Crisol: Theater of Idols Feels Haunted, Looks Stunning, And Has The Best FPS-Horror Tweak I’ve Seen In Years

A collaboration between Vermila Studios and Blumhouse Games, Crisol: Theater of Idols is shaping up to be a visually unique entry into the horror genre. Crisol takes place on the island of Tormentosa, where players are tasked with investigating a cult that has been acting in defiance of the established order of a dark reimagining of Spain. As the player explores the island, they’ll come up against a slew of dangers, including supernaturally possessed wooden statues and a hulking monstrosity that is following the player around the island.

While there’s an ever-present sense of dark atmosphere to the experience, Crisol: Theater of Idols is more than just a horror game. There are touches of the divine amidst all the terror, which might be even more horrifying — as illustrated by how the player has to use their During a preview event held at Blumhouse Studios in Los Angeles, ComicBook got the chance to get our hands on the title. Clever game design and a strong focus on atmospheric scares help elevate the experience, but it’s the steadily unraveling narrative that will really draw in horror fans.

Welcome To Hispania, Hope You Survive The Experience

The landscape of Crisol: Theater of Idols is a compelling combination of concepts, a fusion of everything from Resident Evil 4 and BioShock Infinite to touches of the Spanish Civil War. As players explore Tormentosa, they find themselves investigating the remnants of a community that has been ravaged by some unseen threat. This is one of the more overtly impressive elements of Crisol, which uses a lot of atmospheric touches and quick flashbacks of fallen soldiers to flesh out the story. As a result, Crisol never feels like it’s spoonfeeding its narrative to players or just dropping lore dumps on them. Instead, as you explore the island and see the damage first-hand, players can feel a sense of tension around every corner. In fact, this atmospheric approach to the level design is a key element of why Crisol is so quickly engaging.

As the rain falls and patters against stone and metal, it leaves players wondering what that noise could be hiding. The faraway noise of creaking wood or fluttering wings suggests one of the possessed puppets, creepy mannequins, or demonic cherubs is nearby, even when they’re located elsewhere on the map. The result is a creepy setting that doesn’t feel out of place for the modern horror genre but has enough unique spirit to stand out from the competition. The focus on Gabriel and his mission doesn’t detract from the visually rich setting or the horrifying creations that wander the island. The world of Crisol might have some visual connections to other games (with Resident Evil games serving as a clear influence on the title), but there’s enough unique touches and darkly beautiful artwork to make it all feel wholly unique.

How Crisol Makes Every Bullet Count

This is similar to the gameplay, which takes a traditional first-person perspective. With a handful of firearms and a knife, players have a few options when disposing of enemies. Besides that, the gameplay will be familiar to anyone who has played a horror game in the last few years, with a mix of puzzle solving, exploration, and combat serving as the core mechanics. However, the central tweak on the enemy encounters gives Crisol: Theater of Idols a truly unique calling card. In this game, players are part of a sacred order that can infuse their weapons with divine power. Finding a shotgun or a sniper rifle transforms the weapon in the player’s hands, giving it a visual makeover that helps distinguish the action from other horror-action games.

The real trick, though, is that the bullets aren’t found around the map or in defeated enemies. Instead, the magic of the gun requires the player to sacrifice some of their own blood to charge the weapon. It introduces a very fun gameplay mechanic, where players have the same resource pool for ammo and health. If you run out of bullets, it’s a simple act to reload the gun by drawing from your own supply of blood. However, doing so lowers your health and makes you more susceptible to enemy attacks. This makes the occasional health packs or usable animal bodies all the more crucial, as they can allow players to reload their weapons before restoring their health.

It’s a clever way to streamline the experience and put additional emphasis on the health bar, something that Vermila Studios CEO and Co-Founder David Carrasco explained was crucial to the experience. On hand for the demo ComicBook attended, Carrasco described how the approach was one of the ways the team at Vermila Studios had sought to reimagine the action-horror genre in a way that didn’t feel too close to other games. The mechanic is clever, adding a new level of tension with each shot fired — as the player knows exactly what the cost of that will be. It makes every encounter feel like it counts, especially when enemies can weather a few hits, and lends itself well to the experience.

Crisol Is Mana From Heaven For Horror Fans

As Carrasco described the world of Crisol: Theater of Idols, it became clear that narrative was the key to the game. The developer revealed that the game runs roughly 10-12 hours, with a thematically rich horror game that uses the artistic inspirations and modern horror games genre to tell a story that seems, even just from an hour of playing the game — to touch on death, sacrifice, and purpose. It’s a narrative-driven experience, but with a central mechanic that makes every combat encounter, stealthy section, and horrifying reveal all the more harrowing.

There’s a depth to the storytelling in Crisol and a keen eye for style that feels less directly indebted to filmmaker Guillermo del Toro than in conversation with the same fantastical and horrifying stories that inspired the Mexican director. Taking clear influence from Spanish folklore and religious imagery, Crisol: Theater of Idols uses an inspired brush to bring new life to the action-horror genre in a way that was instantly unsettling and exciting in equal measure.

Crisol: Theater of Idols launches for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC on February 10th for $17.99 with a 10% off discount on Steam.