Back in May of 2012, Japan received a compilation game called Guild01, published by Level-5. One of the four games on the compilation, Crimson Shroud, was developed at Level-5 and was recently released as a digital download in the West. Nintendo gamers probably best recognize Level-5 as the company behind the Layton games, or working with SquareEnix on some of the past Dragon Quest games. So how does their mini-RPG hold up?


The game opens with a scene of an injured young woman being grilled by a hardened soldier. It’s quickly apparent that the woman isn’t a stranger to hardship, herself. It’s also easy to guess that this will not be a feel-good game. Crimson Shroud is broken out into chapters, each prefaced with an encounter between the soldier, Flint, and the young woman, Frea, regarding recent events. The chapters themselves are what happened before Flint found the injured woman. The main protagonist is Giauque, an adventurer for hire, and his most recent quest to find a missing book of some major historical and political importance, along with his partners Lippi and Frea.

Combat in this game is similar to most RPGs. The characters and enemies take turns, using attacks, magic and skills, to defeat each other. Crimson Shroud is unique in the added chance element. The player can sometimes elect to add one or more dice to the attack, increasing either the damage or the chance to hit, based on what they roll. Some skills are entirely dice-based. In keeping with this table-top feel, the characters and enemies are all figurines. When entering a new part of the map, there is a description of the area, again, almost like in a table-top RPG. Where other games would show something, Crimson Shroud will tell it. Be prepared to do a lot of reading when playing this game. The whole presentation, from the room descriptions to the figurines falling over when defeated, adds to the unique feel of this game.


I, personally, have no hope of painting my minis that well.
Although the visuals and a general feel of this game is derivative of a tabletop game, the mechanics are actually nothing like it. Dice are rolled almost randomly instead of with every action. Also, Crimson Shroud does not have a level system. Skills and magic is determined by the equipment a character is wearing and the occasional skill learned at the end of an encounter. There are no shops, so the characters rely on what can be found by battling enemies or finding treasure chests. There is a system that can be used to upgrade equipment so the three bucklers you find can be turned into one stronger +3 buckler. Players have the option of fighting the enemies over and over for equipment. In my time with the game, I did this, so I cannot say for sure if it was necessary, or if I could have beaten the game with whatever dropped the first time around.

Crimson Shroud is a fairly short game, which is to be expected from a digital download that was originally part of a game compilation. This smaller package works very well for the story and the feelings this game is trying to convey to the player. The entirety of this game takes place in one dungeon and can be completed in eight or nine hours. That is, unless you are a victim of the game’s greatest flaw: chance. There is a battle early in the game where an item required to advance the story might be missed. This flaw highlights one of the greatest advantages of true tabletop gaming: if the players kill the wrong enemy, the game master can simply change their plans and put the key item on whatever dead body is available. In Crimson Shroud, a player unaware of potential problem can spend hours running in circles.


Die, Skeleton Mage! Fear my pile of polygons!
All in all, I enjoyed my time with Crimson Shroud. The early trouble with finding that particular item was annoying, but the game was smooth sailing otherwise. The story was intriguing, one I would have loved to have experienced around a table of friends with character sheets and d20s at the ready. Although I only spent 8 hours with them, I had a very firm understanding of Giauque, Lippi, Frea and Flint, and this can only be a credit to the strength of the story and the storytelling. This bite-sized RPG was a great way to spend a long weekend, and I recommend it to any RPG fan who is up for a bit of reading and a great story.