Saturnalia

 PlayStation 5
Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. Game Rant
    Nov 23, 2022
    90
    Playing through Saturnalia's beautiful mixture of rogue-lite, survival horror, and Metroidvania mechanics feels like being among the first people in the world to experience peanut butter and chocolate. Big Trouble Game Studio and Santa Ragione have crafted an entirely new flavor profile that in just a few short years will be so popular audiences everywhere won't be able to fathom a world before the existence of said combination.
  2. App Trigger
    Dec 2, 2022
    80
    Saturnalia is a game on the shorter side (well, if you are as bad as I was at it, it may go longer) but in terms of indie horror, it lands on the successful side of the fence. The kaleidoscope-esque quality of walking through the darkened streets with nothing but a match to guide your way will leave you with an anxious knot in your stomach. Saturnalia won’t be for everyone but if you love how artistic that indie horror can be, you will definitely enjoy yourself.
  3. PlayStation Universe
    Oct 27, 2022
    80
    Saturnalia is a striking homage to Giallo films and makes effective use of Italian folklore to power its horror. It’s often better in the ideas than it is in practice, but those are some damn good ideas.
  5. Vandal
    Nov 3, 2022
    70
    Saturnalia is a interesting, roguelike experience that shines more as an experimental adventure than as a survival horror.
  6. Metro GameCentral
    Oct 31, 2022
    70
    One of the most visually interesting video games of the year but also a survival horror that’s not quite scary enough to reach its full potential.
  7. Push Square
    Oct 28, 2022
    70
    Ultimately, Saturnalia is one unique horror experience where the developer's own use of limited resources demonstrate simplicity’s effectiveness to survive.
  8. PLAY
    Nov 30, 2022
    60
    A compelling detective game with multiple threads to pull you through its dark Sardinian streets. Attempts to add horror to the mix, however, often fall flat. [Issue#21, p.91]
    All this publication's reviews
 This publication does not provide a score for their reviews.
This publication has not posted a final review score yet.
These unscored reviews do not factor into the Metascore calculation.

In Progress & Unscored

?
  1. Eurogamer
    Oct 27, 2022
    Saturnalia successfully establishes a relationship between its physical and spiritual horrors, which together pull the player into its unpleasant reality. Saturnalia is a horrible little video game, but horrible in precisely all the ways its makers intended. [Eurogamer Recommended]