Saturnalia and Warhammer 40K: Mechanicus are the next Epic Games Store freebies

A taste of Italian terror

Digital retailer Epic Games Store has revealed the two new titles that it will be offering up to all users free-of-charge next week — Come October 27, we will be getting a little creep, and a little carnage, with the arrival of horror adventure Saturnalia and tabletop strategy sim Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus.

Making its grand debut on October 27, Saturnalia is a mood-piece horror title developed by Italian studio Santa Ragione and encapsulating the country’s love of oppressive, colorful, and unnerving tales of the macabre. This roguelike adventure will see the player control an ensemble cast of characters, who find themselves trapped within a labyrinthine village under the power of some ancient, otherworldly evil.

With a heavy, Giallo-inspired aesthetic, Saturnalia will blend challenging roguelike gameplay with a body of rich Sardinian folklore to create a non-linear adventure featuring procedurally-generated dungeons, an array of puzzles, and an involving yet somewhat abstract narrative — all awash in a unique style that evokes tribute to Italian horror greats such as Dario Argento and Mario Bava.

This Epic Games Store release represents the premiere of Santa Ragione’s mysterious odyssey, with PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch ports also arriving the same day.

One of a gazillion titles released under Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40K banner, Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus sees another chapter in the endless interplanetary conflicts of The Imperium. Launching in 2018 and developed by Bulwark Studios, Mechanicus is a strategy-action games that places a heavy emphasis on the cybernetic enhancements and body modifications of this particular chapter of space marines, making man deadlier than ever before with a wide range of symbiotic upgrades.

Featuring fully customizable units, resource management mechanics, a huge arsenal of devastating weaponry, multiple choice narrative options, and over 50 stages of brutal battles with the encroaching Xenos, Mechanicus, much like its gaming brethren, packs in hours upon hours of strategic tabletop action, and is sure to keep Genestealer painters everywhere engaged into the wee small hours of the evening. For The Imperium!

Saturnalia and Warhammer 40K: Mechanicus can be downloaded from the Epic Games Store from October 27. Until then, users can still bag themselves current freebies Fallout 3 and Evoland.

Chris Moyse

Senior Editor – Chris has been playing video games since the 1980s. Former Saturday Night Slam Master. Graduated from Galaxy High with honors. Twitter: @ChrisxMoyse