Crisol: Theater of Idols has been shown off at numerous past gaming events of late, and it's one I've had wishlisted for a while. Now, after playing its Steam Next Fest demo, I truly have high hopes for it.
The horror FPS from Vermila Studios and publisher Blumhouse Games sets an awesome tone when it comes to its setting of Hispania, which is "a twisted version of Spain" that immediately evokes memories of BioShock's Rapture for me.
The gameplay is a slow-paced variant of any FPS you'd find nowadays, reminiscent of the newer Resident Evil titles, where you can shoot your way out of a situation, but the tension and horror of what lurks around each corner is what's most important. Puppet-like enemies stalk the area, and they take several bullets to finish off before being able to move on.
The unique mechanic in Crisol is that your weaponry uses a very specific kind of ammunition: your blood. Reloading requires filling up your weapon with your own life-juice and HP, and as such, makes your health bar more of a valued resource than ever before. You can heal up with syringes found on the map or use some kind of power to drain the blood from dead humans or animals scattered about the area.
The Resident Evil vibes really kick in towards the end of the demo when a massive, hulking contraption named Dolores shows up ready to hunt you down. You're forced to run and hide from her like Nemesis or Mr. X (or Songbird or a Big Daddy), navigating the streets of Hispania while cutting through chained-up doors with the tried and true RE trope bolt cutters.
I think my favorite part of the demo, though, is that it does not waste your time with exposition. A lot of demos throw you into a cutscene immediately, and maybe it's just me, but I don't want that in a demo. Let me try the gameplay loop and then decide if I'm interested in the story first. Thankfully, playing through this interesting area of Crisol now has me wanting to know a lot more about the story and setting, as the 20-minute demo is just enough to whet your appetite for FPS horror without spoiling anything at all.
Crisol: Theater of Idols will launch on PC and consoles in early 2026, and thus far, it seems like it may be a sleeper hit to watch out for. You can try out the demo now during Steam Next Fest to see what the excitement is about.
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The post One of Steam Next Fest’s top demos feels like BioShock combined with Resident Evil, and I’m all in appeared first on Destructoid.
