"Sancticide would be a much better game if it were not written to be as offensive as possible to several of the largest groups of people on earth. "
Singleplayer.
I must admit to being a huge fan of eurojank titles. Sancticide is a perfect example of the genre, with excellent gameplay, well-rounded mechanics, and above-average visuals and performance for a AA title, there is a lot to like about Sancticide from technical and visual aspect, it has a surisnging amount of depth and the world design is well made, and in my opinion is one of the best post-apocylypse worlds portrayed in gaming outside of the fallout universe.
While combat is a little too gory for the sake of being gory, it feels buttery smooth, and while dialogue is a little robotic, for the most part, it works until it doesn’t, leading me to my main issue with Sancticide.
While the developers of Sancticide have chosen to set it in a biblical apocalyptic setting, they have done so in a very offensive manner by portraying God and angels as the villains, who enlist humans to eliminate “sinners.”
This concept is bizarre and makes no sense when shoehorned into a story presented as being based on a “biblical narrative.”
By all means, create your own setting and narrative where the god of that world rejoices in suffering, but when you claim something is based on God, you better get your facts straight.
I am a Christian, but my outrage at this disrespect is not because I am a Christian, no, it is because I strongly feel that it is low-brow and dreadfully offensive to attack the beliefs of any group deliberately for the sake of entertainment.
I am not a Muslim, and I see very little truth in Islam. However, I would be equally disgusted at Sancticide if it were written in such a way as to mock or degrade Muslims or their beliefs purely for shock value.
Anyone who has been reading this site for a while will have seen me speak out against various titles for their portrayal of religious icons or minority groups, as it is something I feel very strongly about.
Deliberately making something to mock, belittle or wrongly portray the beliefs of another group, purely for shock value, is tacky; it serves no purpose beyond being offensive, and gaming as a whole needs to move past it.
By all means, create a game world in which issues are addressed creatively, but to claim your game is based on one thing and then portray it in the most offensive manner possible shows a startling lack of maturity, decency, and respect for others.
Jesus addressed this very issue multiple times, but never more famously than when he said:
The main problem with Sancticide is that it is based on a very specific (and flawed) interpretation of a book of the Bible (Revelations) that was, for many years, not even considered part of the canon. Even then, we have a bigger issue to address: the issue of canon itself.
A rather shocking statement, but one that I can back up!
Nowhere in the Bible is the concept of a “bible” promised. Jesus Christ is the Word of God, the final authority on what God actually said, vs what man claimed he said.
Jesus not only showed the religious people of his day the error of their ways (errors that, in many cases, they reinforced with scripture), but his words, which are eternal, continue to illuminate the falsehoods in religion to this day.
Now listen to me carefully.
I did not say that the book we know as the Bible does not contain words that were rightfully spoken by God. Both the Old and New Testaments contain eternal truths that came from the Heavenly Father.
However, every book, chapter and even verse from cover to cover must be compared to the words and teachings of Jesus Christ, the only perfect vessel that the Father ever had, who spoke not of himself but ONLY that which the Father commanded him to.
The Gospel of Matthew provides a perfect example of how Jesus corrected long-held but ultimately false views about God.
This is huge, this statement is massive. Jesus is outright challenging beliefs that had been viewed as divinely inspired scripture.
He quite literally pointed out something attributed to his Father and said, “No, that’s not what he said; in fact, he said the opposite.”
And this was not the only time he showed them that their understanding of his Father was wrong, with some of the most iconic takedowns of organised religion ever recorded, directly challenging not only their traditions, but their (flawed) understanding of God himself.
Jesus never held back when correcting falsely held beliefs about his Father. Unfortunately, many Christians do not feel so strongly, which leads us to the main problem with Santicide: it’s based on a flawed and unreliable accounting of the end times.
The Book of Revelations tells of the last days of humanity before the final judgement, and it’s a real gripping read. Unfortunately, much of it contradicts the rest of the Bible and, most importantly, the words and teachings of Jesus Christ.
It speaks volumes about God’s judgment on those who did not accept Jesus as their savior, yet despite it all, a thread of grace runs through it: a way out for those who repent and protection for those who follow him.
While there will be an end of days, and Jesus himself spoke of his second coming, nothing in the Gospels suggests it will happen like portrayed in Revelation. Furthermore, it was not recognised as “canon” and was outright rejected by many of the early church because its tone did not match the rest of the Gospel.
It was not until almost 400 AD that it was finally accepted as a canon book of the Bible.
Unfortunately, this was at a time when the words of Jesus had already started to be relegated in importance, and organised religion had begun its attempts to choke out the truth of the Gospel with manmade doctrines and traditions.
With that in mind, I can see why the developers of Sancticide thought God was to blame for the events unfolding, but if you look closer, all is not as it seems, even if you take Revelations as being a truthful portrayal of what is to come.
The author of Revelation and the developers of Sancticide share a common misconception: that if something happens or is allowed, then God was clearly either behind it, wanted it to happen, or permitted it to happen.
This belief is flawed as it entirely bypasses the reality that God is “Sovereign within the confines of his word,” a very fancy term that means something very simple.
God can do anything he has promised to do in his word and will not do anything he has promised not to.
For mankind to be truly free, there must be free will. The price of that free will is that, at times, bad things will happen, and unless we have directly asked God to intervene and have accepted him as our Father (through Jesus Christ), he cannot intervene.
Not because he lacks power, not because he lacks compassion, but because he respects our choice to cut him out of our lives, while it breaks his heart to see us suffering the consequences of our actions, to barge his way in and force himself into a situation would take away our autonomy.
Sin must be judged, as a righteous god must judge sin, but God did everything he could to offer humanity a way to avoid this judgement; he gave his only begotten son as a sacrifice for our sins, as a target for the judgement and wrath we deserved.
However, if people reject that gift, refuse that pardon, and walk away from that covering, there is nothing he can do to protect you from the eternal consequences of your actions.
And with that in mind, here is what the developers of Sancticide got wrong about the nature of God and Divine Judgment.
While Sancticide mockingly refers to God as “Them at The Top”, a being who rejoices in human suffering, it could not be further from the truth, considering God could have literally had nothing to do with us and let us tear each other apart and started elsewhere with a race that lacked our troublesome free will, instead he not only did not forsake us, but gave the great gift he could, his son, to pay the price for our sins, this is not the action of a evil deity, but a loving Father, who was willing to pay any price to redeem his wayward creation.
In Sancticide, angels are divine hitmen who slaughter sinners and recruit humans to join them in their unholy crusade.
This is an ultimately terrible portrayal of angels, considering that the power they use is supposed to come from God. In reality, God not only commands people to love their enemies but also to do good to them so they may be perfect like he is.
Divine judgement is result of us choosing not to align ourlsves with God, and aliging with the fallen god of this world (luicifer) who was handed the reigns of earth by the Fall of Adam and eve, sin must be stopped less it grow like a cancer, God has made a way for everyone to escape this judgement, but if people choose to walk headlong into it, there is nothing God can do to stop them, while also repescting their free will and right to choose their own master.
Jesus showed us the way to avoid judgment; however, if we reject his words and offer of Salvation, then those same words will judge us—not the homicidal whims of an angry god, but the rejection of a freely given gift and the words of spirit and life that we ignored in favour of our own “wisdom.”
Before I continue, you must understand that I am not angry at Sylen Studio S.A..
They saw an idea for a story and ran with it, but they drew wrong conclusions, and Sancticide will struggle and fail because of it.
Sylen Studio S.A. are acting like people who do not truly know God, and Jesus himself warned that those outside of the kingdom will never even see the kingdom, let alone understand it.
What is truly unfortunate is that there was a better story right in front of them!
While I do not believe the book of Revelation is divinely inspired, it would have made for a far more engrossing and exciting tale if it had been followed to the letter than what the developers have done to it.
Demons roaming the air and skies, asteroids hitting earth, evil global governments, those who refuse to worship The AntiChrist not being allowed to buy or sell, resistance groups, invasions, witnesses with the ability to call down fire and judgement?!
There were so many ways an exciting end-of-days story could have been told without offending people who hold the Bible sacred, and yet, with all that in front of them, the developers chose to offend their largest target demographic.
Honestly, I am lost for words.
Sancticide is a action video game developed and published by Sylen Studio S.A., it was released on 12 February 2025 and retails for $16.99.
Sancticide is available exclusively on PC.
The following peripherals are officially supported:
Sancticide is unrated and contains:
Mechnically Sancticide is a pretty solid game, very much on par with what has lovingly become known as “eurojank”, however, the narrative leaves a lot to be desired, and while I commend them for trying sometghing new, when creating a new story in an established setting, its very important to get the core concepts correct, even if you use take some creative license along the way.
Unfortunately, the writers of Sancticide seem to have little knowledge of or respect for the setting where the game takes place. For that reason, I find it very difficult to recommend, as there is ignorance, bigotry, and disrespect, and unfortunately, Sancticide crosses that line a fair deal.
I always take issue when anyone deliberately targets and belittles a group of people or their beliefs, regardless of my personal view on those beliefs.
By all means make a unique universe heavily inspired by their beliefs if you feel you must (allegory and satire have done this for millennia), but to create a game based on basterdised real world versions of those beliefs, is not only tasteless, but shows a lack of maturity on the part of the developer, which makes me hesitant to invest much time, money or attention in anything they have to offer.
Ultimately, a decent concept is ruined by disrespect for the source material and a complete disregard for the beliefs of over 2.5 billion people, not including their hideous portrayal of angels, which many would find offensive in multiple religions, including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and more.
We found Sancticide to be a good game, meaning it is likely to be enjoyable for most players, despite having a few areas that could be improved upon.
Note: This title is in Early Access, meaning it is publicly available but still evolving. The rating shown reflects its current state and may change as development continues.
