Saturnalia (video game)
{{Short description|2022 video game}}
{{Infobox video game
| title = Saturnalia
| image = Saturnalia cover.jpg
| developer = Santa Ragione
| publisher = Santa Ragione
| engine = Unity
| platforms = {{ubl|Microsoft Windows|PlayStation 4|PlayStation 5|Xbox One|Xbox Series X/S|MacOS|Nintendo Switch}}
| released = October 27, 2022
| modes = Single-player
| director = Pietro Righi Riva
| writer = Chris Remo;{{Cite web|url=https://www.chrisremo.com/saturnalia-wheels-of-aurelia|title=Saturnalia & Wheels of Aurelia|website=Chris Remo}} Federico Corbetta Caci; Nick Breckon
| composer = Michael Manning;{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GaSd9swEBk&ab_channel=MichaelManning | title=Saturnalia // Save & Sound Festival Audio Walkthrough | website=YouTube | date=8 August 2023 }} Nicolò Sala
}}
Saturnalia is a survival horror video game developed and published by the Italian studio Santa Ragione, and released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch on October 27, 2022. It is the first Italian game to be created with the support of the Sardegna Film Commission.{{Cite web |last=admin |date=2022-10-26 |title=Saturnalia: il primo videogioco nato in Italia dalla collaborazione con una film commission |url=https://www.sardegnafilmcommission.it/saturnalia-videogioco-sardegna |access-date=2023-10-21 |website=Sardegna Film Commission |language=it-IT}} This morbid jigsaw puzzle is available on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S.{{Cite news |date=November 1, 2022 |title=‘Saturnalia’ is a morbid jigsaw puzzle that’s more clever than scary |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/reviews/saturnalia-review/ |work=The Washington Post}}
The game has been described as a neon-folk horror game.{{Cite news |last=Bell |first=Alice |date=2022-10-27 |title=Saturnalia review: a truly unique, beautiful, and exquisite horror game |language=en |work=Rock, Paper, Shotgun |url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/saturnalia-review |access-date=2023-10-20}}
Gameplay
Saturnalia is a survival horror adventure game presented in a third-person view that incorporates roguelike mechanics into the main gameplay. The player controls one of the four available characters{{snd}}Anita, Sergio, Claudia and Paul{{snd}}through a Sardinian village where an ancient ritual has been held and a mysterious creature is on the loose. The roguelike element is represented by Gravoi, the village where the game takes place, which reshuffles its configuration each time all the characters are lost.
Development
The concept of setting the game in Sardinia was decided early in development as "...the Island rifes of folklore, different cultures stratifications, stories and masks. Also, it was never used before in a videogame, and we thought that it could work as an element of identity for Saturnalia, something that would make it immediately recognizable"{{Cite web |last=Colantonio |first=Alessandro |date=2021-03-17 |title=Intervista a Santa Ragione, lo studio di Saturnalia {{!}} Raccontare l'Italia nei videogiochi |url=https://www.player.it/interviste/464641-intervista-santa-ragione-saturnalia-italia.html |access-date=2023-10-24 |website=Player.it |language=it-IT}}
The game visuals feature a 'sketched' character style and animations inspired by stop-motion and rotoscoping film techniques, with influences from the 1970's giallo Italian movies.{{Cite magazine |last=LeBlanc |first=Wesley |title=Saturnalia Is A Survival Horror Indie With An Art Style You Have To See |url=https://www.gameinformer.com/2022/08/05/saturnalia-is-a-survival-horror-indie-with-an-art-style-you-have-to-see |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220805190030/https://www.gameinformer.com/2022/08/05/saturnalia-is-a-survival-horror-indie-with-an-art-style-you-have-to-see |url-status=live |archive-date=August 5, 2022 |access-date=2023-10-21 |magazine=Game Informer |language=en}} and Italian comics by Sergio Bonelli Editore.{{Citation |title=Saturnalia - Interview with the developer | date=7 September 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIjQTbLcOQ8 |access-date=2023-10-24 |language=en}}
Release
The game was released on October 27, 2022 on the Epic Games Store{{Citation |title=Saturnalia – Coming to Epic Games Store | date=23 March 2020 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkL5LBiDxWg |access-date=2023-10-21 |language=en}} with a year-long standard exclusivity deal. It was free for the first week of release.{{Cite web |last=Duckworth |first=Joshua |date=2022-10-23 |title=Epic Games Store Free Game for October 27 Should be the Start of a New Trend |url=https://gamerant.com/epic-games-store-free-day-one-titles-when-saturnalia/ |access-date=2023-10-21 |website=Game Rant |language=en}}
= Post-release =
Announced during the Indie Horror Showcase Livestream,{{Citation |title=Indie Horror Showcase Livestream 2023 | date=19 October 2023 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA5lhCjC9ZM |access-date=2023-10-21 |language=en}} Saturnalia is coming to Steam on November 8, 2023, with additional new features such as a first-person and a hybrid third person-first person mode, a photo mode, new accessibility options and a black-and-white film noir filter.{{Citation |title=Saturnalia – Steam Release Date Trailer | date=19 October 2023 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wERsTcYBTqA |access-date=2023-10-21 |language=en}} A 40-minute demo is currently available on Steam.{{Cite news |date=2023-09-08 |title=Psychedelic survival horror Saturnalia now has a 40-minute demo on Steam |language=en |work=Eurogamer.net |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/psychedelic-survival-horror-saturnalia-now-has-a-40-minute-demo-on-steam |access-date=2023-10-21}}
Reception
{{Video game reviews
| MC = PC: 80/100
PS5: 72/100
XONE: 78/100
| IGN = 7/10
| Edge = 8/10
| EuroG = {{Rating|4|5}}
}}
Saturnalia received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.{{Cite web |title=Saturnalia |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/saturnalia/ |access-date=2023-10-20 |website=www.metacritic.com |language=en}}
Edge praised the roguelike mechanic and disquieting mood, writing "[But] The knowledge that on our next visit Gravoi will be unknowable once more is a major reason why this disquieting, disorienting place leaves us as properly rattled as we've been by a video game since Immortality".{{Cite magazine |date=Christmas 2022 |title=Saturnalia |pages=114–115 |magazine=Edge |issue=378}}
IGN Italia felt that "Saturnalia works more as a conceptual idea and visual level than on a strictly playful one, but it is an imbalance that does not excessively affect the pleasure of the experience."{{Cite web |last=Mancini |first=Davide "Shea" |date=2022-10-27 |title=Saturnalia - La recensione |url=https://it.ign.com/saturnalia-pc/197982/review/saturnalia-la-recensione |access-date=2023-10-21 |website=IGN Italia |language=it}}
Rock Paper Shotgun appreciated "its character and location design in the style of a giallo movie but isn't trying to be either of them - which means Saturnalia ends up feeling more cinematic and theatrical than games that try much harder to do so."{{Cite news |last=Bell |first=Alice |date=2022-10-27 |title=Saturnalia review: a truly unique, beautiful, and exquisite horror game |language=en |work=Rock, Paper, Shotgun |url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/saturnalia-review |access-date=2023-10-21}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.saturnaliagame.com/ Official website]
Category:Survival horror video games
Category:Video games developed in Italy
Category:Single-player video games
Category:Nintendo Switch games