Synaxarion Christian Stories: Holy Martyr Savvas the Goth is a casual, religious puzzle game developed by Ignatios Productions. It is a top-down view visual novel game in which players will learn about the persecution of Christians in the past. Players will go through stories to uncover the life of Savvas. 

Based on the title alone, Synaxarion Christian Stories: Holy Martyr Savvas the Goth is all about the saint named Savvas. Here, you take control of a character who uncovers his story. However, since this is a visual novel, there’s not much actual gameplay involved aside from reading and walking.

A visual novel with religious themes

The Synaxarion is a collection of saints’ lives, which are celebrated each day of the year. They are the light that leads people to Christ in every generation — living Gospels, so to speak. The ministry and very life of Christ is worked out in the lives of the saints, His faithful servants. Thus, the Synaxarion Christian Stories game series allow people to explore Christianity in a refreshing way. 

In Synaxarion Christian Stories: Holy Martyr Savvas the Goth, you get to discover the life of the named protagonist. Savvas, who was born in 334, underwent fierce persecution as a Christian. He was driven from his hometown after idolaters grew jealous and persecuted him for his faith. In this game, you will interact with the world, read through dialogue and narration, and see how Savvas was during his time. 

The game is rather extremely short, spanning a range of 20 - 40 minutes worth of gameplay. Thus, there’s not much replay value to it once you finish because the story only has one ending. Regardless, it is a visual novel that is suitable for all ages. However, please note that AI was used to generate various image backgrounds when their historical equivalents could not be found. 

Celebrating martyrs’ stories virtually 

Synaxarion Christian Stories: Holy Martyr Savvas the Goth is the result of faith combined with a passion for storytelling and video games — a unique way of presenting the stories of saints, where people of all ages can learn more about the context of The Synaxarion. Christian games are a novelty these days, but this title seeks to change that norm. Despite its short length, there’s merit to it.