Crimson Moon is a gorgeous, punishing roguelike that forces a constant battle with your own reflexes, offering plenty of gothic atmosphere and satisfying builds if you can tolerate its rough edges, clumsy inventory management, and bruising combat difficulty. Other than that, it’s a different take on a roguelike meets Soulslike, so enjoy dying.
Crimson Moon falls into the territory of those games that I still see potential in, but that didn't captivate me. Updates like a better camera, clearer explanations, more weapons, and some quality-of-life improvements could significantly change the experience. However, today the fun still needs to be unearthed beneath the many problems the game itself...
Crimson Moon is limited in virtually everything, such as gameplay and diversity, and makes little use of the genres it's based on. With a low cost and functional co-op, it can still be a cheap option for a few hours of fun without being taken too seriously.
Crimson Moon from developer ProbablyMonsters is a gorgeous action RPG roguelike that is quite the uphill battle at the get-go. Still, thanks to good backend and frontend rewards, it makes the difficulty worthwhile. The controls do need some work, as do consistent updates, but in the end it’s more fun than not.
Crimson Moon isn’t trying to reinvent the genre. Its Soulslike combat, roguelite structure, action-RPG loot, and Darksiders-inspired fantasy aesthetic are all familiar ideas. What matters is how well they work together—and for the most part, they do.
