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 mechanics 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 Blumhouse Games and Unique Horror Experiences
Over the last two years, I’ve found myself covering something of a Blumhouse Games beat. I spoke to members of the team behind the high school-set *Fear The Spotlight* at Summer Games Fest 2024 in LA, marking the publisher’s striking entrance into the games industry. Since then, I also interviewed the creators of *The Eyes of Hellfire*, a gothic Irish multiplayer title.
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 signed by Blumhouse has felt. Despite all falling within the wider horror genre, each title carries its own distinctive identity.
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### Vision and Cultural Roots
When I asked Carrasco why a Hollywood-based publisher like Blumhouse was interested in 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 elaborated on how the team approaches this in *Crisol*: “In many cases, you speak from what you know, and we know Spanish folklore.” The game doesn’t just focus on folklore, but also explores the scars left by Spain’s complex relationship with religion — from Paganism to Catholicism.
This is presented through two fictionalized groups in the game: one representing a “religion of the sun,” and the other “the cult of the sea.”
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### Navigating Controversy in Game Development
In today’s climate, where games around the world are increasingly canceled mid-production due to politically sensitive topics, I asked Carrasco if it was difficult to convince a publisher to support a game inspired by real religious and political history.
He shared, “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 even if you didn’t study Spanish history.”
While Blumhouse was receptive to the pitch, not every publisher the team approached felt the same way. “Some publishers either wanted to remove parts of it or wondered whether someone without that cultural connection would be interested,” Carrasco said, expressing some frustration.
He believes players can overcome cultural barriers if the game hooks them with its gameplay, style, or premise. “Some people don’t know anything about Samurai or Japanese culture,” he explained, “but then you play and you get excited about it because it’s so exotic, unique, and different.”
Through that immersion, players can begin to appreciate what makes different cultures fascinating. “In our case, this is not Spain. It’s a completely twisted version of the country, but there’s a lot of Spanish flavor. We’ve taken things from different eras, regions, and art styles to give a glimpse—a sense of ‘Oh, I’d like to know more about this. Maybe I can visit Spain sometime and discover the cathedrals and how they connect with the *Crisol* version.’”
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### A Coherent and Connected World Design
Watching a trailer or playing a demo reveals some clear inspirations for *Crisol’s* gameplay and art direction. The first-person horror and stalking monsters bear the mark of *Resident Evil*, while the shooting and light stealth borrow from the highly animated *Bioshock* style and immersive sim elements.
I wanted to dig deeper into the inspirations behind the game’s unique world design, so I asked Carrasco about specific parts of Spanish history or folklore that influenced *Crisol.*
“In terms of art design, we really wanted coherence,” he said. “Sometimes you play games that are fun, but you notice they didn’t invest the same effort in art direction. One thing doesn’t feel connected to the environment, or you wonder why a character is dressed a certain way.”
To avoid that, the team worked hard to create cultures and locations that feel natural and connected. “In Tormentosa, there’s the Cult of the Sea, so everything reflects that — in color, shape, or decoration. Nothing feels out of place.”
He also explained the meaning behind the game’s title: “*Crisol* means crucible, like a place where many things mix. We combined elements from different parts of Spain but made sure they didn’t feel like they didn’t belong. We spent a lot of time making it feel natural and coherent.”
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### Innovative Gameplay: Blood as Both Ammo and Lifeblood
While many of *Crisol’s* gameplay elements have obvious inspirations, one mechanic stands out as wholly unique. Unlike other survival horror shooters, you don’t scavenge for ammunition. Instead, your own blood acts as both your bullets and your health.
If you run out of shots in your gold-encrusted shotgun, you can transmute a chunk of your health bar into ammo and hope for a clean hit on whatever is approaching. Meanwhile, as you find fresh enough corpses, you can absorb their blood into your health and redistribute it as ammo.
This creates an interesting risk/reward balance, consolidating health and ammo management into a single resource and forcing tough decisions.
Carrasco shared the reasoning behind this design choice from two angles:
“First, survival horror games have slowly become less about survival and more about action. They give you plenty of ammunition, weapons become more powerful, and the horror becomes less challenging.”
“With the blood mechanic, you always need to pay close attention to your health, which weapon suits which enemy, how many enemies you face, and how to approach fights.”
Beyond gameplay, the mechanic carries narrative and symbolic weight. “The more religious aspect is that you sacrifice your blood to your god to defeat enemies.”
Carrasco described creating ammo as a kind of sacrament: “You take your blood and make it divine, turning it into a weapon against the monstrosities attacking you.”
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### Weapons as Religious Relics
Religious imagery layered onto gameplay and world design is a recurring theme in *Crisol,* often discovered naturally during research.
Take the weapons, for example. When you first pick up a revolver or shotgun, it looks fairly normal. But once the soldier you play as infuses it with his blood, the weapon becomes encrusted with jewels and finished in gold, resembling a 16th-century religious scepter.
Carrasco explained the real-world inspiration for this transformation: “When we started exploring religious history, we discovered the tradition of saints preserving relics.”
Your weapons act like reliquaries — containers for the divine — which in reality often hold the remains of saints or objects associated with them. The same precious materials—gold, ivory, expensive wood—used in reliquaries are mirrored in your weapons, with the blood symbolizing the divine element inside.
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### An Authentic and Thoughtful Approach
All these elements come together to create a game that feels meaningful rather than provocative for controversy’s sake. Carrasco and the Vermila Studios team are clearly invested in exploring religious ideas through gameplay and storytelling.
The result is a game authentic to its cultural roots, while also willing to comment on the history and culture it represents. I’m eager to see how these ideas develop when *Crisol: Theater of Idols* eventually 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