Saint Kotar
- November 22, 2022
- Red Martyr Entertainment
- 5h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on Xbox Games StoreIn "Saint Kotar," you play as two devout monks who investigate a series of grisly murders in a small, religiously divided town. As you uncover dark secrets and supernatural forces, you must navigate the town's tense political climate and decide how far you're willing to go to uphold your moral beliefs. Your choices will determine the fate of the town and its inhabitants, as well as your own soul.
Mac OS
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 4
Playstation 5
Windows
Xbox One
Xbox Series X|S
Linux
PlayStation
Xbox
Reviews
- The game features a compelling and dark storyline that draws players in with its mysteries and twists.
- The atmosphere is well-crafted, with great graphics and music that enhance the eerie setting of the game.
- Players appreciate the multiple endings and choices that impact the story, adding replay value for those interested in exploring different outcomes.
- The dialogue is often lengthy and tedious, leading to a slow-paced experience that can feel like a chore to get through.
- Many players found the main character, Benedek, to be unlikable and frustrating, which detracted from their overall enjoyment of the game.
- The game lacks meaningful puzzles and gameplay mechanics, making it feel more like a visual novel than a traditional point-and-click adventure.
- story71 mentions
- 28 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The story of "Saint Kotar" is a mixed bag, praised for its compelling atmosphere and intriguing plot twists, yet criticized for its convoluted narrative and lengthy dialogues that can detract from the experience. While some players appreciate the depth and branching choices, others find the storytelling confusing and overly complex, leading to a sense of frustration. Overall, the game offers a dark and eerie narrative that may appeal to fans of atmospheric storytelling, but it requires patience to navigate its intricacies.
“The story is compelling and winds its way into an abyss of mysteries and horrific scenarios.”
“The strongest point of this game is the storyline, which is very compelling with a very dark setting.”
“The story has unforeseen twists and most of the time it captures the dark setting well.”
“It's a slow, tedious, click-through story with minimal gameplay, just interminable dialogue to click through.”
“The story is a convoluted mess, and while I see comments and replies from the devs saying it's crucial for the story/character development, every writer benefits from having an editor and objective feedback.”
“When so many people tell you the dialogues are unnecessarily lengthy and the story is hard to follow, maybe you should consider that your way of storytelling doesn't work as you intended.”
- atmosphere18 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in "Saint Kotar" is widely praised for its creepy and immersive qualities, enhanced by well-crafted music and detailed environments. While some reviews note issues with voice acting and character design, the overall ambiance effectively contributes to the game's storytelling and mood, making it a standout feature. Players appreciate the blend of atmospheric elements that create a compelling and spooky experience, despite some inconsistencies in execution.
“The music in this is astoundingly atmospheric and moody, so it's a perfect fit for this game.”
“The atmosphere is fantastic, the music is really nice, and the environments are well drawn.”
“Great game, interesting story, spooky atmosphere!!!”
“The atmosphere is creepy, and things got a lot darker than I expected from when I played the prologue.”
“Such a shame because there is some potential with background scene design, atmosphere, and music.”
“Nestled in amongst the usual adventure game tropes and shenanigans, the atmosphere gradually built up to a jump-scare that successfully scared me away from the game for a good six months.”
- music13 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its atmospheric and moody qualities, effectively enhancing the dark and immersive environments. While it may not be a standout soundtrack, it complements the game's aesthetic and lore, contributing significantly to the overall experience. However, some reviewers noted occasional shortcomings in ambient sound during key scenes.
“The music in this is astoundingly atmospheric and moody, so it's a perfect fit for this game.”
“The atmosphere is fantastic, music is really nice and the environments are well drawn.”
“Such a shame because there is some potential with background scene design, atmosphere, and music.”
“The music fits the setting, and while not a stand-out soundtrack, definitely sets the bleak, dark mood.”
“The music fits the setting, and while not a stand-out soundtrack, definitely sets the bleak, dark mood.”
- gameplay13 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it linear and lacking in challenges, reminiscent of a walking simulator. While the exploration and narrative elements are appreciated, many feel that the game could benefit from more complex puzzles or a tracking system to enhance player engagement. Overall, it successfully pays homage to classic point-and-click games, though it may not satisfy those seeking a more dynamic gameplay experience.
“Gameplay wise, this is quite well put together.”
“Nice story and gameplay.”
“The gameplay is exploration and narrative based, very few puzzles with straightforward solutions, but the characters' journey got me really invested.”
“But the longer I played, it felt like a walking simulator, which was ruining the gameplay, so I had a hard time finishing the game.”
“The gameplay is also incredibly frustrating in some places.”
“From a gameplay perspective, the game seems pretty linear with zero challenges so far.”
- graphics11 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many players noting that they feel outdated, reminiscent of early 2000s titles. While some appreciate the nostalgic charm and atmospheric dark landscapes, others criticize the visuals as mediocre and lacking innovation, detracting from the overall experience. Overall, the graphics evoke a sense of nostalgia but may not meet the expectations of modern gamers.
“At the very least, Saint Kotar brings you aesthetic pleasure, with its fascinating dark landscapes and spooky music.”
“Sveti Kotar and its environs is a gloomy, god-forsaken corner of Croatia, and its miasma pours through the graphics, music, and lore.”
“Whilst the graphics may look kinda dated compared to some other adventure games, it charmed me with the nostalgia, and got me in the best headspace I needed for the game.”
“I'll go on though, just to know where this game takes me - I'll rate it negatively for the moment, as I found it deeply boring - but all in all, it worked a bit like a time machine for me, where I was carried back at least 10 years in the past: graphics, voices, ambience and how the game tries to pull you in all felt old and stale.”
“Of course, you are not allowed to skip screens and teleport to the next one, you have to admire the blatantly outdated graphics every step of the way.”
“I won't comment too much on the graphics because they look like they came straight out of 2003.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be slow and tedious, characterized by excessive dialogue and minimal gameplay, making exploration feel laborious and unengaging.
“It's a slow, tedious, click-through story with minimal gameplay, just interminable dialogue to click through.”
“Walking (and also running) around is tedious and slow.”
- character development2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Character development in "Saint Kotar" is criticized for being hindered by poor voice acting and character design, which detracts from the overall storytelling experience. While the narrative has potential with its gloomy atmosphere, the convoluted plot may take too long to unfold, leaving players feeling disconnected from the characters. Overall, the execution of character development appears to lack the necessary polish and clarity to engage players effectively.
“The story is a convoluted mess and while I see comments and replies from the devs saying it's crucial for the story/character development/whatever... every writer benefits from having an editor and objective feedback.”
“The story... seems to be the good point of the game, although I haven't yet played enough of it to see enough of it unfold - but text-wise, the gloomy elements are there, enough to instill a quite shut-down and claustrophobic atmosphere; it's just, the problem with Saint Kotar seems to be the mediums chosen to convey its story: badly done voices (although after the intro it gets a tiny bit better, but still dull and lifeless), bad character design (while the sceneries are okay in my opinion) as well as I expect the story to take some time to reveal itself, maybe too much.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as dark and occasionally funny, but it often falls flat, with some attempts at humor failing to resonate with players. While there are elements of creepiness and romance, the lack of engaging tension and unlikable main characters detracts from the overall comedic experience.
“Dark, funny at times, creepy, romantic, thrilling.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with users reporting a black starting screen and delayed access to the main menu, indicating bugs from the outset. Overall, the experience is marred by a lack of polish and numerous design flaws.
“The starting screen was black for about a minute, and the main menu became accessible only after I pressed the space bar, which indicates that the game is buggy right from the beginning.”
“Everything else was either uninteresting, badly designed, unfinished, unpolished, broken, buggy, or didn't make much sense.”
