Crimson Dawn

This game leaves a lot to be desired but for less than 1 euro it's okay. Shame the developer left it in early acess and released it as it is. There are a few bugs here and there, nothing too serious. The biggest problem is the lack of content. With only 3 maps, 5 characters and the overall repetitive grindy nature it's definitely not for everyone. On the flipside it doesn't take that long to beat.

GO buy Halls of Torment. this was abandoned after V1

DO NOT BUY. Unfortunately abandoned, devs slapped 1.0 to push out of EA even if it's not even 50% finished. It had potential to be a very good VS clone.

ヴァンサバを持っているならこれをやる必要ないし、持っていないなら素直にヴァンサバ買いましょう。 [h3] 気になった点 [/h3] ・各クラスに得意武器が設定されており、永続強化も得意武器なので武器固定に近い。 得意武器以外の武器使ってもカスダメです。光線が得意武器の魔術師がやや優遇。というか他クラスが得意武器でも弱すぎる。 ・経験値、素材などのドロップ表示数に上限があり、回収しきれなくなると[b][u]敵を倒しても一切何もドロップしなくなります。[/u][/b] あまりにもヴァンサバ系と相性が悪く、致命的すぎてこれだけでサムズダウンにできるレベル。 一応掲示板でこれについて開発のコメントがあり「上限は設定されているが、収集範囲内のものは取得できる」とのことです。遠距離クラスのことなんも考えてない。他のゲームなら経験値同士が上位経験値になったりするのに。 ・収集範囲が永続強化にない。 毎回くっそ狭い状態からスタートして強化せざるを得ない。 永続強化がクラス毎の得意武器と各武器の強化しかないので移動速度や収集範囲みたいな永続強化は一切ないです。 ・爽快感が皆無。 敵を倒しても全然倒してる感覚がない。 なおかつ自分が被弾しても無音（じゃないかもしれないけど聞こえない）なので全然わからない。いつの間にか死にかけています。 ・ボリュームのなさ。 ステージ3つ。永続強化はわりとすぐに終わります。 他レビューのみなさんのプレイ時間で察してくださいといったところ。 [h3] 総評 [/h3] 最初だけそこそこ遊べます。セール価格なら100円しないのでジュースと思えば悪くないかも。

Unfinished, unpolished abandonware. They just declared it as "finished" but its far from that. Avoid.

Crimson Dawn to jedna z gier, które powstały na fali popularności Vampire Survivors, inspirując się tak bardzo nieoczekiwanym hitem Steama, że w zasadzie można mówić o klonie balansującym na granicy plagiatu. A więc mamy tę samą formułę – nasza postać atakuje automatycznie, a my nią tylko poruszamy, zbierając to, co wypada z bestii. Wbijając poziomy oraz zbierając skrzynki, ulepszamy naszą postać, wybierając każdorazowo jedną opcję spośród kilku. Jednak całość wypada dość miernie. Dlaczego? Bo gra wyszła we wczesnym dostępie, który ewidentnie nie trwał tak długo, jak powinien. W rezultacie jest to produkcja niezbyt rozbudowana. Porównując do „oryginału”, mało tu postaci, mało broni, mało map, mało wszystkiego. Kuleje też balans, a jak już ogarnie się, co jest mniej, a co bardziej przydatne, każde podejście jest niemal takie samo. Poza tym dość szybko można ulepszyć, co się tylko da, i wkrada się uczucie, że widziało się już wszystko, co Crimson Dawn ma do zaoferowania. Jednakże nie odmówię temu tytułowi, że ma ten element dostarczania graczowi dopaminy. Jak dojdziemy do etapu, gdy przeciwników jest mnóstwo, a anihilacja przybiera taką skalę, że nie do końca wiadomo, co się dzieje na ekranie, satysfakcja jest odczuwalna. Podsumowując, to trochę Vampire Survivors z Temu. Można pograć, dobrze się bawić kilka godzin, jednocześnie mając świadomość, że są dużo lepsze i bardziej dopracowane tytuły tego rodzaju. 5/10

Crimson Dawn, developed and published by Purple Lake, is a roguelite action-survival game that leans into the increasingly popular "horde survival" formula, with a blend of RPG progression and minimal input combat. On the surface, the game is simple and immediately accessible: choose a character, drop into one of the available maps, survive waves of increasingly aggressive enemies, gather loot and upgrades, and repeat. It’s a loop designed to be both low-maintenance and addictive, and while it doesn’t aim to revolutionize the genre, it offers a compact, budget-friendly take on familiar mechanics with just enough variety to keep players engaged—for a while. The gameplay structure is heavily automated, with attacks firing on their own as long as enemies are nearby. The player’s primary focus is movement, avoiding damage, and choosing upgrades as they level up during a run. This design choice removes the need for aiming or constant clicking, shifting the gameplay toward positioning, dodging, and strategic decision-making. It’s a design philosophy that favors casual immersion over reflex-driven intensity. The spell and weapon systems tie neatly into this, allowing players to create builds on the fly as they collect new equipment and enhance their abilities. Over time, unlocking new weapons, spells, and characters adds more combinations, giving a small but noticeable sense of progression between runs. Crimson Dawn’s RPG elements come into play between missions, where players return to a hub area to manage their resources, upgrade equipment, unlock new characters, and access features like the blacksmith or market. These additions help to deepen the experience beyond the basic “survive and repeat” loop, even if they’re not especially complex. The game rewards incremental progression, where each failed run can still feel worthwhile due to the currency and unlockables you carry back. This sense of continuous improvement is one of the game’s more satisfying elements, even if it eventually becomes predictable. Visually, the game opts for a pixel-art aesthetic that falls somewhere between functional and nostalgic. It’s not especially stylized or detailed, but it communicates everything clearly and gets the job done without clutter. Enemy designs are generic but distinct enough to avoid confusion in the chaos of larger battles. The audio design is similarly modest, featuring background music that provides atmosphere but doesn’t stand out, and sound effects that are clear and functional but not particularly memorable. None of this holds the game back, but it also doesn’t elevate the experience beyond the expected baseline for a low-cost indie title. Where Crimson Dawn begins to falter is in its lack of depth and long-term variety. While five different maps are included, they don’t vary enough in terms of layout or enemy behavior to drastically change the feel of a run. After a few hours, most players will have seen the bulk of what the game offers in terms of enemy types, progression paths, and map events. Optional quests within levels offer increased difficulty, but the rewards for completing them can sometimes feel underwhelming, which discourages risk-taking and makes high-difficulty challenges feel more punishing than rewarding. Without a strong incentive to keep pushing those boundaries, some of the game’s systems lose their appeal over time. Balance is another area that may divide players. Early on, Crimson Dawn feels appropriately challenging, especially as you’re building up your arsenal and character upgrades. But as you unlock stronger gear and build synergies, the game can swing in the other direction, with later runs sometimes feeling trivial—especially when paired with the automated combat mechanics. The sense of danger that defines a good roguelite often fades as your power scaling outpaces the game’s ability to challenge you. Conversely, some early runs may feel too punishing before enough upgrades are unlocked, creating a slight sense of grind in the midgame. In terms of overall polish, Crimson Dawn runs smoothly and demands little from your system. It performs well even on older machines and is optimized for quick startup and play sessions. It's clearly designed to be a pick-up-and-play experience, making it accessible to players who want to fit in short gaming sessions without a steep learning curve. On the other hand, this ease of entry can also feel like a lack of ambition. There are few surprises in how systems work, few moments of narrative or thematic depth, and little incentive beyond self-improvement or chasing higher kill counts. The reception from players has been mixed, which aligns with the game’s strengths and limitations. Those looking for a short-term, affordable roguelite experience with low mechanical complexity generally find it satisfying, even if it doesn’t stick with them long. Players seeking a richer, more diverse experience with strong visual design, deeper mechanics, or long-term content may find Crimson Dawn comes up short. Still, its price point and accessibility make it a respectable option in the crowded survival-action space, especially for genre fans who don’t mind a smaller-scale offering. Ultimately, Crimson Dawn is a competent, compact roguelite that understands its limitations and delivers a focused gameplay loop without unnecessary fluff. Its biggest strengths lie in its simplicity, low barrier to entry, and steady if shallow progression system. But its limited variety, modest presentation, and lack of mechanical depth may leave some players disengaged after the initial novelty wears off. It’s not a game that reinvents anything, but it delivers exactly what it promises—a no-frills, horde-survival experience that’s easy to dive into and moderately rewarding for the time you put in. Rating: 6/10

bad devs and bad game

È stupefacente quanto mi piaccia questo gioco nonostante una nutrita sfilza di limiti che, di fatto, non mancherò di ricordare. Premetto fin da subito che lo consiglio solo e unicamente a coloro che o hanno ancora pochissima esperienza o si approcciano per la prima volta a questo genere; chi invece ha già provato e concluso molti altri titoli roguelite, credo che qui non troverà praticamente nulla che non abbia già visto e quindi il mio consiglio è di indirizzarsi verso altro. Perché si chiama Crimson Dawn? È vero che non l’ho ancora completato interamente e quindi non ho visto la conclusione, ma per ora non esiste assolutamente nulla che faccia riferimento a un qualche tipo di alba scarlatta. La cosa che ci si avvicina di più sono i capelli rossi della maga, non a caso scelta come personaggio immagine del gioco… e a ben vedere! Il titolo è certamente suggestivo, ma – a meno che non mi smentisca il finale e, se così sarà, aggiornerò la recensione – non pare avere nessun nesso con quanto il fruitore trova nel gioco. Temo pertanto che gli sviluppatori abbiano scelto un nome accattivante e che l’abbiano buttato lì ad libitum… o sarebbe meglio dire ad ca**um. Sono disponibili solo tre mappe, tre colonne sonore di sottofondo (una per ogni scenario), cinque missioni per ciascun ambiente (quindici in totale), poca varietà di mostri, cinque personaggi giocabili, sette armi magiche e sette armi da mischia e/o a distanza. Purtroppo, a meno che il superamento dell’ultima missione nell'ultima location non sblocchi nuovi mondi, personaggi inediti e armi mai viste, si tratta di un gioco molto limitato e poco sviluppato. Come appena evidenziato, la varietà è poca e, durante una partita, le armi vengono presentate casualmente al giocatore; per un po' si può rimandare la scelta e puntare su abilità più legate alla costituzione/difesa che all'offesa… ma prima o poi tocca decidersi e il risultato finale potrebbe presentare personaggi che, nonostante appartengano a cinque classi completamente diverse, utilizzano tutti gli stessi tipi di attacco mischiati tra loro in modo disomogeneo e troppo uguale. A differenziare gli avatar è il loro aspetto, la velocità di movimento e l’abilità unica (un bonus legato al loro personaggio), ma quasi niente più di questo; sul modo di combattere, purtroppo, si assomigliano tutti. C’è poi poco equilibrio, una disparità folle tra i vari mostri della mappa e il boss di fine missione. Crimson Dawn ha dalla sua il fatto che i personaggi e le armi possano essere enormemente potenziati e così creare combinazioni e tecniche di lotta davvero spettacoli e divertenti sia da vedere sia da eseguire… ma poi ci troviamo davanti all'ultimo ostacolo e ogni nostra speranza si sfalda come un castello di carte. Con un avatar all'apice del suo potenziale e otto armi sviluppate all'estremo (otto è il massimo a cui possiamo ambire in una partita), i mostri attorno a noi faranno tanta fatica ad ucciderci… e allora perché ci vogliono circa quindi minuti di gioco per arrivare a un boss e solo quindici secondi per essere spazzati via da quest’ultimo? Tre mappe e tre mostri conclusivi… e non sono ancora riuscito ad abbatterne neppure uno nonostante il mio avatar sia più letale di una bomba RDS-220. Che amarezza arrivare tanto lontano e poi inciampare sempre, ripetutamente e comunque, in vista del traguardo. Nonostante l’impressione complessiva sia quella di un gioco progettato con eccessiva fretta e mai effettivamente concluso in modo degno, a me continua a piacere un botto! È poco costoso, piacevole da vedere e simpatico da giocare. È realizzato in una pixel art senza troppe pretese, ma scatenare i poter magici e le abilità combattive tutte assieme carica, esalta ed elettrizza… senza contare che è un piccolo spettacolo per gli occhi! Certo, i boss sono ancora fuori dalla mia portata, ma di certo esisterà un modo batterli… o no?

The Cloniest of all Clones. Meh. Mamy Vampires Survivors w domu.