Saturnalia

Saturnalia excels at delivering a unique horror experience rich in creepy atmosphere and sinister themes.

83%Game Brain Score

story, gameplay

stability

92% User Score Based on 63 reviews

Critic Score 73%Based on 10 reviews

Platforms

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About

Saturnalia is a single player open world action adventure game with horror, mystery and thriller themes. It was developed by Santa Ragione and was released on January 30, 2022. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and very positive reviews from players.

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. …

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92%

Audience ScoreBased on 63 reviews

story14 positive mentions

stability3 negative mentions

Unique and stylish folk horror set in a Sardinian village with rich cultural atmosphere.
Engaging slow-burn survival horror with detective elements, involving clue gathering and exploration.
Innovative roguelite mechanic with procedurally rearranged village and multiple characters with unique skills.

High difficulty level can be frustrating and sometimes feel unfair, especially with character loss.
Navigation is challenging due to confusing, frequently changing, and procedurally generated town layout.
Some gameplay mechanics and controls are clunky or buggy, occasionally hindering the experience.

story
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
49%
9%
The story is a captivating, slow-burning mystery set in rural Sardinia, featuring multiple characters with interconnected secrets that unfold through non-linear and investigative gameplay. Its fragmented, atmospheric narrative encourages players to piece together clues at their own pace, offering a unique blend of folk storytelling, psycho-religious themes, and tense survival horror elements. Despite some bugs and a somewhat subtle delivery, the intriguing plot, compelling characters, and rich mood make it a rewarding experience for those who enjoy immersive, story-driven games.
- “As you explore, you slowly learn the layout of the town, unlock hidden paths, and piece together the mystery at your own pace - especially if you play in “detective mode,” which removes objective markers and lets you truly investigate instead of following your quest log.”
- “This fragmented approach to storytelling mirrors the fractured mental and emotional state of the town itself, asking players to actively piece together meaning rather than passively consume a plot.”
- “Perfect length and pacing, perfect balance between disorienting and intuitive, masterful storytelling, and the entire thing just drips with atmosphere.”
- “With a big disclaimer at the beginning about how the game contains references to abuse, sexism, racism, homophobia, etc., I honestly thought the story would have a bit more bite.”
- “The story and lore aren't super deep, but they're interesting enough that I wanted to see it through to the end.”
- “It also comes with its own share of jank/bugs (some common ones I encountered were characters refusing to move and sometimes getting stuck after bumping into an edge while moving), but despite that, it's such a unique and interesting experience that I urge you to give it a shot if you're a fan of slow-burning tension and folk storytelling.”
gameplay
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
69%
12%
The gameplay is engaging and centered around exploration, mystery-solving, and a roguelite mechanic that regenerates the map upon character death while preserving story progress. While some mechanics are well-designed and enhance immersion, others are poorly explained, inconsistently implemented, or feel janky, occasionally causing player frustration. Overall, the gameplay's unique blend of tension, narrative integration, and procedural elements is compelling, though it may challenge players with its complexity and lack of guidance.
- “Solving them feels like uncovering pieces of the village’s history rather than manipulating game mechanics, which strengthens immersion and narrative cohesion.”
- “The world is deliberately disorienting (it is a nightmare to navigate if you have no sense of direction), and there is no hand-holding (though you can temper the difficulty by tweaking some gameplay settings before you start).”
- “The gameplay is similar to many horror games (e.g., a door is locked, find a tool to open it), with the twist that, if your characters die, you keep the progress made on your objectives, but lose the tools, and the city map procedurally regenerates.”
- “Some of the mechanics are poorly explained while some other are practically useless.”
- “There was tension but the gameplay and visibility are so handicapping on a meta level that the frustration outweighs any intrigue or desire to climb over the wall of initially learning the game.”
- “Others are simply badly implemented however (Paul's special mechanic seems particularly prone to failing in clutch moments).”
graphics
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
52%
12%
The game's striking, hand-drawn art style, inspired by sketch art and giallo aesthetics, creates a unique, dreamlike atmosphere that effectively supports its themes of memory and decay. While some find the graphics initially challenging or unconventional, most praise the visuals for their originality, mood-setting power, and strong integration with the game's tense, oppressive tone. Overall, the graphics, alongside the sound design, contribute significantly to an immersive and distinctive survival horror experience.
- “Its hand-drawn aesthetic, inspired by sketch art and stop-motion animation, gives the game a dreamlike, almost storybook quality that contrasts sharply with its oppressive tone.”
- “The art style is not merely decorative; it actively supports the game’s themes of distortion, memory, and decay.”
- “Gorgeous giallo style visuals, although the black & white noir option sets a great alternative mood as well.”
- “It's hard to get into it at the start because of the crazy graphical style and the city layout can be intimidating to navigate.”
- “I'm not new to the horror genre and even love a lot of 90s horror games, so I can forgive the terrible graphics to an extent (although in this case it feels more a stylistic choice to make the game look like a late 90s computer remake of a-ha's Take On Me video), but the graphics shouldn't be the most significant challenge in the game.”
- “And honestly it feels like it could work well with either better graphics or even older graphics (like say an SNES game).”
atmosphere
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
37%
19%
The atmosphere in Saturnalia is widely praised for its unique blend of Sardinian cultural influences, eerie folk-horror elements, and masterful sound design, creating a richly immersive and unsettling experience. Its distinct art style, haunting soundtrack, and carefully built tension contribute to a surreal yet captivating survival horror environment that stands out within the genre. While some find the darkness occasionally excessive, the overall mood and tone are considered a true triumph.
- “The developers clearly poured their Sardinian heritage into the setting, drawing from local traditions and cultural artifacts like the nuraghi, which gives the whole experience a very unique atmosphere.”
- “Whilst not as violent or horny as the giallo I'm familiar with, the homage is otherwise evident in the absolute nailing of the atmosphere, tone, and tale—unraveling occultish mysteries, shadowy figures skulking at the penumbra of match-light, folk-horrors clattering about unseen (until they're not)—a true triumph of the genre.”
- “Perfect length and pacing, perfect balance between disorienting and intuitive, masterful storytelling, and the entire thing just *drips* with atmosphere.”
- “I hate media like this where the entire premise relies on completely idiotic and unrealistic conditions to create a horror atmosphere.”
- “Character gets stuck on nothing frequently, and while I appreciate the dark atmosphere, not being able to see three feet in front of me, even with matches lit, is a bit excessive.”
- “Maybe a 10% increase would help this feeling but I understand the atmosphere building and horror of the dark.”
music
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The music in the game is memorable and highly praised for enhancing the atmosphere, often used sparingly to complement environmental sounds and silence. Players consistently highlight the soundtrack as a standout feature that contributes significantly to the game's immersive and eerie experience.
- “On top of that, the art style is striking, the music is memorable, and the sound design will make you paranoid about even the slightest unfamiliar noise.”
- “Wonderful horror game with great atmosphere and soundtrack.”
- “One of the best games I've played; I thoroughly enjoyed this, the art, the music, the gameplay.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's fragmented storytelling effectively reflects the town's fractured emotional state, encouraging players to actively engage in piecing together the plot. Despite its emotional depth, Saturnalia remains underappreciated, and lowering the difficulty may diminish the intended emotional pacing.
- “This fragmented approach to storytelling mirrors the fractured mental and emotional state of the town itself, asking players to actively piece together meaning rather than passively consume a plot.”
- “Saturnalia came out around the time of Signalis and it's heartbreaking to see it so sorely overlooked, still.”
- “You might miss out on some of the emotional pacing of the game if you lower the difficulty below the standard.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game experiences some bugs and occasional glitches that affect stability, but these issues do not significantly detract from the overall experience. Despite the technical imperfections, the unique setting and story make it worth playing.
- “The game's still a bit buggy but it's really worth a shot: this game is set in an original setting, rural Sardinia, and it follows the story of 4 people all connected to the village because of different reasons, and it's your job to find out why!”
- “A little buggy in general.”
- “I'm not even sure that these were intentional game design decisions and not just glitches!”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
50%
Replayability is mixed, as the game can be completed quickly with limited incentive to replay after unlocking all content, though procedural generation and multiple endings add some variety. Additionally, adjustable difficulty settings at the start enhance replay value for some players.
- “Game offers great replay value since you can toggle the experience at the beginning of the game.”
- “The game can be completed in less than 10 hours, and I don't feel like there is much replay value once you've unlocked everything, although a case could be made with the procedurally generated village and multiple endings.”
- “The game can be completed in less than 10 hours, and I don't feel like there is much replay value once you've unlocked everything, although I suppose a case could be made with the procedurally generated village and multiple endings.”