horror experiences to the PC and console worlds. It’s just this one has been whacked by the neon stick.
Available to purchase and download right now on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4 and PS5, Saturnalia launches after more than five years in development. It’s been put together by the team at Santa Ragione as they drop players into a survival horror adventure set in the Italian region of Sardinia; 1989 Sardinia no less.
Playing as a third-person roguelite horror, Saturnalia is something of a fever dream, one that has been inspired by the culture of the Sardinian lands and those giallo horror films that emerged from the Italian scene.
Telling the tale of a centuries-old ritual that takes place during winter solstice, Saturnalia places you in the shoes of four distinct protagonists as they use their various abilities and skills to escape the village of Gravoi. Of course, it’s not going to be a case of wander up to an exit and get the hell out of there; this world is full of haunting secrets and terrible creatures.
“After such a long journey, my team and I are beyond thrilled that you are finally getting a chance to play Saturnalia,” said Studio Director Pietro Righi Riva. “We took this opportunity to truly experiment with new mechanics and technology, and to tell a story that will surprise you. We hope it will make for a memorable Halloween season, and linger with you long after!”
In summary, Saturnalia is a game that will deliver a one-off setting, a game powered by some of the most unique visuals and capable to delivering a maze-like world to the masses. Out of summary and in further details, the key features sit as…
- One-Of-A-Kind Setting: meticulously designed and based on real-life location scouting throughout the island of Sardinia, Gravoi’s handcrafted areas are procedurally-recombined for each new game, ensuring that no two players will share the same village layout. And if all four of your protagonists meet an untimely end? The village rearranges and the player loses their orientation, adding another layer of complexity to exploration and puzzle-solving. But fear not—narrative and puzzle progress will remain consistent across game-overs.
- Immersive Visuals: the art of Saturnalia borrows from rotoscope animation, traditional etching, expressionist art and theater scenography to craft a world cloaked in color and shadow, producing an eerily beautiful atmosphere that is as enthralling as it is chilling. The combination of motion-captured facial expressions with a captivating art style provides an emotional core for players to connect with.
- Monster Maze: in the absence of markers or compasses, players must instead rely on signs and local landmarks to orient themselves within Gravoi—all while a terrible creature stalks the cobblestone streets, waiting for its chance to strike. Stealth and strategy are the means to avoiding its clutches, ranging from the use of tools to unlock secret passageways to careful management of a dwindling supply of matches to keep the darkness at bay.
- Band of Misfits: Saturnalia offers four unique playable characters, some of whom are available at the story’s outset while others must be unlocked. Each has his or her own special abilities that are integral to completing the game’s many puzzles, and players will be able to team up and switch between characters to cover more ground, survive attacks, and reveal new locations. Strategically using certain characters for certain challenges is a necessary component of Saturnalia: this group of outsiders must learn to trust each other, just as the player must learn how to best utilize their skills.
- Dynamic & Adaptive Narrative: The non-linear plot of Saturnalia allows for unique pathways of progression, letting the player dictate the order in which they’d like to tackle challenges and solve mysteries. Gravoi is a living and breathing world where any event can happen to any character at any time, with each event, puzzle, and character interaction dynamically integrated into the story. With agency as a core tenant of gameplay, each player will encounter a unique narrative experience, with a wide variety of methods to achieve their goals and complete the game.
Our review is fast incoming and will cover all the good and bad bits of Saturnalia in full. Until that time, grab a copy of the game from the digital store of your choosing – the Xbox Store will sort you out if you’re playing on Xbox One or Xbox Series X|S. Saturnalia is also on Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5 and PC.
The thing is, dare you join the Saturnalia ritual?
Game Description:
A third-person roguelite horror adventure where you play as four characters, experiencing an intergenerational storyline tied to the haunting traditions of an ancient village in Sardinia, Italy, a region rich with unique folklore… The village itself is an elaborate maze with no two iterations being precisely the same—you will have to explore and solve the mysteries of the game largely unguided. Die, and watch the village reconfigure itself into a new form. Solve puzzles and open shortcuts to new areas with tools and items you find along the way, unlocking every piece of the story with different characters, each with its own power and suited for another aspect of exploration and investigation.
