Saint Kotar – Spotlight
Saint Kotar is a recently released psychological horror adventure game developed by Red Martyr Entertainment and published by Soedesco that adheres to its roots with the traditional point-and-click elements, but lacks some aspects that hinder its potential as a decent horror experience. I was given a review copy of Saint Kotar by the publisher so that I could put it through its paces on the PC. With my love of point and click adventure games such as Unavowed and some Deponia, I couldn’t say no to Saint Kotar.
The mystery of Saint Kotar begins the moment you open the book and continues until the final page is turned. You begin in pitch-blackness in what turns out to be a basement, desperately searching for a means of escape. In the beginning, you play as a small boy who is trying to find a way out of the basement by finding a source of light. Additionally, this section serves as a tutorial where you learn how to open and use your inventory, drag and drop items to perform specific actions, interact with items and points of interest, and highlight interactable areas within a few minutes. At first glance, these basic and traditional features are immediately recognisable to anyone who has ever played a point-and-click game.
When you wake up as one of the two protagonists, Benedek, the storey begins. That’s when you realise that this confused man is experiencing the dream you had just a few moments ago. You begin to question your presence in this eerie and dimly lit house, which has almost completely blocked out any sunlight. Next, you’re introduced to Nikolay, your sister’s husband and your brother-in-law. A decapitated crow and blood-filled experience for Nikolay was the worst of the nightmares he had about his mysterious admission into the house.
It is possible to play as either Nikolay or Benedek at any time during the game’s exploration and dialogue. However, you can’t just jump from one character to another at random; you have to wait until the storey or scenario calls for it before you can do so. The premise is simple, and players will be thrown into the mystery and bizarre events and inhabitants of Sveti Kotar, a small yet elusive town in Croatia, right away with no time to waste.
Both Benedek and Nikolay come to the conclusion that Viktoria has something to do with the current events that they find themselves in. Nikolay and Benedek have been tasked with tracking down Viktoria and figuring out why she brought the two of them here in the first place. More and more sinister things become apparent as the storey progresses. A twisted tale of cults and conspiracies will lead the characters to question their own faith in God at this point in the storey.
The illustrations of the environment are where Saint Kotar shines. Even if the area is indoors or out, it creates a depressing atmosphere thanks to the creepy statues and wall art. There is a never-ending supply of new places to discover and investigate. There are some puzzles in the game, but they’re simple enough that you won’t get bogged down trying to figure out what to do next.
The voice acting, in my opinion, is the most significant shortcoming of this game, preventing it from being a truly terrifying experience. Voice acting is dreadful aside from our two main protagonists. It sometimes sounds forced or as if the actors were just reading from scripts. This completely ruined the atmosphere and setting of a scene. While the dialogue is excellent and the storey and encounters are well-written, the voice acting ruins it all.
Saint Kotar has a special place in my heart because it is a point-and-click horror game. In spite of these drawbacks, however, it is still a very enjoyable game. The voice acting is its biggest flaw. If the voice acting doesn’t bother you, the horror elements are excellent, and the storey is adequate to keep you engaged until the end in search of resolutions. In this branching storey, the player has a few options to choose from, but the puzzles themselves aren’t that difficult. The PC version of Saint Kotar is now playable via Steam, and a console version is on the way.
