On the earth of Saturnalia, nothing is because it appears. The Italian village of Gravoi could seem quaint and unassuming at first look, however it holds many secrets and techniques. Equally, there’s extra to the 4 co-protagonists of Saturnalia than meets the attention. Though every of them are outsiders for various causes, all of them share a standard trigger: rooting out the darkness that haunts Gravoi, even when it means bringing their very own demons into the sunshine.
The primary of those is Anita Giannini, geologist extraordinaire and the very image of the late 80’s businesswoman. In contrast to her fellow protagonists, she had no attachment to Gravoi previous to her arrival a yr earlier than the sport’s occasions. In reality, her preliminary function within the village was to conduct reconnaissance within the space on behalf of company mining pursuits keen to use the encircling pure assets. A lady of her assurance and confidence isn’t simply deterred, in issues each skilled and private—so maybe it was inevitable that she’d discover herself concerned in a bootleg affair with none aside from Damiano, the married city sacristan. On the outset of Saturnalia, she’s found that she’s with baby, and regardless of the controversy positive to come up if her affair was made public, she’s decided to maintain the infant.
The conservative values of Gravoi are at odds with Anita’s unflappable character, however there are different, darker forces at work that even she will be able to’t dismiss.
In distinction, Paul Izem is a toddler of Gravoi, even when he didn’t comprehend it for many of his life. After his start dad and mom died underneath mysterious circumstances whereas he was nonetheless an toddler, Paul was quickly adopted by a household in Iglesias, a metropolis in southern Sardinia. Solely after discovering a letter urging his adoptive dad and mom to by no means let him return to Gravoi does he defy that very request and embark on a private mission to seek out out the reality about what occurred to his mom and father. To keep away from elevating the suspicions of a city already distrustful of outsiders, Paul makes use of his career as a photojournalist to protect his true motive, claiming he’s engaged on a characteristic for a vacationer journal whilst he quietly seeks out clues about his previous. Little does he know that his digicam shall be of vital significance in documenting the horror lurking in Gravoi…
Fast to placed on a courageous face, Paul hides his insecurity simply as he hides his actual motivation in coming to the village. However the different protagonists of Saturnalia don’t precisely share his self-consciousness.
Sergio Aulas was born and raised in Gravoi, however left for Manchester when he was solely sixteen. On the time, his departure appeared like one thing to be celebrated: an opportunity to check overseas paid for by the generosity of Bruno Bissani, the lord and proprietor of the fort in Gravoi. However in fact, this wasn’t a possibility, however an exile: found in mattress with Bisssani by the lord’s personal spouse, Sergio was despatched to England as a way of overlaying up the scandal, on the urging of his father. Thirty years later, he’s turn into a profitable laptop programmer, returning to Gravoi solely to take care of his iron lung-bound father. Aloof and analytical, Sergio is inherently antagonized by the traditionalist norms of his hometown, notably as a homosexual man not compelled to cover his sexuality. However motivated by his obligation to his sick father, in addition to his lingering curiosity in regards to the destiny of his former lover—who’s since disappeared—Sergio has no alternative however to reinsert himself again into the neighborhood and thriller of Gravoi.
However Sergio can also be secretly battling a morphine habit, which he treats by pilfering his father’s drugs. If he needs to seek out the solutions he seeks, he’ll want the one factor he’s most discomfited by: the assistance of others.
Claudia Mirai would slightly endure in silence than ask for assist. Greater than anybody else in Saturnalia, she despises Gravoi: as a sixteen-year-old punk, she is aware of she was made for extra than simply tending her father’s bar, and the antiquated tradition of her distant hometown stifles her to the purpose of exasperation. Nevertheless it’s not simply youthful revolt shaping her worldview. As a toddler, she stumbled onto a horrific scene: her aunt, clad in her marriage ceremony gown and hanging from the centenary olive tree within the historic nuragic space proper exterior the village. The sight left Claudia with painful trauma she will be able to by no means be free of, as did the omerta (the Southern Italian code of silence) that adopted, when her father and the opposite townsfolk refused to acknowledge the demise as a suicide. Since then, she’s stood in stark opposition to each establishment in her neighborhood, be it patriarchal values or spiritual instruction. She’s defiant and solely aligns herself with these she views as in opposition to the system—however in fact, her cynicism is a coping mechanism for her painful recollections and her bitter relationship along with her father. Her want is to go away Gravoi and start a brand new life someplace distant from every little thing she’s ever recognized.
To ensure that that want to come true, nonetheless, she has to make it by way of the night time of the winter solstice.
Alone, every of those characters can solely achieve this a lot. Collectively, they stand an opportunity to uncover the thriller of Gravoi and escape Saturnalia.
The group right here at Santa Ragione is placing the ending touches to the sport, and we will’t wait so that you can play it. Saturnalia launches for Xbox One and Xbox Collection X|S on October twenty seventh, 2022.
