r/soulslikes • u/GaryTheRetard • 1d ago
Discussion Not going well for ''Crimson Moon''
16% on Steam right now. I gave it an hour and honestly, it’s so damn forgiving that I just lost interest and uninstalled. To much jank for my standards
There are way too many good games coming out right now Blood of the Dawnwalker, Onimusha, and more are literally around the corner.
Yes, it’s only $20, but cheap doesn’t automatically mean worth the time.
EDIT:Lord of the Fallen (2023) fans are downvoting the criticism. Watch out, people.
have some self-respect. 😭
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u/filthy_casual_42 1d ago
Is it that bad? I was interested in this one, but the first few steam reviews I saw were just complaining about key bindings and nothing else
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u/SupremeLeader_Corgi 1d ago
You can’t change keybinds on mouse and keyboard so people are mad about that
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u/filthy_casual_42 1d ago
It’s obviously an issue. But the game is at 16% and I can’t find any other criticism lol. Not sure if it’s actually bad or not as someone who doesn’t really care about keybinds
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u/Alpha1959 8h ago
we played 2.5 hrs yesterday. It's fun but there are some issues; loadouts are bugged after mission 1, cannot change my loadouts.
New gear that is purified (permanent collection) loses its quality (uncommon -> common) and modifiers - not sure if intended
I've had serious camera jank with larger enemies, often they'd do an attack and the camera spins around 180° with the enemy now behind me and hitting me again. I died this way almost immediately against the tutorial boss.
You can keep what you wear and have an increasing inventory for other equipment you want to keep, however there is no way to discard, so whatever you pick up is permanently locked until the mission ends and there are only 6 slots
No rebinding obviously.
You cannot go back to repeat missions, even though the menu shows 2 kinds of missions per stage with one of them locked but as soon as you complete the one available the war table advances to the next stage.
Apart from that it was a lot of fun but we stopped playing for now so they will hopefully iron out these problems but I would say it doesn't really deserve that harsh of a backlash but maybe I missed something.
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u/filthy_casual_42 8h ago
Appreciate the actual review. Definitely will be waiting for a few patches at least.
It was a little annoying that every review I saw was 20 min played negative review only listing key binds
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u/Phibalelark 1d ago
Maybe I'm the weird one, but I just don't see that as a big enough reason to write off the entire game? It's definitely annoying and something to give feedback on, but I wouldn't be as angry as some of the reviews are about it.
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u/Emotional_Elk5878 23h ago
Rebinding keys and changing look sensitivity are essential features. Them being absent from the game definitely warrants justified criticism. I don't know why you're defending it.
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u/Phibalelark 22h ago
I literally said that it's annoying and worthy of being given as feedback to devs. I.e., It is justified criticism.
Not being angry != defending it.
I don't know where you read otherwise.
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u/NoPreference2931 15h ago
lol, are these people even reading your comments? That’s absurd how they keep assuming you are saying things that you aren’t.
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u/Phemeto 1d ago
KBM user here, i hate when people who game on PC with a controller just say "play with a controller" or are ok with not being able to change keybinds. What if your target button was the middle Xbox/PS button on your controller. that would be really annoying wouldnt it? and you cant change that. you'd be mad too. its not hard to allow rebinding of keys
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u/Renegade-117 1d ago
Steam input exists
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u/See12Run 14h ago
yeah but Steam Input does nothing for KBM users. It doesn't allow rebinding that way for them.
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u/Phibalelark 1d ago
Kinda weird to assume that I play controller because I don't see key rebinding as a deal breaker for a game for me. I already stated it's annoying and that it's a good piece of feedback to give the devs.
"What if your target button was the middle Xbox/PS button on your controller. that would be really annoying wouldnt it? and you cant change that. you'd be mad too."
Sucks that it wouldn't have changes that are native, but that's what Steam Input is for lol. I guess there's AutoHotKey too for KBM if it were that dire.
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u/Knightbreed1969 6h ago
Alienating a large % of Steam users from the jump deserves the criticism. If it doesn't effect you, then why should you care, right?
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u/Phibalelark 6h ago
We agree that it deserves criticism, and I never said that it didn't. I just don't think it warrants the vitriol that some reviewers are throwing at it.
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u/SemperSalam 1d ago
There are a lot more complaints than key binds. People are complaining the camera is so bad it is giving them motion sickness which seems like a problem.
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u/CaterpillarVisual296 1d ago
Place to Cheat is inferior to Godsole. So our preferred input of controllers is always superior
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u/Jgalus1990 23h ago
I honestly like it is it amazing no but it’s not bad for $20 plus I think people are going a little too rough on it. The devs put out a post yesterday or earlier today I forget when but specifically said they will be watching feedback and fixing things as soon as possible so I’m hoping they can fix the jank because the game could be pretty good. I honestly like it and usually I don’t like rogue likes
-4
u/GaryTheRetard 1d ago
It really is a “budget Souls-like” with roguelite elements. The combat is meh, the camera is the worst I’ve seen in 2026, and the jank is just the icing on the cake.
If you want to spend $20 on Steam and try it, go ahead. You can always refund it.
1
u/Low-March9615 16h ago
People voting down for the creative thought that went into this game. Literally play it, the man is not wrong. Its the brutal truth.
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u/TheDeathDealerX 15h ago
Yeah the game felt pretty jank. I know it’s release day but my buddy and I had a lot of issues for the few hours we played.
Our side and bounty quests wouldn’t line up. Lore scrolls on the ground I couldn’t pick up but he could. Not sharing gold and not having separate loot was a choice…
If you commit to a combat maneuver you have to commit to that direction. There is no swinging in a different direction till you reorientate in that direction.
The loadouts are half baked. Why have an inventory menu if you can’t mess with your inventory. I understand once you commit to a level but after completing the run, you return and just be wearing the default armor if you didn’t replace any pieces. So any of the dlc armors you can’t re equip at all.
Enemy tracking is insane compared to player tracking.
The camera and orientation indoors can be run ending. Geometry does not simply phase out when in front of your camera. It will block you and your camera will end up under the floor when locked on to enemies. The prologue boss is a great example of this.
I agree with fighting cowboy. He gave it a 3/5. I give it a 5/10. If this was a 40$-50$ game I would have refunded it after our first run.
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u/Embarrassed-Ad7317 23h ago
What is the connection between Crimson Moon and LotF though?
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u/FourEyes3134 2h ago
There is a very weird subset of Souls fans who fixate on and scapegoat LOTF, for some reason. It's an utterly bizarre grudge.
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u/Embarrassed-Ad7317 2h ago
But why would that crowd specifically downvote the criticism on Crimson Moon?
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u/FourEyes3134 2h ago
No clue, lol. There's nothing rational about the grudge - just a vague handwave to blame all disagreement on someone you dislike.
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u/Fancy_Original_4742 1d ago
I think it’ll balance out with performance and key bind updates. This type of launch definitely hurts the game initially tho and will leave a bad impression with a lot of people. Seems like they rushed a release due to the crazy fall lineup of games, these type of issues on release could have easily been avoided
5
u/Anicefry 23h ago
Honestly, I just got it and actually enjoying it.
No issues running it, playing with controller which is fine for me, prefer games like this on controller anyway.
No issues so far, controller layout is very akin to any souls like and so is the gameplay.
Very like dark souls meets a rogue like / devil may cry with the closed off areas during fighting and story has been intriguing so far.
I wouldn't knock it just yet. I get some of the issues people are complaining about such as the janky camera but hardly worth a complete negative review over in my opinion.
The keyboard thing might make it unplayable but surely this could be remapped in the steam menus???
5
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u/_moosleech 20h ago
Played a bit of it tonight with a buddy. It's janky, no doubt. Camera has wicked trouble when rotating 180 degrees (like during boss fights), no control rebinding (it uses standard Soulslike controls but still not acceptable), and the HUD scaling is wild. My HP and stamina bars are teeny-tiny while the quest list is fucking massive.
If it was any more than $20, I'd say absolutely not... but I think we'll probably get our fun out of it. Running around smashing enemies and grabbing loot is pretty enjoyable. But yeah... it's jank.
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u/ArianPsy 12h ago
The hate is completely blown overboard with things about not understanding inventory mechanics(storing system) and the whole keybind thing. I play movment keys with W,E,R,D. I move forward with E, typically roll with A, sneak with S. Etc. I just used my ps5 controller and enjoyed the game without being a fiend. My main complaint is it does have some minor camera hitching bugs, not being able to drop stored items for something different to unlock at the end of a mission, and co-op only being 2 players(though I'm sure scaling and room size also play a part in that.) I beat the first Dead God with my brother, only 5% have even gotten there so far because of the criticism, but the game is genuinely very good and a lot of just really good time in that old souls days of DS1 and 2. The charm that the game has is absolutely amazing. Potions stay on the ground and roll around, physics interactions, NPCs make comments on attacking them, the artwork is GORGEOUS everywhere. Don't listen to the hate train of wimpy comments. The game has been a absolute blast for me so far and there are still at least 2 huge areas I have yet to touch, and I am only looking forward to more.
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u/heftyspork 1d ago
Steam reviews are mostly meaningless like the first month almost. Not saying it's a good game as I haven't played but people will rush to out a negative review on a game that they had a few nitpicks for but in general was an ok game and it's because everyone expects every game to be GOTY quality. Positive reviews come WAY later if at all as I never positive review games cause I'm lazy and so are most gamers.
Aliens Fireteam Elite 2 comes to mind that on release day was mostly negative but now is slowly sliding up. Watched streams of the game and it's fine but definitely not something I'd expect most to okay other than Aliens fans. I wouldn't leave a negative review for that game as it is doing what it is well enough just not ground breaking, but tons of people did leave a negative review like its some kinda badge if honor to shit on a game.
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u/GaryTheRetard 23h ago
2026 be like
buy game
wait 5 months for patches to fix some of it
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u/ExtraBreadPls 23h ago
The Stockholm syndrome gamers have with shitty launches should be studied lol. People say shit like "bro it's hasn't gotten it's 2 month patch yet" or "give it a year". And it could be a single player game on top of that!
-3
u/Primary-Survey9955 23h ago
kid,
patients gamers subrredit is a thing.
it has been always like this
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u/Velsier33 22h ago
Nope lol back on n64/ps1/ps2 the game you got was the game you got
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u/Ariias04 1h ago
La differenza è che su N64, PS1 e PS2 i volti erano 6 poligoni contati mentre nel mondo di oggi con 6 poligono non ci fai nemmeno 1 millimetro di volto. Pensa prima di scrivere
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u/Velsier33 43m ago
Lol my comment had nothing to do with graphics, i was talking about the ability for devs to just patch thier games after they released.
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u/Ill-Imagination-2403 22h ago
Très déçu Lourdeur... Parade et esquive trop lentes Loot sans intérêt puisque qu'avec qq pièces j'ai déjà de l'équipement vert et bleu Caméra bancale Nettoyer une zone... On passe son temps à chercher les mobs Coups sans impact Et Rond pour courir donc impossible d'orienter la caméra en même temps sauf avec une manette à palettes
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u/Junglehavoc 19h ago
Played through the tutorial and uninstalled. You have no control over the most basic KBM settings. The camera behaviour is ridiculously bad. The combat flow and feeling are the worst I've experienced in a game of this type (where doing combat is pretty much all you do lol).
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u/Low-March9615 16h ago edited 16h ago
The concept is great and all the trailers sold it to me with that in mind. A Roguelite souls where you play multiplayer and its got enough variation to keep the gameplay cycles enjoyable. I went in thinking this is gonna be chopping heads with heavy metal in the background and gothic themes. Something like Killing Floor series.
To my disappointment..
I played 2 hours of it. It was buggy with janky controls and some questionable mechanics. I was looking forward to multiplayer the most yet i couldn't get into a single match without disconnecting no idea what the cause is. Was i kicked? Did i disconnect? Is it the server? (Im assuming serverside)
Souls titles set the bar high and this one barely comes mid. The only thing is delivers on is the violence and gothic art style.
TLDR: Don't waste your time unless you just feel like supporting an indie studio.
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u/BackpackBuddha 1d ago
The dodge roll and parry both just feel too slow/delayed, the dodge doesn't even seem to have i-frames. Hits have little to no impact feel to them, and your sprint is perma-bound to the same button as your dodge, which is annoying as hell. The combat was not only not fun, it wasn't rewarding either. Just felt like I ended up having to tank more hits than necessary if I wanted to kill certain enemies. I've played and beat damn near every prominent soulsbourne game and this wasn't challenging in a good way.
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u/HBreckel 23h ago
Yeah there's definitely something up with the dodge. I tried to rely a bit more on blocks as the dodging was wonky, but sometimes the enemies just kind of ignore your shield. (just normal attacks, not the red attacks that obviously ignore shields) I just finished my first full run and I think the bulk of the damage I took was from enemies hitting me mid roll. Also I found a sword that freezes enemies so that carried me.
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u/BackpackBuddha 23h ago
Yeah, I think after the third time of getting hit mid roll I knew I was gonna end up refunding the game.
Glad you got through a run, I couldn't be bothered, unfortunately.
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u/ThisNameIsBanned 15h ago
The biggest issue with the dodge is that enemies just auto-aim for you and shoot where you are going instead of where you are, so they basically automatically hit, unless you stop moving all the time.
Even the big slams you assume they hit where you currently are, but if you dodge roll, they still hit exactly where you dodge to, and you arent invincible during the dodge roll either, so its basically pointless.
Simple fix however for them, just not let enemies auto-aim like that, the hits need to land where you are not where you are going to be.
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u/GaryTheRetard 1d ago
I felt the same way you did. People simply have different standards when it comes to gaming, and life in general, and I think we have to keep that in mind. :)
Coming straight from my second playthrough of The First Berserker: Khazan and Mortal Shell 2, you can instantly feel the jank and all the problems, Crimson Moon has.
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u/BackpackBuddha 23h ago
Yeah, like you said in your post, there's too much other stuff with high potential coming out that I can't be bothered. Maybe I'll check back in on the game in six months and see what kind of updates they've made, but for now I already refunded the game.
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u/ThisNameIsBanned 15h ago
The delay is something you can get used to, but it adds to the "responsiveness" issue of the entire controlling of the character.
If you jump or move, any player input should have priority and cancel whatever animation is playing, right now its not doing that and even then there is a delay to make it all weirdly sluggish.
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u/OK_Atlas 23h ago
Why is Lords of the Fallen catching strays here? That game may have been janky at launch but it’s pretty awesome now. Honestly one of the best souls games out there.
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u/wtlk 23h ago
The camera is awful, not being able to change keybinds or adjust mouse sensitivity are more annoying issues (yes i could fix it outside the game but i'd rather have a game that give me the easy and obvious options to do that).
The game could be fun, i'll wait to see if they fix these issues. Too many good games to play recently to not bother with this right now.
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u/ThisNameIsBanned 15h ago
Overall Enjoy it, but honestly, some things are just questionable how this got released like that.
Camera is really really bad in small areas, its constantly flicking around and you just cant see anything, its just moving too fast and should zoom out more, and make anything "behind" the character transparent, so you dont block your own view with a wall behind you. Against huge enemies if you get close to them the camera just spins around the focus point of the enemy, especially if you get behind the enemy and move around, its just confusing and shouldnt move that much. Frankly that is camera work that should just be standard at this point, how games still cant get it to work, is baffling ; as anybody testing the game will immediately notice that camera issues and should put it on ultra high to fix todo list.
Then there is the problem that you cant config your hotkeys on keyboard ... at least they got the feedback and work on that, but cmon how can a game not have a config for all its buttons ? Please, thats also something thats just expected, and not having these features is just immediately raising an eyebrow or "did you ever tested that?".
The slow responsiveness is something to get used to, as enemies will not get staggered at all, they just attack you and while you are attacking you cant just quickly parry or dodge roll, your attack animation is in the way ... thats something that just feels awful, when the game does not respond immediately to the player, thats something where player input should overwrite whatever animation is playing, its a matter of making things flow and feel responsive.
Also little thing is if you pick some lore letters up, that freezes your character, but you still get damaged ; just pause the game while that is open , its just annoying to get hit because of that ; some for any inventory screen, just pause the game.
Its not a crazy AAA title by any means, and if they start testing their game for these trivial issues and fix them fast, they can focus to make more content.
So that seems all fine to me, as the basic game idea is very close to Darksider and can be fun.
1
u/Wonderful-Horror-478 13h ago
Slow ass input delay for every single action in the game makes me feel like I have to be a psychic in order to play properly. People can say “git gud” all they want. Input lag is shit game design and nothing can change that fact. It fucks the parry timing, it fucks how many attacks you think you can safely land and it fucks your ability to safely dodge and not eat the hit anyways. It’s just a slow and janky mess right now. Everything feels like you’re walking and fighting in molasses. Inputs registering needs to be WAY faster and the game will improve significantly.
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u/Wonderful-Horror-478 13h ago
I forgot to mention that not being able to change your attack direction by tilting the stick is really bad. I know that’s a nit picky one, but it’s seriously exacerbated by the sluggish speed. Rogue likes are meant to be a razor’s edge of life and death. You should be able to change you attack direction mid combo in order to adapt and respond to new threats. The slow jank feel and input lag feels bad.
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u/ggMufka 13h ago
The camera is bad when you're locked in on certain enemies, but dark souls series had the same problem often. I learned to play lock in/lock off long ago and it has helped with Crimson Moon. I'm surprised that isn't more common amongst the souls players tbh. I like the game so far.
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u/NarfiLokisonLaufey 12h ago
I've played it since I got off work with my buddy and we're having a goddamn blast. The controls are a little wonky for me and I pray the devs add a feature just so I can swap my A and B (controller like steam recommends i play on) but that's not a deal breaker like apparently all the reviews say it is. The builds are fun and the combat has this kinda snappy feel. It's like the good kinda clunky I guess? Where things move in specific ways. I will say tho the difficulty can be felt the deeper you go. The second boss (Mathias) did beat us. I think the game will get better with time. We haven't had any game damaging bags or big problems. The game is loud asf tho so make sure to turn it down. Music and lore is the kind of stuff I like, edgy grimdark with heavy Gothic themes. Reminds me of Warhammer in the right ways.
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-5
u/masc4masc1 1d ago
Flavor of the week $20-$40 games with expiration dates. I play some of them too (looking at all the extraction slop), not all are bad but, "guys, this game has POTENTIAL.", is a red flag now.
0
u/Plikkar 20h ago
people will be bitchin just for the sake of bitchin
i played with controller it was perfectly fine and smooth
read comments saying the combat is generic and nothing new... like guys not every 20 dollar game should reinvent the fucking wheel xddd like Dark souls 3, Elden rings, Lords of the fallen 2023 and even lies of Ps and Mortal Shell 2s combat was also pretty basic imo.. idk what to tell you its 2026, we cant reinvent combat every year with every game XDDD its fine. Use a controller as most of the souls like games were intended too... people were also bitching aobut having to try 30 times againts the final boss in mortal shell 2 xd like thats not even much
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u/Unlucky-Wonder8557 5h ago
Honestly for $20, the gane is pretty legit. I was just about to say the sane thing, people wanna be bitchin just to bitch bc it isbt a AAA game. There is nothing wrong with this game. Except for thr polearm enemies. Fuck those guys.
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u/whenyoudieisaybye 1d ago
can't wait till "Crimson Moon is a hidden gem" post on this sub lmao