This first-person survival horror developed by Vermila Studios and published by Blumhouse Games has become one of my most enjoyed games of this year so far. After Blumhouse’s last title, Sleep Awake, I was really excited to see how this game unfolded. I felt a heavy influence from Resident Evil and BioShock, from the mechanics down to the art style. Like both of these games, the atmosphere and storyline kept me hooked, and I did not want to put down my controller.
A Hellish Nightmare
You play as Gabriel, a devout follower of the Sun God, who embarks on a journey to fulfil a divine mission on the island of Tormentosa, in Hispania, a hellish nightmare version of Spain. Here you are to banish the Sea God and stamp out the cult that follows. Upon firing his pistol at some creepy mannequin he encounters, he swiftly realises it has absolutely no effect, and he is powerless. The Sun God bestows a gift to Gabriel, turning his weapons into amazing-looking gold and ornamental pieces of art that weaponise his blood into bullets that take out the puppets with ease.
Exploring the nightmare
Upon entering each area, you collect a map from a town sign, allowing you to navigate around the place more easily. Just like RE, the map areas are red when they are unexplored or if there’s hidden items that are still to be found, then turn blue when they’ve been explored, always a helpful mechanic to have.
Each area is dark and full of creepy janky moving puppets who are armed with knives, pitchforks or fire arrows. They sound so creaky when they move, and the game exploits this sound by using it for other creaking wooden objects, making you think there’s always an enemy nearby, really keeping your paranoia on edge.
A lot of the places you explore just gave me Bioshock vibes with the art style and feel of each place. That alone just gave me this overwhelming sense of satisfaction as it is my favourite game series of all time!
Blood magic
Managing your health and ammunition can be a tightrope sometimes, as filling up weapons takes your health down with each bullet you load into the magazine. You can regain portions of health by absorbing blood from dead animals, plasma syringes, and cult followers. There will also be blood fountains or the odd bottle of holy blood hidden in safes, which fully restore your health. I totally recommend fully reloading your weapons before using these since it doesn’t matter how much health you have, it will fully replenish you.
Weapon of choice
After acquiring each weapon, they transform into an absolutely stunning version of themselves. There are a total of six weapons to find in the game. Each weapon also has their own unique reload style by piercing Gabriel in different ways to draw his blood. As you progress through the game, the enemies get harder to take down, but luckily, you are able to upgrade each weapon’s abilities at the game’s merchant, La Plañidera. Upgrades for weapons are paid for with the game’s currency, Silver Bulls, which can be found in chests, cash registers, and shelves.
You do have a melee option that doesn’t need blood, instead it requires to be constantly sharpened at special bikes around the map. To do this, you need to collect gas cans to use at the area. I didn’t use the melee much, as the risk of the puppet hitting you was far greater than just depleting a few rounds to take them out at distance.
Puzzles
I really enjoyed the puzzles in Crisol. You would first collect a note, and in a cryptic almost abstract riddle it would tell you how to approach each one. They get you thinking without hurting your brain, but leave you with that amazing sense of satisfaction when you solve it unaided. In some sequences, you will do the same puzzle three times, progressively getting harder each time.
Combat
The combat is quite clunky, and because of the way the puppets move, it makes them harder to hit. But when your life depends on you hitting your shots in more ways than one, it definitely makes each encounter more intense. They will keep coming for you even as you blast off their head and limbs until you fully destroy them. When you kill these evil relentless mannequins, you absorb their life essence; this, together with the crow relics you find can also be used as currency at the merchant witch to upgrade your skills.
You will be chased throughout by a giant automaton called Delores, who you just have to avoid. She is actually quite easy to lose; by just entering a building or small space, she somehow doesn’t know where you went, letting you escape with ease when she loses interest and walks away.
Collectables
I love looting and collecting items in-game; I feel like I always need some level of side questing to get full satisfaction in a game, and in Crisol, there are plenty of things you can collect. These range from shooting Ulises dolls to gain essence, finding Solaris brooches to open special chests, and freeing crows from cages to unlock discounts at the store. You can also collect vinyl records and marenento pages, which you can read and listen to in the main menu for some extra lore.
Final thoughts
If I had any criticism, it would be the voice acting; it genuinely sounded like Gabriel had a full stop after every word. It didn’t always flow the best, but it made me smile if anything. The Artwork was fantastic, very BioShock lead and the atmosphere that followed was perfect to suit a place that worshipped a sea god, very cultish, dark, and maritime themed. The enemy movements were hard to predict at times, which kept the threat level more intense, and the ability to upgrade skills and weapons kept the progression feeling solid. I definitely recommend this game to any action horror fans out there, and it really is well worth he play through considering the price!
I do have to admit these survival horror games are quite appealing to the eyes and even the gothic art. The atmosphere with the creepy tone definitely would keep me on edge. Great review.