Technologies

Crisol is a BioShock-Like Cult Horror Shooter Using Your Blood For Bullets

At Summer Game Fest, I got to try out Blumhouse’s next game, a sanguiphilic first-person shooter set on a cursed island coming later this year.

One of the best things about Summer Game Fest is discovering games that blend some of your favorite classics into something wholly new. Crisol: Theater of Idols is a game with clear BioShock influence in its first-person shooter exploration, but melds some cult horror from games like Resident Evil 4 into the mix. On top of it all, to reload your gun, you’ve gotta sacrifice your own blood — and take a chunk from your own health bar.

It’s a novel mechanic that combines with the gothic, nautical setting for a promising approach to horror action games. Crisol is being developed by Vermila Studios, which was acquired by Embracer Group in 2020, but the game is being published by Blumhouse Games. After playing through a 20-minute demo of his new game, the studio’s CEO David Carrasco explained how its game is a course correction for horror games.

«We’ve thought for a long time that survival horror was getting to where you didn’t have that survival element so much,» Carrasco said. «We wanted to give it an extra layer of tension by using your blood, your holy blood, to defeat these unholy monsters.»

I certainly felt it in the demo. As I stalked the moonlit cobblestone streets of an island teeming with unholy, creepy marionette creatures, knowing every missed shot was a bit of lost life. Survival horror games give players weapons to quench fear (or in their absence, amplify it, as with the Amnesia series), but tying my guns’ efficacy to my health made me slow down and pick my shots, amping up the fear as enemies closed in — «keeping that tension constantly in the back of your head,» as Carrasco put it.

While I felt the slightest concern for players with poor aim, there are health-restoring syringes sitting in the corners of abandoned shops and buildings. Crisol also has a mechanic where players can harvest blood (and thus, chunks of life) from dead animals lying around. Tying weapons to health is a twist on another survival horror game trope of saving heavy weapons ammo for dangerous bosses later on, Carrasco noted — in Crisol, you’ll always be able to use your big guns…for a price.

In Crisol, players take on the role of Gabriel, captain of the Tercios Del Sol, a command of soldiers under a sun-worshiping religion that takes on holy missions. He receives a divine order to go to an old island that’s spun off into its own sea religion, Tormentosa, and deal with idol statues that have come alive and begun rampaging around.

When I asked what inspired Crisol, Carrasco was up-front that Bioshock and a number of Resident Evil games (4, 7 and 8 specifically) had the right mix of artistic design and gameplay Vermila Studios was looking for. Dishonored was another source for its heavy emphasis on art.

«Sprinkle in Spanish folklore, religious undertones, and in the end, with all of those fantastic and crazy and brutal inspirations make something that will be unique and memorable,» Carrasco said.

Spanish folklore is underutilized compared to the Japanese, Nordic and American mythology that appears in many games, Carrasco said. Vermila Studios, based in the Spanish city of Madrid, drew on its home country’s history and culture — and though the island players visit in Crisol doesn’t explicitly take place in Spain, players will be able to connect the dots with the cathedrals, old architecture, polychromatic statues and stained-glass windows that make up the game’s visual language.

That blend applies to religion, too: players will run into a faith following on Crisol’s island that follows religions of the sea and sun, which I saw a bit of in the demo, with deification of mermaids and other pseudo-pagan effects. But Carrasco acknowledges the Catholic influence in the game, too.

«We’ve taken a lot of religious inspiration from different religious, like the Catholic Church, which has a lot of deeply rooted components in the Spanish culture, but [also] some other, older religions, even cults from very old history,» Carrasco said, affirming that there’s no explicit connection to the Catholic church or Christianity. «We do have holy blood, but it’s not like a Christ or any connection to the reality of religions nowadays.»

As I wander the cobbled streets of the demo, I see how all these elements blend into Crisol’s visual language. Vermila Studio has a larger-than-usual art department, Carrasco noted, with around 20 people working for five years scribbling out drafts of enemies and locations to give the game a look and feel that felt familiar, fantastical and plausible at the same time — that it really could be on an island out to sea.

As players explore the 10- to 14-hour game, they’ll experience the creeping horror of the cult’s presence, but Vermila isn’t relying on a lot of jump scares, Carrasco said, which can lose their impact if overused. Rather, the game will rely on the tension of enemies behind and pursuing you, from those you run out of blood bullets (and health) to defeat, to those unaffected by your weapons.

In the second half of the demo, I ran into what Carrasco was talking about: a tall, hulking marionette monster with an impossibly wide smile that called out to me, shrugging off my bullets as I darted into buildings to evade its pursuit. Like other invulnerable pursuit bosses (Mr. X in Resident Evil 2, Jack Baker in Resident Evil 7), I had to sneak around while finding bolt cutters to clip chained-off doors. I also had to roll up a gate agonizingly slowly, expecting my stalker to close in on me at any second.

I escaped into a mermaid-themed restaurant and the demo ended, but the vibes of the game stuck with me. They clearly appealed to Blumhouse, too, who were interested in Crisol’s dramatic art style and its blood mechanics. For Vermila Studios, Blumhouse was a good fit for its track record of bringing in new artists and projects that may be smaller but bring something new to the table.

«For us, being a part of this Blumhouse lineup is just like a partnership made in heaven — or hell, maybe — where they understand horror and what tickles that,» Carrasco said.

Crisol: Theater of Idols is coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox later in 2025.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, March 14

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for March 14.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s the extra-long Saturday version, and a few of the clues are tricky. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Book parts: Abbr.
Answer: PGS

4A clue: Silicon Valley company that operates a fleet of robotaxis
Answer: WAYMO

6A clue: To a much greater degree
Answer: WAYMORE

8A clue: Contents of a scuba diver’s tank
Answer: AIR

9A clue: South Korean automaker
Answer: KIA

10A clue: Stop on a train route
Answer: STATION

12A clue: Actress Merman of «Anything Goes»
Answer: ETHEL

13A clue: Find another purpose for
Answer: REUSE

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Employee’s hourly calculation
Answer: PAYRATE

2D clue: Workout spot
Answer: GYM

3D clue: «Great» mountains of Tennessee, familiarly
Answer: SMOKIES

4D clue: One giving you the dish?
Answer: WAITER

5D clue: Baltimore M.L.B. player
Answer: ORIOLE

6D clue: Used to be
Answer: WAS

7D clue: Suffix with Caesar or Euclid
Answer: EAN

11D clue: Night that NBC once aired «30 Rock» and «The Office»: Abbr.
Answer: THU

Technologies

AI Toys Can Pose Safety Concerns for Children, New Study Suggests Caution

When one child told the toy, «I love you,» it responded, «As a friendly reminder, please ensure interactions adhere to the guidelines provided.»

A new study from the University of Cambridge found that AI-enabled toys for young children can misinterpret emotional cues and are ineffective at supporting critical developmental play. The conclusions could be concerning for parents.

In one report examining how AI affects children in their early years, a chatbot-enabled toy struggled to recognize social cues during playtime. Researchers found that the toy did not effectively identify children’s emotions, raising alarm about how kids might interact with it.

The report recommends regulating AI toys for kids and requiring clear labeling of their capabilities and privacy policies. It also advises parents to keep these devices in shared spaces where kids can be monitored while playing.

The research behind the study had a limited number of participants, but was done in multiple parts: an online survey of 39 participants with kids in their earlier years, a focus group with nine participants who work with young children and an in-person workshop with 19 leaders and representatives from charities that work with early-years kids. That was followed by monitored playtime with 14 children and 11 parents or guardians with Gabbo, a chatbot-enabled toy from Curio Interactive.

Some findings indicated that the AI toy supported learning, particularly in language and communication skills. But the toy also misunderstood kids and sometimes responded inappropriately to emotional requests.

For instance, when one child told the toy, «I love you,» it responded, «As a friendly reminder, please ensure interactions adhere to the guidelines provided. Let me know how you would like to proceed,» according to the research.

Jenny Gibson, a professor of neurodiversity and developmental psychology at the Faculty of Education at Cambridge, who worked on the study, said that while parents may be excited about the educational benefits of new technology aimed at children, there are plenty of concerns.

Gibson posed overarching questions about the reason behind the tech.

«What would motivate [tech investors] to do the right thing by children … to put children ahead of profits? she said»

Gibson told CNET that while researchers are exploring the potential benefits of AI-based toys, risks remain.

«I would advise parents to take that seriously at this stage,» she said.

What’s next for AI toys

As more playthings are enabled with internet connectivity and AI features, these devices could become a major safety risk for children, especially if they replace real human connections or if interactions are not closely monitored.

Meanwhile, younger people are increasingly adopting chatbots such as ChatGPT, despite red flags. Multiple lawsuits against AI companies allege that AI companions or assistants can impact young people’s psychological safety, including some chatbots that have encouraged self-harm or negative self-image.

AI companies such as OpenAI and Google have responded by adding guardrails and restrictions for AI chatbots.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

Gibson said she was surprised by the enthusiasm some parents showed for AI toys. She was also alarmed by the lack of research on AI’s effects on young children, noting that companies making such products should work directly with children, parents, and child development experts.

«What’s missing in the process is that expertise of what is good for children in these kinds of interactions,» she said.

Curio Interactive, the company behind the Gabbo toy, was aware of the research as it was happening but was not directly involved, Gibson said. The toy was chosen because it’s directly marketed to young kids, and the company had an understandable privacy policy. Gibson said the company seemed supportive of the project.

A representative for Curio did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Technologies

Two Lost ‘Doctor Who’ Episodes Found Intact in Waterlogged Collection

The 1960s episodes featuring the first Doctor William Hartnell will air in the UK in April.

Whovians, rejoice. The BBC is about to unlock a piece of Doctor Who history that even the TARDIS might have forgotten. Two lost episodes of Doctor Who, the iconic sci-fi series, will broadcast in April, the showrunner for the current season confirmed.

The two 1965 episodes, The Nightmare Begins and Devil’s Planet, were donated to the charitable trust Film Is Fabulous by the estate of an anonymous collector.

«The collector did recognize what he had, but how he acquired them has been lost to time,» Professor Justin Smith Leicester of De Montfort University, who led the recovery effort, told the broadcaster.

The researchers said that while most of the donor’s private collection was destroyed by water damage, the Doctor Who episodes were intact.

Doctor Who showrunner, Russell T Davies, celebrated the news on Instagram and said the episodes would air in the UK in April, though no US air date has been announced yet.

«Lost for 61 years! Best of all, these will be made available for FREE on the BBC iPlayer in April,» Davies wrote.

He expressed gratitude to Film Is Fabulous for finding the lost episodes and encouraged people to donate to the registered charity. «Maybe they’ll find more! As the Doctor says… ‘Daleks!'»

The episodes feature the first incarnation of the Doctor, played by William Hartnell, and a typical Dalek plot to take over Earth and the galaxy.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the BBC had a policy of destroying film or reusing videotapes, leading to dozens of episodes of Doctor Who and other popular UK shows like Dad’s Army and Top of the Pops going missing.

Old Doctor Who episodes do surface occasionally, and in 2016, the newly discovered soundtrack for one storyline was turned into an animated series called The Power of the Daleks.

Meanwhile, Disney ended its working relationship with the BBC last year, and star Ncuti Gatwa left the show. However, the UK broadcaster says that Doctor Who will continue, and Russell T Davies is working on a new Christmas special.