Crisol: Theater of Idols Review

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Blumhouse Productions, known for its successful horror movies, expanded into video games in 2023. Their first game, Fear the Spotlight, released a year after the company’s formation, was a retro-style survival-horror game reminiscent of classic titles. Since then, Blumhouse Games has continued developing new games, most recently Crisol: Theater of Idols. While Fear the Spotlight drew inspiration from older games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill, Crisol: Theater of Idols takes cues from titles like Resident Evil 4 and BioShock.

In Crisol: Theater of Idols, you play as Gabriel, who investigates a sinister, fictional island reminiscent of Spain, filled with dangerous creatures – similar to the experience in Resident Evil 4. However, unlike RE4’s over-the-shoulder camera, Crisol is played from a first-person perspective and features a visual style that’s like a more gruesome version of BioShock. This blend of elements creates a compelling and effective action experience.

Crisol’s Combat Has Serious Resident Evil 4 Vibes

As a fan, I can tell you that the creepiest enemies in Crisol are these really unsettling doll-like statues. They relentlessly attack Gabriel with everything from knives and pitchforks to crossbows – it’s pretty intense! The first time you run into them, it’s genuinely unnerving, and they can really hurt Gabriel if they get too close. Thankfully, Gabriel isn’t defenseless; he’s got a fantastic range of weapons to fight back with!

The combat in Crisol is really exciting and requires more than just shooting at enemies. You can strategically stun the stone statues by shooting off their heads, or remove their limbs to disarm them. I especially loved one early encounter where I destroyed a monster from the waist up, thinking it was defeated, only to turn around and see its legs still moving and attacking me! The enemies are relentless, and the game keeps things fresh with new types of creatures introduced throughout the experience.

Many survival-horror games limit ammunition, and Crisol does too, but with a clever addition. In Crisol, you defeat monsters using magical weapons fueled by the protagonist, Gabriel’s, own blood. This means every reload damages Gabriel, costing him health. This creates a difficult choice during combat, making each fight more engaging. Players can choose to carefully avoid enemies to preserve Gabriel’s health, or aggressively attack with powerful, fully-loaded weapons, knowing even a single hit could be fatal.

Okay, so when you’re not busy fighting in Crisol, you spend a lot of time just running around. Honestly, the environments all start to look the same, and you’re basically just searching for stuff to move the story forward. The biggest issue for me is that the levels are way too big! There are so many long, boring hallways, and I even got lost a few times with the map open! If they’d made things a little smaller and more focused, the game would have flowed so much better, in my opinion.

While exploring the unsettling world of Crisol, players will encounter puzzles, as is common in survival-horror games. These puzzles are well-designed – challenging enough to be enjoyable, but not frustratingly difficult like some others in the genre.

To move the story forward, you’ll need to solve puzzles. There are also optional puzzles that reward you with health boosts and money, which you can spend on upgrades, similar to the merchant in Resident Evil 4. This money and other collectibles let you improve Gabriel’s weapons and unlock abilities, making the tougher parts of Crisol a bit more manageable. While the idea isn’t brand new, it creates a rewarding feeling of growth as you play.

Crisol Has a Few Issues That Hold It Back From Greatness

Often, Crisol feels very similar to a first-person version of Resident Evil 4, especially with its focus on action, merchants, and survival horror. However, it doesn’t have the same level of refinement. While the game generally looks good, it has some noticeable rough edges. I occasionally noticed slowdown when enemies were defeated – this might have been intentional, but it wasn’t effective. There were also a few times when my character moved very slowly, as if aiming down sights, even when I wasn’t. A particularly bad glitch happened while in an elevator, where my character repeatedly clipped through the roof.

One of the most annoying parts of the game Crisol is its use of radio conversations. When Gabriel talks to people on the radio, it drastically slows him down, and he can’t interact with objects in the environment. While you can skip these conversations, doing so means missing important story information, which creates a difficult choice for players.

One weak point in the game is the attempt at a relentless, pursuing enemy. While games like Resident Evil 3 (with Nemesis) and Resident Evil 2 (with Mr. X) have successfully used this type of enemy to create tension, Crisol‘s version falls short. The creature stalking the player character, Gabriel, is large and looks scary, but avoiding it is too easy – you just hide until it gives up, then continue as normal. At best, it’s a minor annoyance, and it quickly loses its ability to frighten you after the initial encounter.

Beating Crisol: Theater of Idols took about eight hours for my initial playthrough.

While not flawless, Crisol is a worthwhile survival-horror experience. The combat is enjoyable, and despite some lengthy levels, the game successfully captures the feel of classic survival-horror. If you’re a fan of the genre, it’s worth checking out.

Crisol: Theater of Idols is now available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X. We reviewed the game using a PlayStation 5 code provided by the developers.

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2026-02-10 20:08