Crismson Spires Demo

It is always refreshing whenever a game genre tries to incorporate elements that are rarely (if ever) seen and actually make them work. For example, whenever you think of visual novels, you probably think of 2D characters and hand-drawn environments coupled with a sappy romance story. However, Crimson Spires is a great departure from that trope, mixing in 2D characters with 3D environments and focusing on murder mystery and horror rather than the lighthearted aspects of human personality.

You are a police officer out to catch a dangerous serial killer, and you chase him down following a trail of clues all the way to the town of Bataille in Missouri. Despite finding the serial killer, August, you realize that you've ended up in a place where he's actually the least of the population's problems, as the supernatural is also involved.

There are plenty of scenes inside the game where you see, explore and interact with a visually realistic 3D environment, and it does  envelop you in the story in a way that make you think you are actually part of it. Like a lot of other visual novels, you are also given the opportunity of making choices at certain key-moments during the game, choices which may even end up impacting the flow of the story.

The characters are well-designed, but they are also very anime-like as far as the art style is concerned, but nonetheless there are moments when gore is displayed both on them or in the 3D environment, which may not be appropriate for all users. More so, if you are bothered by vulgar language, then you might as well play the game yourself, and let your children play something else.

The story of Crimson Spires has the potential to evolve into something far greater that you may imagine at first, making this a game that does indeed show some degree of promise if the developers choose to take it in the right direction.