- Publisher: Poor Locke
- Release Date: Feb 12, 2026
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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Mar 10, 2026Crimson Capes is a modest indie metroidvania that earns plenty of personality points thanks to its use of the rotoscope technique, which gives it uniquely smooth animations. The combat is well designed, akin to the original Prince of Persia games but with more depth. Subpar platforming holds it back somewhat, hurting its exploration aspect, however, it still offers solid action with plenty of boss fights.
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Apr 1, 2026While we’re used to seeing games in this genre that draw heavy inspiration from (or even outright copy) one another, I appreciated that Crimson Capes has its own identity and offers an original gameplay experience. It has its flaws, but the effort put into it definitely shouldn’t be overlooked.
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Apr 20, 2026Crimson Capes is an interesting experiment, where every fight could be a chance for meaty combat, instead it feels like too close to Prince of Persia combat – flailing and anachronistic.
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Feb 17, 2026Crimson Capes is fairly unique even within its own oversaturated genre.
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Mar 19, 2026I was hoping for something fun and new with Crimson Capes. I am relatively fresh off SilkSong, which probably doesn’t help, but I didn’t go into it expecting something of that calibre. What I found was a game that could have had a rich world with interesting quest lines, innovative combat, and novel enemies, but really failed to deliver on every count. The world was empty, the enemies were a predictable grind, and the combat was uninspired. It’s just another 2D Souls-like that fails to bring anything new to the table.
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Feb 12, 2026Crimson Capes is a game overflowing with ideas, systems, and artistic ambition. Its combat mechanics are deep, its world is thoughtfully constructed, and its visual style stands out in an increasingly crowded genre. Unfortunately, all of that potential is weighed down by a difficulty curve that actively undermines enjoyment. If Poor Locke manages to rebalance the experience, Crimson Capes could grow into something special. As it stands now, playing it feels more like work than discovery. So I’ll wait until people who are probably better than me at this game work out how to beat the bosses I’m stuck on, and I’ll revisit the game later. However, this leads me to give this game, in its current state, a grade lower than I initially thought.