Saint Kotar review: You don’t want to get lost in this town

Red Martyr Entertainmentwith the publication of Soedesco, brings us a graphic adventure that aims to bring to the present the old graphic adventures of the last century, but with a new playable formula. Do you dare to travel to the most remote Croatia and discover the evil that houses Saint Kotar?

A classic story

The plot puts us in the shoes of two characters: Benedict there Nikolai. Benedict she came with her sister Viktoria and her husband, Nikolai, in Saint Kotar, a small town in Croatia. But there, they both wake up alone and with terrible nightmares in the house their sister had rented. In addition, Victoria has disappeared and that’s when we will have to face a very immersive story. In this one, heWitchcraft, pagan cults and distrust of the locals will weave a fascinating story with very Lovecraftian accents. We will have to find Victoria and uncover the truth about a moon-worshipping cannibalistic sect of ancient origin that seems to shroud the city in darkness..

The truth is that this is one of the most powerful points in the game. Its obvious influence from writer HP Lovecraft as well as stories and graphic adventures from the 90s of the last century inspired by Sherlock Holmes, is evident.. However, the difficulty has been lowered considerably, compared to that of these classics, to make it suitable for all audiences.

The game was released via Kickstarter in 2021, although it was slow to land on consoles a year later. Despite this, the game feels like it was more than just a console conversion and worked hard to get a good port.

Graphics: Landscapes like postcards

The graphics don’t claim to be triple A and the character animations and the characters themselves aim for a realistic comedic tone. The scenarios, which reach 4K resolution and the use of HDR on Xbox Series X, are true works of art that seem to be taken from realistic paintings or postcards.

Regarding the characters and animations, they are of an acceptable level, although very appropriate to the title. Scenarios, as we mentioned earlier, are the highlight of this section. In addition The almost continuous presence of fog and the absence of sun to provide us with “natural light” in the game generates an oppressive and suffocating atmosphere on the player, which manages to push us even deeper into the story. The animations go to 60FPS, although this is something that in this title is not important.

Maximum gameplay in Saint Kotar

Saint Kotar innovates a lot in terms of gameplay in the console graphic adventure genre. We all assume that in these types of games, the left stick emulates the PC mouse, moving a cursor around the screen. But, in this case, the use of the well-known cursor is omitted. And it is that, in this game, with a button, the objects with which we can interact (see, use or combine) will be highlighted on the screen; we will move between them using the directional pad and press another button to accept.

It’s true that it’s hard to get used to the first 5 minutes, but when you get used to it, It is very surprising and intuitive. Although, on the other hand, it reduces part of the difficulty and the charm, by not having to check the screen in search of objects that can be useful to us.

Without a doubt, this makes the graphic adventure something much more practical and affordable for other audiences. People who may not have lived the golden age of the genre in these titles characterized by difficulty, sometimes too extreme.

On the other hand, the game has a strong dialogue component, i.e. for long minutes, we will have to listen to dialogues between characters. For this reason, it is necessary to clarify that this is a relaxed game and very adrenaline pumped players may not like it. It is true that these can be skipped, but we will lose the context and the interpretations by the voice actors.

Another very remarkable aspect here is manipulation of two characters that we will exchange by pressing the LB button. A very original and fast mechanic. Similarly, the RB is reserved to save the game. The puzzles and the location of the obejots were not complicated for us, but they were well planned.

In this section, by way of conclusion, we highlight theAn excellent adaptation of an imposing graphic adventure.

Deluxe music and special effects

The dialogues, fundamental element of the game, have been excellently dubbed

(to English, yes) and they manage to introduce nuance into the characters. They work great for expressing feelings and fears, even inner thoughts. Yes, we met a character whose volume is at a lower intensity. Without being a big problem, it indicates that they had a problem with certain dialogues.

The music, orchestral, sets the stage exceptionally well and reinforces the moments of tension and terror. It achieves everything an ambient soundtrack should aspire to: it does not disturb, it accompanies and amplifies the sensations transmitted by the game.

Conclusions Saint Kotar

Saint Kotar saves an unusual genre on consoles, graphic adventures, adapting it to the current times and making it easier to work with its accessible gameplay and a considerable reduction in the level of difficulty.

The settings are really beautiful and the particular atmosphere that seems to place us in a Victorian London or HP Lovecraft novel, makes this game a magnificent touchstone to begin in graphic adventures. Of course, its nonchalant tone and the fact of having to read the subtitles or listen to the dialogues, sometimes a little long, may not be suitable for everyone. On the other hand, “hardcore” fans of graphic adventures from the last century may be somewhat disappointed by its difficulty, as it may be too affordable.

From the Xbox area, tWe recommend this original graphic adventure that will hook you from the start with a beautiful story and ease of use, which will make you not let go of the controller during its 7 to 10 hours of approximate duration..