Sons Of Saturn Demo - An Abstract, Squalid Rabbit Hole
The last time I saw Minerva pop up in a game, it was one of the Desmond Miles Assassin Creeds, but today it features in Sons of Saturn, a first-person adventure developed by The Saturn Studio. Believe it or not, Steam has another festival at the time of writing but brought to my attention after seeing the teaser trailer.
It more or less screamed at me to be played, but little did I know how lucid I would have to be to comprehend it – a demo. Usually, demos are just the tip, but Sons of Saturn goes bat-shit-crazy from the outset. Think Disco Elysium, which should give a clue on the context, heavily sprinkled with existentialism.
Our dream/nightmare begins when you awaken in a darkened place, hung up like a marionette. You’re a 20-something female, who appears to have a 20-year amnesia spell, and only an Ugly Dolls-like monstrosity for a plush toy can fill you in on who and what you are through a series of cryptic and often profound statements.
Sons Of Saturn Preview
In short, your companion tells you that you must ‘break in’ to your birthplace, the underground city of Minerva. Fortunately, they have already booked a ferryman to escort you through the effluent via the underground sewer system. Sons of Saturn is a mixture of dialogue-based scenarios comparable to a visual novel and a first-person interactive maze, reminiscent of – yes, you guessed it: Eye of the Beholder.
Eye of the Beholder isn’t one of my favourite games, but it’s my go-to reference for any first-person labyrinth-type experience. Sons of Saturn isn’t a huge place, but it’s text heavy with a lot to digest and open for interpretation. At times it gets a little convoluted to the point of meaningless. What does it all mean? You will ask plenty of questions, and I don’t doubt that it’s eventually orchestrated into something visceral yet relatable, but we’ll have to wait for the full game.
The ambient music sets the tone perfectly and is the standout element outside the story. The visuals are unique but inconsistent. There are a lot of static shots of an abandoned building with a poster-like filter applied to it as if straight out of Photoshop or similar – the same with the real-life actors seen in the dialogue. Said art style didn’t do it for me, but I’m eager to see the collage of illustrations as seen in the teaser trailer and alluded to in some of the documents found on the adventure.
Sons of Saturn wasn’t without its issues. Sure, it’s a demo, but the navigation system was confusing, and I often couldn’t get my bearings. The story and dialogue are also heavy going, so if you can’t handle large volumes of text, this will be a struggle. However… it’s a unique approach, and the story has certainly hooked me. Considering this is a demo, there’s a lot on offer here but minimal answers and that, my friends, is Sons of Saturn’s biggest draw: the ambiguity. What will happen next?