Back at Tokyo Game Show in September, I had the chance to sit down with David Carrasco, the CEO and co-founder of Vermila Studios and the executive producer on the upcoming *Crisol: Theater of Idols*. The game is a survival horror first-person shooter that leans heavily into both survival and horror elements.
*Crisol* takes place on the Island of Tormentosa in Hispania, a nightmarish version of Spain, tainted by corrupting religion and a blood curse that fuels your weapons and health.
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### On the Blumhouse Games Connection
Over the last two years, I’ve found myself covering quite a few titles connected to Blumhouse Games. I talked to team members from the high school-set *Fear The Spotlight* back at Summer Games Fest 2024 in LA, when the new publisher first made its big entrance into the gaming industry. Since then, I’ve interviewed the creators behind *The Eyes of Hellfire*, a gothic Irish multiplayer game.
As a big horror fan, I’m by no means complaining. In fact, I’ve been continually impressed by how unique and singular each game Blumhouse has signed has felt, despite all sharing the wider horror genre.
When I asked Carrasco why the Hollywood-based publisher sought out his game and others like it, he explained, “I’m not Blumhouse, I cannot speak for them, but I think what is really important for them is that you have vision. That you are not just making a game, but that your game tries to explain something and has an essence.”
Carrasco went on to say, “In many cases, you speak from what you know, and we know Spanish folklore.”
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### More Than Folklore: Exploring Spain’s Scarred History
*Crisol* doesn’t just focus on folklore—it explores the scars left by Spain’s complex relationship with religion, from Paganism to Catholicism. This theme is represented in-game through two fictionalized groups: one worshipping a “religion of the sun,” the other known as “the cult of the sea.”
In an era when many games are getting canceled mid-production due to the “increasingly intense” US political climate, I asked Carrasco if convincing a publisher to back a game inspired by potentially controversial political and religious history was difficult.
He said, “We discussed [with Blumhouse] that it was [inspired by] Spanish folklore, but you didn’t need to know anything about it. That it would be interesting to you even if you didn’t study Spanish history.” Blumhouse seemed receptive, but not every publisher felt the same.
“Some publishers that we visited, they either wanted to remove some of it or they were wondering whether someone that didn’t have that connection would be interested [in the game],” Carrasco explained.
This part of the pitching process seemed to frustrate him. He mentioned how the team tried to argue that players can overcome a cultural hurdle if the game itself hooks them with gameplay, style, or premise.
“Some people don’t know anything about Samurai or Japanese culture,” he said, “but then you play and you get excited about it, because it’s so exotic and unique.” Players, he believes, then begin to learn and appreciate what makes different cultures interesting through immersion.
“It’s a way to introduce, in our case, this is not Spain. It’s a completely twisted [version of the country], but there’s a lot of Spanish flavor there. We’ve taken a lot of things from different eras, and regions, and art styles, so it can give you that glimpse, that idea of ‘Oh, I would like to know more about this. Where did it come from? Maybe I can visit Spain sometime and discover the cathedrals and how they connect with the *Crisol* version.’”
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### Connected to Faith: Art Direction and World Building
Some of these influences are visible straight away if you watch a trailer or play the demo. The first-person horror and monsters stalking you through the locations clearly draw from *Resident Evil* games, while the shooting and light stealth borrow from the highly animated *BioShock*-style gunplay and immersive sim elements.
But I wanted to know more about the subtler inspirations behind *Crisol’s* unique world design. I asked Carrasco about particular parts of Spanish history or folklore that drove the game’s artistic direction.
“In terms of art design, we really wanted to have coherence,” he explained. “Sometimes you play games that are fun, but you notice they didn’t invest the same amount of effort in the art direction. One thing doesn’t feel connected to the rest of the environment. Or, ‘Why is this person dressed like that?’”
To avoid that, the team aimed to create cultures and locations that felt coherent and connected.
“We really put in a lot of effort in creating a coherent, structured art direction. In Tormentosa, there’s the Cult of the Sea, so everything has that sea connection—whether in color, shape, or decorations—and nothing feels out of place.”
However, Carrasco highlighted that *Crisol*—which means “crucible”—is a place where many different things mix.
“We mixed a lot of elements from different places in Spain, but we didn’t want them to feel like, ‘Oh, this cathedral does not belong here.’ We spent time and effort to make it feel natural.”
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### It’s in the Blood: A Unique Gameplay Mechanic
While most gameplay elements in *Crisol* have clear inspirations, one stands out as wholly unique: your own blood acts as your ammunition and health.
Unlike other survival horror games where you scavenge for ammo, in *Crisol*, if you’re out of shots in your gold-encrusted shotgun, you can sacrifice a chunk of your health to reload. Landing a clean hit on an enemy becomes crucial. Conversely, you can absorb fresh hemoglobin from rotting corpses found in the streets to replenish health and ammo.
This creates an engaging risk/reward balance, consolidating the usual health and ammo management into one resource and forcing tough decisions.
Carrasco described the inspiration behind this mechanic from two perspectives.
“First, survival horror games have slowly become less survival and more action. They give you lots of ammo, your weapons become more powerful, and the horror doesn’t feel as challenging. The creatures attacking you, you can defeat them sooner or later.”
The blood mechanic forces players to constantly consider their health, weapon choice, enemy types, and crowd size.
Secondly, there’s a strong narrative and religious symbolism layer: “You sacrifice your blood to your god to defeat the enemies.” Ammunition creation becomes akin to a sacrament.
“You take your blood and make it divine, so it becomes a weapon that can defeat the monstrosities attacking you,” Carrasco said.
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### Reveling in Rare Reliquaries: Weapon Design and Religious Imagery
Religious imagery permeates *Crisol*’s gameplay and worldbuilding, often surfacing naturally through research. This is perhaps best exemplified in the game’s extravagant weapon design.
At first, the revolver or shotgun seems fairly ordinary. However, once your character—a soldier of a religious order—infuses blood into a weapon, it transforms: encrusted with jewels and finished in gold, reminiscent of a 16th-century religious scepter.
Carrasco shared the real-world inspiration behind this.
“When we began digging into religious history, we discovered a lot about saints and how they preserve relics.”
Players’ weapons act as reliquaries—containers of the divine—that in the real world house remains or objects linked to saints or divinity.
“They use materials like gold, ivory, and expensive wood. This contrasts with the weapons you find. The blood holds the divine element inside.”
This layering of meaning makes the religious imagery feel authentic and purposeful. It’s not included for controversy or shock value.
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### Final Thoughts
David Carrasco and Vermila Studios clearly aim to break down religious ideas through *Crisol’s* gameplay and world, creating a game that feels authentic to its cultural roots while offering commentary on history and faith.
I’m excited to see where these ideas lead when the game releases.
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*This preview is based on a PC demo played on-site at Tokyo Game Show in Japan. The final product is subject to change.*
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146730/crisol-theater-of-idols-isnt-shying-away-from-its-horrific-religious-themes-and-that-is-what-makes-it-so-interesting