Bite-sized Review:
Crimson Diamond

By Chris Picone, 19 September 2024

Crimson Diamond is a new adventure game by (mostly) solo dev Julie Minamata; it's her debut game, although she has worked on the art for a number of other titles.  It's a murder mystery, and one that immediately reminded me of the old Laura Bow games - possibly unsurprising as Julie has listed that particular title as being among her inspirations.  You play as a geologist who finds herself in a classic Cluedo-style murder in the mansion whodunnit.

Aesthetics

Right from the opening cutscenes, Crimson Diamond wows.  The colour scheme is gloriously garish, befitting the EGA palette it's designed after.  And while some of the scenes and characters aren't quite "pixel perfect," the imperfections are part of its charm, allowing some room for imagination while also creating a sense of nostalgia for the graphics from the era. The attention to detail is impressive and the game's also fairly large in scale - the lodge you start your game in must have ~20 rooms, and outside that are pathways stretching in every direction and more besides. 

Gameplay

The core gameplay's a bit of an odd design choice, although I get it. I grew up with both text parser games (Zork!) and point and click (dynamic interface and otherwise) and everything in between, and honestly both have their charms. Crimson Diamond, however, has opted for a strange middle-ground where you can click (or use arrows) to move but then must still use a text parser to interact with the environment. It matches the first Laura Bow game (Colonel's Bequest), and is certainly authentic to the era, although Julie has been very kind to us by making the parser very friendly and easy to use. By that, I mean it's forgiving of random article ("the") and objects with multiple names ("cupboard" vs "wardrobe") and . Nonetheless it can get a little tedious - much of the start of the game involves digging through seemingly every cupboard and drawer in the 20-room lodge to locate various mundane objects. I haven't completely finished the game yet but puzzles seem to be fairly minimal, the game mostly being solved by simply exploring each area thoroughly and talking to everyone you meet. The story itself, though, is good, and all the dialogue and expository passages are well-written.  

Verdict

While I worry the EGA-inspired graphics and hybrid graphic/text parser choice may scare off many newcomers, Crimson Diamond has plenty to offer existing fans of the genre.  The game's possibly bigger than it needs to be, and can drag on a bit as a result, but overall I'd happily argue that the writing and artwork are enough to carry you through the game. 

Links: 

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1098770/The_Crimson_Diamond/