REVIEW: ‘Crimson Moon’ Provides A Unique Roguelike Experience Despite Its Faults

Crimson Moon is developer ProbablyMonsters’ brand-new RPG that blends action RPG and roguelike elements. The game succeeds at several of its goals, providing an engaging experience in the process while unfortunately also including some disconcerting drawbacks and flaws.

The game follows a sole Nephilim, a half-human, half-angel being, who belongs to the order of the Crimson Moon, a group sanctioned by the Lunitarian Church whose sole purpose is to protect humanity from its enemies and the forces of evil. The game begins as you and your brothers are tasked to retake the fallen city of Gildenarch by venturing through every district and seeking out three artifacts in the city called Abraxas stones. These artifacts contain the souls of dead gods, and players will need to recover them to fully banish them.

Crimson Moon’s narrative is structured similarly to soulslikes and roguelikes. Narrative development is sparse, as the story takes a backseat to gameplay. Players are introduced to the game’s gothic renaissance world, and are given basic details about the origins of the Nephilim, humanity’s enemies, angels, and more, but other important details such as the true goals of the church, the origins of the gods you’re after, and more are left to the player’s imagination until they get to the latter half.

Crimson Moon thrives in its gameplay.

Cutscenes and narrative development are few and far between, and when the plot does progress, its execution is quite underwhelming. Players will also find several NPCs around the city, all of whom have a story to tell or details to share. And while many of them have interesting personalities and quirks, meeting them and completing quests and questlines doesn’t feel as engaging as in other games, because their questlines are often simple and bland.

Narrative aside, Crimson Moon thrives in its gameplay. The game showcases a unique and interesting blend of roguelike and action RPG elements. Players begin with their Nephilim’s base stats and gear. Once they start a run, they’ll fight several enemies and come across several weapons, armor parts, accessories, and more.

Each weapon type has its own perk and drawback and feels significantly different from the last, and players can unlock several skills based on the type and rarity of the weapon they pick up from enemies and chests. Each skill feels great to use and looks amazing, from skills that have players throw their sword into an enemy and recall it, damaging them twice, and skills that mark them for extra damage, to skills that use elemental projectiles, along with a variety of debuffs like freeze, bleed, poison, and more.

Unlike in other similar games, most gear and items players pick up in Crimson Moon actually matter.

Players also find several pieces of gear that not only increase their overall stats but also grant them conditional skills like stat increases and elemental damage when they sprint attack, dodge roll, heavy attack, and more. Taking the time to pause after winning a fight to min-max gear feels incredibly satisfying in an almost addicting way, as the game does an excellent job of rewarding players who progress consistently with several types of loot and gear. Unlike in other similar games, most gear and items players pick up actually matter, and the differences between each, while seemingly nominal, are actually important for your run.

Players also build up rage by attacking and killing enemies, which allows them to use their ultimate attack, transferring their Nephelim into its angelic form to deal devastating damage.

Additionally, players can get permanent upgrades and gear between each run in Crimson Moon and will level up naturally as they gather XP. Dying never feels unfair or punishing, especially because you can revive multiple times before a true death. Dying only ever feels grueling when you’re close to the end of a run.

Crimson Moon has several drawbacks that significantly hurt the overall experience.

However, once players make it to the end of a run, it usually means they have the skills to make it back and even far in other runs, as progression always feels as a result of skill and not luck. Playing and progressing is also very doable and approachable solo, but the game will likely still be more fun with friends, since it’s also designed to be played with two players.

Crimson Moon‘s visuals are another of its defining aspects. The game sports fantastic lighting, striking effects, detailed and intricate enemy and character designs, and an overall stellar art direction. Its visuals showcase its distinct gothic renaissance aesthetic quite well.

While Crimson Moon includes some great features, it also has several drawbacks that significantly hurt the overall experience. The game has several moments and areas where the frame rate tanks significantly, making some sections almost unplayable, even on the lowest settings on PC. What’s more, the camera makes fighting several enemies and even bosses a pain, as even when locked in, it often sways and spirals out of control.

Regardless, Crimson Moon is an engaging, unique game that offers several features roguelike and action RPG fans will appreciate. While its less-than-stellar features can be a game-breaker for some, there is plenty of fun to be had, especially with a friend.

Crimson Moon is available now for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.