Blumhouse Productions has earned a reputation as one of the best horror film production companies, and in 2023 it turned its attention to video games. Blumhouse Games released its first game a year after its founding. be afraid of the spotlightIt's a classic-style survival horror game with a classic-inspired retro look. Blumhouse Games has continued to release new titles since then, with the latest titles being: Chrysol: Theater of Idols. the other side be afraid of the spotlight Inspired by old school resident evil and silent hill stratagem, Chrysol: Theater of Idols It has more in common with games like: resident evil 4 and bioshock.
Chrysol: Theater of Idols The player takes on the role of Gabriel. Gabriel explores a fictional island inspired by Spain and filled with deadly monsters. This isn't all that different from the adventures of Leon S. Kennedy. RE4. But instead of using third person point of view resident evil 4, chrysol It uses common aesthetics such as a first-person perspective and a more gory interpretation. bioshock’s presentation. It's a solid combination and it works well. chrysolactions.
The Battle of Chrysol has a serious Resident Evil 4 vibe.
most common enemy chrysol It's an evil doll-like statue that tries to kill Gabriel using knives, pitchforks, crossbows, and various other weapons. The first encounter with this creature is unsettling, and the monster can inflict considerable damage to Gabrielle if she gets close enough. Luckily, Gabriel has some powerful weapons to help him put up a serious fight.
chrysol's combat is thrilling and offers more strategy than simply shooting living statues everywhere. If the player has good aiming skills, they can stun the statue by blowing off its head or disarm it by shooting its limbs. One of my favorite moments in the game happened during the first battle. I defeated the monster above my waist and my legs fell to the ground. Assuming it was dead, I started searching, but then realized it was taking damage. I turned around to see it. The leg was up again and kicking me.. These things don't let up and the new enemy variants introduced later ensure combat never gets boring.
Ammo conservation is a big part of many survival horror games, and many others as well. chrysolBut the game offers a unique twist on the concept. The only way to kill the island's monsters is to use magic weapons powered by Gabriel's blood. Reloading means damaging Gabriel and taking a hit to his health. This give and take adds another layer. chrysolmakes the battle more interesting. Players can try to avoid enemies if they don't want to lose health, or they can shoot with a fully loaded weapon without risking being knocked down by one missed hit.
When you don't kill your enemies, chrysol Players spend most of their time running around identical-looking environments in search of resources and key items to advance the plot. The problem is chrysol's level design is bloated, and many areas feel too large, with too many uninteresting linear corridors and a few sections that make it easy to get lost even when using the map. If we scaled things back just a little bit, the results would be surprising. chrysolIt's speed.
While the player explores chrysolIn their twisted world, they'll occasionally encounter a puzzle or two in the typical survival horror style. i found chrysol's puzzles are perfectly balanced and provide enough challenge to make them fun to solve without becoming unpleasant, as can sometimes happen in survival horror games.
Normally you'll need to solve puzzles to progress through the story, but there are also optional puzzles that allow you to upgrade your health and spend money on par with the game. resident evil 4merchant of Money and other collectibles are used to upgrade Gabriel's weapons and unlock perks to progress through. chrysolSome of the more difficult sections have become slightly easier. It may not be a very original concept, but it adds a satisfying sense of progression to the experience.
Crisol has a few issues that keep it from greatness.
chrysol It really feels like a first person perspective. resident evil 4 There's a lot of time spent covering merchants and action-oriented survival horror, but don't expect nearly the same level of polish. chrysol It looks good for the most part, but there are some stutters along the way. I occasionally experienced a slowdown when enemies died (this I think I will It was an intentional choice, but then it wasn't a good one), but even so, there were a few instances where I walked slowly as if I was aiming through the gun's scope and got stuck. One of the more serious glitches occurred during an elevator ride, where Gabriel went on to crash through the roof.
One of the most frustrating things about walking slowly is chrysol This is a radio segment. At various points in the game, Gabriel talks to people on the radio, slowing his walking speed to a crawl and making him unable to pick up anything in the environment. There is an option to skip these conversations, but doing so makes players feel like they're missing out on story details, which isn't ideal.
Also, what is not ideal is chrysolA half-aimed attempt at a stalker enemy. Survival horror games of the past have used recurring stalker enemies to great effect. resident evil 3 and resident evil 2Mr.X immediately comes to mind, chrysol's view on this is disappointing. The creature chasing Gabriel is huge and appearance It's threatening, but getting away from it simply means running for cover, waiting for it to lose interest, and then going back to what you were doing. In the worst situation, chrysolStalker's enemies are a bit unpleasant and lose their fear factor after the first encounter.
beating Chrysol: Theater of Idols My first playthrough took about 8 hours.
chrysol It's not a perfect survival horror game, but that's not to say it's not a solid time overall. It was really fun chrysolAlthough its combat and levels are a bit bloated, the game still features a pretty solid take on the classic survival horror gameplay loop. If you're a fan of the genre, you should definitely check it out.
- released
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February 10, 2026
- ESRB
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Ages 17+ / Blood and gore, suggestive themes, strong language, intense violence
- developer
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Burmilla Studio
- publisher
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Blumhouse Games
- number of players
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single player
- Solid survival horror action
- rewarding progress
- Puzzles of appropriate difficulty
- creepy monster design
- lame stalker enemy
- bloated level
- Stutters sometimes
Chrysol: Theater of Idols It's out now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X. Game Rant was provided with a PS5 code for this review.
