Crimson Capes Review: Poor Locke Sets The Bar To A New High

Poor Locke is a small independent studio located in Greece, and as you will see for yourself in the credits of the game, it is mostly created by three people, which is beyond impressive, considering the quality of Crimson Capes. I personally had the opportunity to try the game back in 2024 at the second annual Game Developers Meetup, created by IGDA Greece.

I immediately saw the potential this title had, but it needed some improvements, of course. But now that it finally released, all my concerns about the game vanished as the game not only did not disappoint, but it also exceeded every expectation I had about it. I am personally very proud to see the Greek development scene finally get some recognition, and Crimson Capes is an important step for more Greek people to start their own projects.

TL;DR

Crimson Capes is a perfect love letter to the souls-like and Metroidvania genre. From the alive animations of the character to the beautifuly hand drawn pictures of the environments, Crimson Capes manages to deliver a unique feeling of 90’s nostalgia in a refreshed and carefully crafted way. It also manages to find the right balance between being too hard or too easy, making it easily accessible to everyone. The creativity of the development team shows more than once, as the way the game is paced, you will always have something new introduced at the right moment.

Story – A Well-Written Medieval “Fairy Tale”

A dark journey awaits you in the far land of Amvros, where four evil wizards tried to overthrow the king and then escaped. The king then ordered his most trusted knight, Milon the Tempest, to create a guild with the strongest warriors he could find in order to hunt down the wizards, and with the help of the king’s sister, witch Aelia, the guild of the Crimson Capes was created.

The narration of the game is pretty simple, with only a few cutscenes now and then, but it manages to explain the plot in great detail without leaving the player confused as to where they need to go or what to do. I also found the plot not as one-sided as I thought. Not every action can be justified as good or bad. You are just executing orders that can be in a grey area sometimes.

Overall, the story was very interesting and very nostalgic as it reminded me of a blend of the old Prince of Persia games and childhood cartoons like Hercules. Crimson Capes also provides a great depth of knowledge about the general world and the land of the game, while also laying the groundwork for what I hope is a sequel in this epic world.

The game does not end where the story does. Do not rush to close the game after you finish the campaign, as the game features a coop mode in which you can replay the game with your friends, or you can invade another player’s world and try to kill them. Crimson Cape also contains dynamic hunts, also called RNG dungeons, in which you progress through three randomly generated areas, each with its own thematic boss, enough to keep you hooked for some time.

Gameplay – Two-Dimensional Sekiro Meets Dark Souls To Create A Perfect Blend

If you are more of the type, gameplay over story, the game covers that also. The Crimson Capes features a parry system similar to Sekiro, but with the twist that the player first needs to lower the enemy’s stance in order to stun him with a parry. After a successful parry, the next attack by the player will be critical against the enemy. The player doesn’t need to parry all the time, but the reward is worth the try.

Another cool thing is that you can play more than one character in the game. Crimson Capes features 4 playable capes: Milon, Skean, Feiyoun, and Jonai. Each character has a completely different playstyle suitable for every playthrough, so Poor Loocke cleverly makes you try each playstyle and then lets you choose which one you want most. I personally found myself changing between them, but the leader was my favourite.

Different Abilities And Skill Trees

Each member of the Crimson Capes has their own unique powers that grant them an advantage against the enemies they encounter, but be wary of how you use them as they deplete all of the character’s charge meter. By slaughtering enemies and bosses, you gain experience points that you can either spend on travelers for items or to upgrade a character’s skill tree.

The skill tree in Crimson Capes is very important. At the start of the game, you can only perform a light and a heavy attack. By spending experience, you can learn new moves, like stumbling your opponent to loosen their posture, perform new types of attacks, or unlock passive abilities. The upgrades that change and reshape the gameplay are the ones called combat disciplines.

Combat disciplines are basically a refurnished version of stances that were introduced in souls-like games, such as the recent Rise of the Ronin. Each member of the Crimson Capes has several stances to use while they are in a fight, with the cost of using them being a small percentage of their charge meter.

Items and Equipment

You can find items scattered along the land or from fallen enemies that, similar to Souls games, give some temporary status effects to your character or save you from a tight situation in a fight. After successfully defeating a boss in a game, it is most likely to drop a piece of gear, such as armor pieces, rings, emeralds, and more. With these items, the player builds their own loadout, adapted to their needs and their playstyle.

All these gameplay properties create a familiar yet refreshing feeling in the combat that makes you wanna experiment a lot to find the combo that best suits you, and I personally believe they suit the nature of the game as well. The pacing of the game and the way every little thing is introduced prevents the player from feeling frustrated or burdened by the quantity of things that exist in the game.

Visuals & Animation – It Puts AAA Companies To Shame

I do not know what kind of black sorcery the developers practice, but I am shocked. The rotoscoped pixel art animation of Crimson Capes brought me back to the good old PlayStation 1 era, when it was Sunday morning, and I would wake up early in the morning to play Prince of Persia and then watch the Hercules series.

It works too well with the gameplay, as I never felt my attacks were delayed or unresponsive due to the animations. The environment also feels alive thanks to the extremely realistic water animations and weather effects, making the player feel truly immersed in the world of Crimson Capes.

Great world design

The world is almost continuous; it is separated by small loading screens from time to time, but the player can easily distinguish one area from another, as each one is vastly different, with changes in the scenery and in the enemy types.

Every area is carefully designed with incredible detail and love that makes you wanna explore every bit of it. Take your sweet time because the kingdom of Amvros holds many secrets. The game also features its own version of cutscenes, which, of course, are hand-drawn as well.

The enemies are no joke in Crimson Capes. They are not sponges, nor lifeless dummies. They are very smart, as they can fake attacks, use magic, and also avoid your attacks. So spamming just the attack button will not save you.

The player needs to strategise and make good use of the abilities in their character. Bosses are an entire league of their own. They feel like this huge spectacle with genius designs and attacks, making the player impatient to face the next boss.

Sound Design and Soundtrack

Yet another sector in which Crimson Capes thrives is audio. Everything sounds extremely well, from the sounds of swords clashing, flesh ripping, to the multiple thunderclaps tearing through the forest. The game would not be complete without an epic soundtrack. It may be a bit short, but it manages to capture the glory of the Crimson Capes and sets the tone for this epic adventure that the player is about to embark on.

Conclusion – Should You Try Crimson Capes?

Crimson Capes is the perfect love letter to the Souls-like and Metroidvania genre. Everyone will clearly see the passion and care Poor Locke clearly poured into their game. It is amazing to see such a small studio deliver such an amazing experience. I cannot recommend it enough to everyone into this kind if games or even newcomers. I had an amazing time playing this game, and because I did not get to play the coop or invasion mode, as I received the game before the release date, I will definitely jump back in with my friends.

A big thanks to Critical Hit PR for sponsoring this review!