You Should Play This Excellent New RE7-Like Horror Game Before Resident Evil Requiem

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Resident Evil is a hugely influential game, shaping the horror genre for decades. You can see its impact in many modern games, from those recreating the look and feel of the original PlayStation horror titles like Sorry, We’re Closed, Crow Country, and Fear the Spotlight, to the way Resident Evil 4 revolutionized third-person shooting. While Resident Evil 7 itself drew inspiration from games like Amnesia and Alien: Isolation, it has still inspired other developers. Crisol: Theater of Idols is a great example, openly embracing the style of Resident Evil 7 and offering a compelling experience for fans while they wait for the next major installment.

From the start, Crisol gives off strong Resident Evil 7 vibes. The character movement feels heavy, and aiming isn’t quick – you won’t be pulling off flashy moves or quick escapes. While this might sound like a downside, it’s actually central to the game’s tense atmosphere. The unsettling, doll-like enemies move slowly towards you, forcing you to carefully choose your targets and aim accurately to survive. Thankfully, Crisol rarely throws enemies at you without warning, making the process of taking down the slow-moving groups a consistently suspenseful experience.

Crisol Borrows Heavily From Resident Evil 7

The gameplay feels a lot like fighting the monsters in Resident Evil 7. While a character like Leon from RE4 could easily handle these enemies, Ethan moves differently, and the game expertly balances the challenge of awkward controls with the constant threat of danger. There’s a similar rush to defeating a mold creature right before it attacks, as there is when landing the final shot on a haunted doll in Crisol. Even though both Crisol‘s Gabriel and RE7‘s Ethan hold their weapons similarly, the games share a deeper connection than just surface-level similarities.

Like many survival horror games, Crisol features a relentless, terrifying enemy that stalks the player. Instead of a haunted house, Crisol presents multiple sections where you’re pursued by an indestructible foe who actively taunts you. These moments are the most frightening in the game because you can’t defeat or easily avoid this mechanical demon. What makes it even more intense is that Crisol often requires you to solve puzzles or slowly open doors while being hunted. This is a clever design choice – it forces you to really interact with the game instead of just running or hiding.

Similar to other Resident Evil games, Crisol mixes scary moments with puzzles. These puzzles are surprisingly clever and connect to the game’s story. For instance, one puzzle involves a vault built into a casino, and it’s central to how the cult steals money from the townspeople. While the puzzles are a bit over-the-top, Crisol makes them more interesting than the simple matching puzzles found in some other Resident Evil titles.

While Crisol clearly draws inspiration from classic Resident Evil games, it doesn’t quite reach the same level of replayability. Resident Evil titles are known for encouraging multiple playthroughs, but Crisol currently lacks features like a New Game Plus mode. The cosmetic character models you can unlock don’t change gameplay, and it’s missing a mode similar to Resident Evil’s Mercenaries. Although the main story takes a solid 15 hours to complete, most of the incentive to play again comes from trying to unlock achievements or trophies, which are currently plagued with bugs.

Backtracking in Crisol can be frustrating. The game frequently blocks paths or locks doors without clear reasons, which feels unfair to players who want to find everything. It’s hard to predict when these obstacles will appear, meaning players will likely miss important upgrades or collectibles unless they constantly check the map. The fact that you can’t revisit levels – they’re just different doors in a central area – is odd enough, but it’s even stranger to limit exploration within a level. This design choice is a departure from recent Resident Evil games, which usually keep areas open and allow players to backtrack extensively.

Crisol‘s Religious Themes and Art Give It Its Own Style, Though

While Crisol doesn’t include every element fans expect from the Resident Evil series, it offers a unique atmosphere all its own. The game’s world feels like a blend of BioShock and Blasphemous, creating a darkly religious setting inspired by Spain. The story unfolds through visions and diary entries, revealing how power corrupts and is used to control others. Though not as graphically violent as Blasphemous or as directly political as BioShock, Crisol explores similar ideas, encouraging players to uncover the full picture. It can be hard to keep track of characters—they appear as faceless red figures in these visions—but the intriguing world is worth the effort.

In Crisol, managing resources works differently than in most games, creating a unique risk-reward system. Every shot Gabriel fires drains his health, forcing players to be accurate and deliberate with each bullet. This turns combat into a strategic challenge: is it better to use a powerful weapon like the shotgun, even if it significantly damages your health, or stick with the safer, weaker pistol? These unusual reload animations aren’t just for show; they fundamentally change how the game is played, adding a welcome layer of strategy. While the game has fewer types of items to find, this actually highlights the importance of each bullet and works well with the overall system.

Crisol definitely has some interesting features, but the best art often blends inspiration with originality. Crisol successfully combines a distinctive visual style and a unique reloading system with gameplay reminiscent of titles like Mr. X and RE7, resulting in a truly fresh experience. While its release shortly before Requiem makes it a good game to play before Capcom’s next big release, Crisol is also a strong, memorable game that stands on its own, even alongside other major titles in the genre.

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2026-02-20 03:11