Crisol: Theater of Idols is a first-person shooter from Vermila Studios, published by Blumhouse Games. The game is classified as a survival horror game, and it definitely fits that criteria. With a well-respected publishing house in Blumhouse, I expected nothing short of a quality horror story. After playing the game, it is quite obvious they hit the mark with this one. What you get out of Crisol is far more than a standard survival horror experience.

This review will cover Crisol’s unique mechanics and how managing your ammunition could mean the difference between life and death, more than in most other games. As Gabriel, you dive deeper into the dark island of Tormentosa. Nestled off the coast of this world’s Spain, named Hispania, help uncover a conspiracy of godly proportions.

Sun vs Sea

In Crisol: Theater of Idols, you play as a servant of the Sun, a god who is at war with the Sea. Players are thrown onto the island, which is rainy and dark. Through this, it seems the Sun is not welcome. Your mission is to reseal the Sea into a prison by finding four daggers. Along the way, you have to fight walking statues, rock monsters, flying babies, and other creepy enemies. You also meet a group of rebels called Solari, led by a spunky youth named Mediodia. Luckily, they are also servants of the Sun, but you don’t meet them until after the prologue. You then end up at their base, and it will become your hub.

Throughout the game, memories will appear to you, uncovering more of the hidden stories that haunt this island. If you are a completionist (I am not), this is an incentive to find them all. The story as a whole has a lot of elements to it. At 15-20 hours, you get a lot to dive into. Luckily, there is a journal that records every note, memory, and more. This helps and creates a nice codex for the player. Oftentimes, you will find books and notes that have clues for future puzzles. The puzzles are a lot of fun and tie into the story, so you are never pulled out of it. In the end, it is a solid story with some good twists. As you are hunting for the daggers, you uncover why this war is happening and how to stop it.

Blood Bullets

The reason Crisol: Theater of Idols has the survival tag is due to the unique ammunition system. For your guns, the player has to use their own blood. Every time you reload your gun, you drain some of your blood. Fear not, because your health bar is upgradeable. Depending on the gun depends on how much blood you use. Shotgun is different than SMG, which is different than pistol. One nice aspect of this mechanic is that you can reload your gun partially. Gabe starts with a pistol, with a total of 5 guns to find. Each gun also has its own animation for reloading, which adds to the fun of this mechanic.

Every gun is upgradeable. Damage, reload speed, fire rate, and ammo capacity are what you can put points into. Each point costs coins that you find throughout the island. As you go through the game, you can earn discounts by freeing crows. These crows belong to the fortune teller, where you can purchase these upgrades. The more crows you free, the higher the discount goes.

This unique mechanic made for a really intense game. Oftentimes, you will be going into a new area with a lot of ammo and a little health or vice versa. It is a matter of finding a perfect balance, collecting blood as often as possible from dead NPCs, animal carcasses, and blood fountains. Some NPCs you drain will also give you items for quests or solari tokens that can unlock chests at the hub.

Your syringes are an important part of your toolbelt. Upgrading that pouch at the fortune teller is crucial as you get deeper into the game. Certain skills also add to how you are able to heal, reload, and manage this whole mechanic.

Skills and Tools

The skill system is rather straightforward, and players may not unlock all of them before completing the game. To unlock each one, the player uses essence collected from killed enemies. There are also crow skull relics that players must find. Each skill has a different skull value ranging from 2 to 4. Once again, crows are involved because skills are unlocked through the fortune teller.

Another tool in the player’s arsenal is the knife. The knife, as a weapon, is very useful in mid-battle should you run out of ammo and are low on blood. Oftentimes, an enemy will be down to a torso and legs, or even just legs, and a couple of swipes with the knife finishes them off. The knife does lose durability as you use it, and can be restored via a sharpening station. Players must use gas cans, found strewn across the island, to operate these stations. The knife’s durability is upgradeable via the fortune teller.

Players will use many tools on their travels across Tormentosa. Bolt cutters will get you through many parts of one chapter, while a mini ship’s steering wheel will aid you another time. Another part finds you using a brake lever. Each part of the island has its own mechanisms, traps, and puzzles.

Aesthetics, Environments, and Music, Ole!

The very nice thing about Crisol is that the game is very linear and story-driven, yet it feels very open. As a player in this sort of game, you want to not feel too boxed in. Crisol manages this wonderfully. The designers developed a beautiful yet forlorn world that has a lot of different places to explore. As players go through each chapter, they will visit each different district.

Every district is a different theme, and the styles of buildings and decorations really exemplify what that theme is for each one. I was not once disappointed at what I was looking at. The colors used were just the right palette to reflect the tone of the game. And it ran beautifully on the highest graphic settings at 2K resolution (I am running a 12th gen i7, 64 GB DDR5 RAM, and a 4070 TI).

The music in Crisol: Theater of Idols created perfect moments and added to the intensity when it was necessary. Whether running from Dolores, a 10-ft tall monstrosity, or enjoying the carnival games in the hub, I was able to appreciate what was playing in the background. Players will be able to enjoy the music in the main menu as well through vinyl record collectables found throughout the world.

Extras! Extras!

Games like Crisol often have multiple treasures to discover in their world. Whether you find a vinyl record or a page that can reveal a new part of the story, Crisol is a treasure trove of content. You can also win tickets at the fair to unlock different useful and collectible items. Achievements are important for extras, too, with each one having a value. Once a player is done with the story, they will be able to unlock virtual models of many of the items, enemies, and weapons in the game. Additionally, this feature really allows you to appreciate the hard work Vermila Studios has put into the game. Players can also feel good about their hard work through their achievements. Listening to the few vinyls I have unlocked also tempted me to go back and find the rest. Yes, the soundtrack is quite good.

Final Reaction

Blumhouse has a winner with Crisol: Theater of Idols. Despite some minor bugs that I am sure the developers will patch up, it did not affect the gameplay. If I were to have any complaint, it would be that the running mechanic felt a little sluggish, and there were a few boat rides that felt the same. I think the sluggish running is on purpose, as it added to the sense of urgency. I still would not mind a springier Gabe, though. But really, the only real complaint is the slow boat rides.

Crisol: Theater of Idols is one I highly recommend checking out. With a great story, unique mechanics, and engrossing environments, first-person shooter and horror fans alike will want to check this one out. It is not a perfect game by any means, but Crisol: Theater of Idols makes me excited for what the folks at Vermila Studios have up their sleeves.

Pick up Crisol: Theater of idols now on Steam, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5.