Saturnalia – the striking new survival horror from acclaimed studio Santa Ragione – is free on the Epic Games Store next week, alongside Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus.
Santa Ragione, if youre unfamiliar, previously released the celebrated likes of MirrorMoon EP and Fotonica, but Saturnalia – which is heavily influenced by the folklore of Sardinia – looks to be its most ambitious title yet, trapping players in an ancient village steeped in murky rituals and challenging them to uncover its many secrets.
Although a solo experience, players take control of four different characters as they investigate the villages labyrinthine, and decidedly psychedelic, streets. If one character get captured – horrible things lurk in the shadows – players can switch to another and attempt a rescue, but once all four are dead, the village physically reconfigures itself for another attempt. Thankfully, narrative and puzzle progress is retained across game-overs.
Saturnalia is free to download via the Epic Store on 27th October – which is the same day it comes out. But if youre not in the mood for some spooky Halloween-appropriate deduction, theres always Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus, which goes free on the same day.
Mechanicus made Eurogamers list of the best Warhammer 40,000 games earlier this year, with Wesley Yin-Poole calling the turn-based strategy game – which revolves around the machine god-worshipping cyborg priest army of the Imperium – “brilliant” and “refreshing”.
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Both Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus and Saturnalia can be added to your Epic Games Store library for free between 27th October and 3rd November. Until then, Evoland Legendary Edition and Fallout 3: Game of the Year are being given away as freebies.