Twisted dogma, living puppets, monsters, and blood as ammo?! This is Blumhouse and Vermila Studio’s Crisol: Theater of Idols, a first-person horror that takes players on a nightmarish journey in the name of the Sun.
In Crisol: Theater of Idols, you take on the role of Gabriel, a soldier who is a servant of the Sun God, sent to the island of Tormentosa, where another religion that worships the sea seems to have put into motion a curse that can only be stopped by Gabriel.
Now, onto the game itself! When it comes to the controls for Crisol: Theater of Idols, it feels like FPS games from the early/mid 2010’s, I’ll get to that more later. Some mechanics are different, though you’ll have to get used to them quickly. Luckily, it’s easy to learn, I’m speaking of the reloading mechanics for your weapons.
When it comes to the sound design, I think some work could have been done on the mixing, especially with the music, which seemed quite loud. The voice acting is amazing, and thankfully, it’s real people!
One of the biggest selling points of the game, I think, is the art. It’s absolutely gorgeous! I love how they incorporated Santo-style artwork into the game’s world, making it its own… and at times, terrifying!
Gameplay-wise, if you loved Bioshock, you’ll love Crisol: Theater of Idols! It reminds me a lot of those games, while having some unique mechanics, such as the reloading system, you have to let the gun suck blood out of you to reload, and as it takes some blood, you lose a tiny bit of health. This offers an interesting challenge!
Overall, Crisol: Theater of Idols was a lot of fun to play. The creepy atmosphere, the choices you have to make about your reloading, the art, and the story may not be original when it comes to dogmatic doom tropes, but it’s unique in its own way. The only issue is with the sound mixing effects, which can make or break a game, but the amazing voice talents even it out a bit. I give Crisol: Theater of Idols a 9/10.
Crisol: Theater of Idols is out now for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
