In the world of Saturnalia, Nothing is as it seems. The Italian village of Gravoi may seem quaint and unassuming at first glance, but it hides many mysteries. Likewise, there is more to the four co-protagonists of Saturnalia than you think. Though each of them are misfits for different reasons, they all share a common goal: eradicating the darkness that afflicts Gravoi, even if it means bringing their own demons to light.
The first of them is Anita Giannini, top geologist and the image of the business woman of the late 80’s. Unlike her fellow protagonists, she had no attachment to Gravoi prior to her arrival a year prior to the game’s events. In fact, their original purpose in the village was to conduct explorations in the area on behalf of mining corporations looking to exploit the surrounding natural resources. A woman of her poise and confidence isn’t easily deterred, both in professional and personal matters – so perhaps it was inevitable that she would find herself embroiled in an illicit affair with none other than Damiano, the town’s married sacristan . At the beginning of Saturnaliashe has found out she is pregnant and despite the controversy that will surely arise if their affair becomes public, she is determined to keep the baby.
Gravoi’s conservative values are at odds with Anita’s unflappable character, but there are other, darker forces at work that even she cannot ignore.
In contrast, Paul Izem is a child of Gravoi, even if he didn’t know it for most of his life. After his biological parents died under mysterious circumstances when he was an infant, Paul was soon adopted by a family in Iglesias, a town in southern Sardinia. Only after discovering a letter urging his adoptive parents never to let him return to Gravoi does he resist that very request and embark on a personal mission to find out the truth about what happened to his mother and his father happened. Not wanting to arouse suspicion in a city already suspicious of outsiders, Paul uses his profession as a photojournalist to disguise his true motives, claiming he’s working on a feature for a tourist magazine while quietly searching for clues to his past. Little does he know that his camera will be crucial in documenting the horror that lurks in Gravoi…
Paul quickly puts on a brave face and hides his insecurities as much as he hides his true motivation for coming to the village. But also the other protagonists of Saturnalia don’t exactly share his self-confidence.
Sergio Aulas was born and raised in Gravoi but moved to Manchester when he was just sixteen. His departure seemed to be something to celebrate at the time: an opportunity to study abroad paid for by the generosity of Bruno Bissani, the lord and owner of the castle in Gravoi. But in truth, this was not an opportunity, but an exile: Sergio was discovered by the lord’s own wife in bed with Bisssani and, at his father’s urging, was sent to England to cover up the scandal. Thirty years later he has become a successful computer programmer, returning to Gravoi only to tend to his iron lung-bound father. Awkward and analytical, Sergio is naturally resentful against the traditionalist norms of his hometown, especially since a gay man is no longer compelled to hide his sexuality. But motivated by his obligation to his ailing father, as well as his continued curiosity about the fate of his former lover – who has since disappeared – Sergio has no choice but to reintegrate himself into the community and mystery of Gravoi.
But Sergio is also secretly battling a morphine addiction, which he treats by stealing his father’s medicine. If he wants to find the answers he is looking for, he needs what bothers him the most: the help of others.
Claudia Mirai would rather suffer in silence than ask for help. More than anyone else in there Saturnalia, she despises Gravoi: As a sixteen-year-old punk, she knows she was made for more than tending her father’s bar, and the antiquated culture of her remote hometown suffocates her to desperation. But it’s not just youthful rebellion that shapes their worldview. As a child, she stumbled upon a terrifying scene: her aunt, dressed in her wedding dress, hanging from a hundred-year-old olive tree in the ancient nuragic area just outside the village. The sight left Claudia with a painful trauma from which she can never be freed, just like her omerta (the southern Italian code of silence) that followed when her father and the other townspeople refused to recognize the death as suicide. Since then, she has opposed every institution in her community, be it patriarchal values or religious education. Defiant, she only aligns herself with those she feels are against the system — but in truth, her cynicism is a mechanism for coping with her painful memories and bitter relationship with her father. Her wish is to leave Gravoi and start a new life somewhere far away from anything she has ever known.
However, in order for her wish to come true, she must survive the night of the winter solstice.
Alone, each of these characters can only do so much. Together they have a chance to uncover the mystery of Gravoi and escape Saturnalia.
The team here at Santa Ragione put the finishing touches to the game and we can’t wait for you to play it. Saturnalia will be released on October 27, 2022 for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.
