Crimson Moon is a roguelike Soulslike from developer ProbablyMonsters that wears its Darksiders inspirations proudly. It’s chunky, colourful characters and blatant, unsubtle bastardisation of Christian mythology make the world feel instantly familiar to anyone who played Vigil’s games, though with its own somewhat unique marrying of genres.
It plays as a Soulslike, mechanically. Stamina-based combat, an emphasis on parrying, and enemies that can turn you to pastrami with a few lucky hits. But Crimson Moon eschews the structure of a Soulslike, instead presenting you with a fairly standard central hub from which to initiate “runs”, that last from the moment you enter the world until you either succeed or die. And you’ll do the latter an awful lot.
Your character is a Nephilim, a trait now so overused in games that most RPG fans know what it is without having to look it up. Born of the union between Angel and Demon (which apparently happened a LOT), you’re a warrior of immense power, comparatively speaking of course. Next to your average chartered accountant you’re a physical powerhouse; not so much when faced with the armies of Hell.
Unfortunately, that’s where Crimson Moon’s uniqueness begins and ends. It’s a perfectly serviceable roguelike Action RPG, but it does little with the concept that feels fresh or new. There’s a ton of colour-coded loot to be found in chests and gathered from fallen enemies; runs are compartmentalised into areas that culminate in challenging boss fights; and as you progress you’ll slowly unlock more and more services in your hub, from a blacksmith to an alchemist.
The aesthetic is intriguing, especially for fans of Joe Madueira’s art style. Crimson Moon looks like Darksiders, or Battle Chasers, or Wayfinder, with thick, powerfully-built, well-detailed character models, massive swords, and over the top brutal combat that feels almost cartoonish in its pretty barbarity. The combat itself is almost precisely what you’d expect from a mid-range title in this genre, and it’s biggest problems come from the fact that you just don’t seem to react fast enough to certain enemies. Because damage input and output also feels a little skewed, combat in the early hours can feel particularly frustrating.
You enter each run equipped with a single-handed weapon and shield, and a two-handed heavy weapon. These and your armour pieces can be selected from gear you find in the field or buy, which must be carried back in your limited storage, identified, and then upgraded to provide better damage or defence. It’s a simple, fairly addictive gameplay loop that feels more suited to a straight action game than a Soulslike.
That would be less interesting, of course, but also less frustrating, because Crimson Moon is also a pretty tough game. Even minor enemies can give you a bad day, while some of the bosses are real progress walls. Luckily, you can play it in coop with another player, using builds that synergise well with each other. It’s not quite a case of just freezing an enemy while your friend smashes it, but it inspires a similar level of teamwork. Of course, double the swords doesn’t mean double the lives, and you’ll still have limited attempts at a run before you’re spat back out in town.
Chasing loot and rocking up to bosses is all well and good, but the fun comes at the expense of any kind of meaningful story. The premise is paper thin nonsense about preventing the destruction of the city of Gildenchrest but you’re not given much of a reason to care beyond it being your base motivation. Lore and backstory is doled out in manuscripts you find that take up half the screen and present the information with little flourish or fanfare. Most of them I just didn’t read as they serve more to halt the action than provide context.
Overall, Crimson Moon’s core gameplay loop will be enjoyable to anyone who relishes a challenge and enjoys the idea of bite-sized Souslike encounters, with tight environments and little in the way of gameplay choice beyond what loadout you take in with you. Anyone looking for a deeper experience will be left disappointed by Crimson Moon’s simplistic approach to the genre, the addition of coop at least makes it fun to journey through with a buddy. It’s no masterpiece in a year replete with them, but it’s a decent debut for ProbablyMonsters, nonetheless, and one that won’t cost you the Earth.
