Crimson Moon Review: A Budget Soulslike That Respects Your Time

Every September gets buried under 70-euro giants, so I like checking what the 20-euro shelf is up to. Crimson Moon, released September 1 by ProbablyMonsters for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, is exactly the kind of game that lives or dies on expectations. Set yours right and there's real fun here.

You play a Nephilim - half human, half angel - defending the fallen city of Gildenarch from demons, vampires and worse. The structure is run-based: you launch missions from your home base, The Church, each with evolving modifiers, and the risk/reward scaling asks how greedy you're feeling. Combat is soulslike in vocabulary - stamina, dodges, punishing hits - but far faster in tempo, with stylish, bloody executions and loot raining down after every run. Solo works fine, and there's online co-op for two.

What clicks

The run structure is the smartest call. A soulslike that fits into 30-40 minute sessions instead of demanding a monk's pilgrimage is genuinely refreshing, and chasing one more loot roll kept me up later than I planned. In co-op the game is at its best - trading executions with a friend under the red moon has an arcade-y charm most po-faced soulslikes wouldn't allow themselves. And at 19.99 euros, the value math is simply different than for the AAA crowd.

What creaks

The camera is the biggest offender - in tight interiors it shakes and swings until you're fighting it more than the demons, and reviewers across the board have flagged the same thing. The enemy roster runs thin fast; by hour six I'd seen most of what Gildenarch throws at you, and later runs remix rather than surprise. Hits could also use more impact - for a game built on visceral executions, regular strikes feel oddly weightless. Steam user reviews sit at Mixed right now, and I understand both camps.

Verdict

Crimson Moon is a decent, honest 20-euro game - nothing more, nothing less. It borrows soulslike clothes but plays like a fast, loot-driven action roguelike that respects your evening, and with a co-op partner it comfortably outperforms its price. It also never escapes its budget: the camera, the repetition and the feathery combat keep it out of hidden-gem territory. If ProbablyMonsters patches the camera, add half a point.

Who is it for? Co-op duos and roguelike fans wanting soulslike flavour without the time tax. Who should skip it? Anyone expecting Lies of P polish - that's not what 20 euros buys.

Score: 7/10

Image: Sanu N / CC BY-SA 4.0, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blood_Moon_Graphic.png