Saga of Sins | Switch Review

Staying true to the biblical origins of sin, and playing out like a living stained glass world, we find in 'Saga of Sins', a kingdom known as Sinwell that has been decimated by the black death. A plague brought on by sinners, and their lack of repentance. The only hope for salvation there being a returning crusader named Cecil. A man of tested faith who finds out from his master Ulric that the only way to rid his people of the plague is to enter their minds as demonic manifestations. Turning into a werewolf, a gargoyle, and a griffin as well as other beasts as he does so. Using their abilities to conquer nightmarish realms of Heironymus Bosch inspiration while obtaining the forbidden fruit therein. Each realm coinciding with the person's sin, and that sin in turn being of the seven deadly sort. 

As he does his best to resist the ongoing temptations of Satan that haunt him Cecil faces his own demons, and questions his own place in the balance of good and evil. Coming to terms with the truth by the end of it all. Is he truly doing God's bidding by haunting the people with demonic visions, or is he aiding the devil in his end goal? These are the questions that Cecil must find out for himself ...

Made like a metroidvania with mechanics tied to the individual beast-like transformations, 'Saga of Sins', deep dives into the world of morals, and moral bankruptcy. Through Cecil, Ulric, the Devil, and a whole host of sinners and innocents we see, as Jesus did, temptation in it's most deceptive form. It is through Cecil, in particular, that we face the demons of others, and reflect in kind on our role as the righteous sent to cleanse the world of it's iniquities. 

As Cecil your task is divided by three interactive opportunities. You'll visit the chapel where Ulric resides to help with sinners' confessions as well as catch him up with your current progress. From there you'll be sent out to enter the minds of sinners to find the forbidden fruit within them. Battling demonic entities as you do so, and collecting coin which can later be invested in a Madonna skill tree that upgrades the transformative forms of Cecil. Enhancing their abilities between the battles for the increasing challenges ahead. 

Seeing as each of the seven deadly sins must be fully rectified in order to cleanse the kingdom of the plague and that, that is the end goal you will have to face a series of like-minded sinners until you get to each sin's sin boss, and defeat it. Gifting you, as a reward, a piece of stained glass that can be applied at the chapel to open up a new transformation option. After each sinner's mind is cleansed, and after a sin boss is defeated you will rest at the chapel, and be visited by the Devil. Tempted through his counter-narrative regarding sin. 

In regards to transformations each of the five forms allows for bypassing certain obstacles, and aids in the completion of certain puzzle elements. The werewolf, which is the starter form, allows Cecil to shoot fireballs, and howl to break cracks in the walls of sinners' nightmares. The gargoyle, which is the secondary form, allows for fire breath that can burn certain barricades as well as damage enemies. Thirdly, the griffin form allows for wall jumping, and has it's own spread shot type of projectile. Of course the other two remaining forms also come with their mechanics. Leaving the universal mechanics to be double jumping, and the usage of a power dash that can combo kill enemies for more gold or get you past lengthy pitfalls or higher heights in all angles. Towards the end of the game all of these beastly forms will be put to use, and can be swapped between on the go after having unlocked them using the "L & R" shoulder buttons to cycle through the lot. It goes without saying that some enemies are better dealt with using certain forms though.

Beyond the chapters, and beyond the clusters of sinners there lies two distinct types of minds you'll enter. This includes both innocents and sinners. With innocents there are no enemy threats, but there are chests full of coins that will be rewarded upon completion. This usually takes solving some sort of traversal or target puzzle. Things that incorporate the abilities of each of the forms. With sinners though the nightmarish realms are all about enemy threats, puzzles, and deadly hazards. Only ending when you make it to the forbidden fruit, or boss. Something you must return to Ulric afterwards for to further story progress.

The Extras ...

In the way of extras, "Saga of Sins" does have a sort of sinner and innocent compendium where your encounters and completions of the tasks regarding them are showcased in a sort of bestiary. A bestiary complete with the amount of treasures found according to the sin realm as well as images and names of all the innocents you've helped. It's something for those looking for a reason to perfect a playthrough.

The Verdict ...

Coming from a Christian background "Saga of Sin", and it's story seems very familiar. In fact everything from sin, to the impact of it, and the temptations thereof are realized in their own unique way, here. It's very much like the temptation of Christ, but done up in an artistic way reflective of Heironymus Bosch's twisted paintings. The demonic aspect is very gruesome in that regard, and only serves to help identify each of the seven deadly sin's realms within the minds of the sinners all the better. 

Functionally the game is a traditional Metroidvania experience with mechanics tied to each of the unlocked beastly transformations. There's nothing really different in the way of mechanics, but they still compliment the puzzling level designs quite nicely. Movement as Cecil, and his alter-forms is done well enough, but does require a certain level of precision for progress sake. Making any slip up in traversal a potential death sentence as those forms are dependent upon heart health.

All in all 'Saga of Sins' isn't the biggest Metroidvania by scale and scope, but what it has going for it is a deep metaphorical look at the human moral compass. A reflection of what it is to be a flawed human, and whether or not it's justified to give into sin. Much like the underlying biblical context shown through the three main characters. That of Cecil, Ulric, and the Devil. If you don't mind a religious narrative, and want to explore this morally driven tale I'd say it's worth a buy. I personally liked it, and felt that there was some real thought put into the game's inner discussion. I'd dare say that in this day and age we all need to take a step back, and reflect on where we stand in the grand scheme of things. Be it a sinner or an innocent.