Blumhouse Productions has made a name for itself as one of the premier horror film production companies, and in 2023 turned its attention to video games. A year after it was formed, Blumhouse Games published its first game in the Fear the limelighta classic style survival horror game with a retro look inspired by the classics. Blumhouse Games has continued to release new titles since then, with its latest Crisol: Theater of Idols. While Fear the limelight was inspired by old-school Resident Evil and Silent Hill game, Crisol: Theater of Idols has much more in common with games that Resident Evil 4 and BioShock.
Crisol: Theater of Idols puts players in the role of Gabriel, who finds himself exploring a creepy, Spain-inspired fictional island full of deadly monsters, not unlike Leon S. Kennedy's adventures in RE4. But instead of using a third person, over the shoulder as in Resident Evil 4, Crucible uses a first-person perspective and a general aesthetic that is like a bloodier grip BioShocks presentation. It's a solid combination and works well for Crucibles action.
Crisol's Combat has Serious Resident Evil 4 vibes
The most common enemies in Crucible are evil doll-like statues that try to kill Gabriel with knives, pitchforks, crossbows and other various weapons. The initial encounters with these creatures are unnerving, with these monsters able to deal significant damage to Gabriel if they get close enough. Fortunately, Gabriel has a powerful arsenal at his disposal to help him put up a serious fight.
Crucibles combat is exciting and offers more strategy than just shooting the living statues anywhere. If players have good enough aim, they can stun the statues by blowing their heads off, or they can shoot off their limbs to disarm them. One of my favorite moments in the game happened during one of my first combat encounters. I destroyed a monster from the waist up and its legs fell to the ground. Assuming it was dead, I started exploring, only to realize I was taking damage. I spun around to see the legs had risen and kicked me. These things don't let up, and new enemy variants introduced later on ensure the battles never get boring.
Ammo conservation is a big part of many survival horror games, and the same is true in Cruciblealthough the game offers a unique twist on the concept. The only way to kill the monsters on the island is to use magical weapons powered by Gabriel's blood. Reloading means damaging Gabriel and taking a hit to his health. This give-and-take adds another layer Crucibles battle and makes it that much more interesting. Players can try to avoid enemies if they don't want to lose any health, or they can go in guns blazing with fully loaded weapons at the risk of a stray hit taking them down for the count.
When not killing enemies, Crucible players spend most of their time running through similar-looking environments in search of resources and important items to advance the plot. The problem is Crucibles level design is bloated, with many areas feeling too large with an abundance of uninteresting linear corridors and a couple of sections that are easy to get lost in, even when using the map. Scaling something down would have done wonders for Crucibles pace.
As players explore Crucibles twisted world, they will occasionally encounter a puzzle or two, in typical survival horror fashion. i found Crucibles puzzles to find the perfect balance, offering enough challenge to make them fun to solve without becoming unpleasant as sometimes happens in survival horror games.
Solving puzzles is usually required to progress the story, but there are optional ones that lead to health upgrades and money that can be spent with the game's equivalent of Resident Evil 4s traders. Money and other collectibles are used to upgrade Gabriel's weapons and unlock perks that help you get through Crucibles more challenging sections a little easier. It may not be a particularly original concept, but it adds a satisfying sense of progression to the experience.
Crisol has a few issues that hold it back from greatness
Crucible really feels like a first person Resident Evil 4 much of the time, with its merchant and action-focused version of survival horror, but don't expect nearly the same level of polish. Crucible looks good most of the time, but there is a certain amount of hassle involved in the process. I experienced occasional slowdown when enemies die (this Power has been a deliberate choice, but it wasn't a good one in that case), and there were a couple of times where I got caught walking slowly, as if I were aiming down the sights of my gun, even though I wasn't. One of the more serious errors came when he was riding an elevator and Gabriel kept cutting through the ceiling.
Speaking of going slow, one of the most frustrating things about Crucible is its radio segment. At various points in the game, Gabriel has conversations with people on the radio that slow his walking speed to a crawl and make it so that he can't even pick up anything in the environment. There is an option to skip these conversations, but then players will feel like they're missing out on story details, so it's not ideal.
What is also not ideal is Crucibles half-lost attempt at a stalker enemy. Survival horror games have previously used recurring stalker enemies to great effect, with Nemesis from Resident Evil 3 and Resident Evil 2Mr. X immediately comes to mind, but Crucibles view of it is disappointing. The creature stalking Gabriel is huge and looks like scary, but getting away from it simply means taking cover, waiting for it to lose interest, and then going back to whatever you were doing. In the absolute worst, Crucibles stalker enemy is a bit of a nuisance, and it loses its intimidation factor after the first encounter.
Iron Crisol: Theater of Idols took about eight hours for my first playthrough.
Crucible isn't a perfect survival horror game, but that's not to say it isn't a solid time overall. I really enjoyed it Crucibles combat and while the levels are a little bloated, the game still delivers a pretty solid rendition of the classic survival horror game loop. Genre fans should definitely check it out.
- Released
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February 10, 2026
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, suggestive themes, strong language, intense violence
- Developer
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Vermila Studios
- Publisher
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Blumhouse Games
- Number of players
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Single player
- Solid survival horror action
- Rewarding progression
- Puzzles that are just the right amount of challenging
- Scary monster designs
- Lame stalker enemy
- Bloated levels
- Occasional rubbish
Crisol: Theater of Idols is out now for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X. Game Rant was provided with a PS5 code for this review.
