The Crimson Diamond

I did a terrible job of this game, but really enjoyed it. Refreshing in an era of game design that is so interested in blasting you with as much stimulation as possible that this game takes its time and is sometimes very quiet.

A cute throwback to an age of video games I adored. The art of The Crimson Diamond and the text parser interface brought me zooming back to being 12 years old all over again.

Nice. Puzzles are not brutal. Do remember to save before trying something risky, though.

Like others, if I could have given a sideways thumb, I would. I really wanted to like this game, and I imagine it could be improved to be an easy thumbs up.

The good: As an elder millennial, I adore the game art - it's gorgeous and nostalgic. I want more games like this - I find nothing more relaxing than slowly exploring a world and figuring out puzzles. The spine of this game has the potential to provide that.

But - lots of downsides result in a game that is, well, not that fun. Interesting as a step down memory lane, but kinda a slog. There is a reason most players haven't made it to the end (and it's a short game!)

Like others have noted, sometimes it's frustrating to figure out the right verbs to "use" in the text parser. It goes beyond not being able to use "use" - there were a number of times where I knew what I had to do, but had to turn to a walkthrough to find the right verb. Likewise, there are often multiple steps required and it's easy to miss one. You can't just dust and collect a fingerprint, you need to first dust, then examine, then collect, then examine again. Even knowing this, I sometimes found I had somehow skipped a step somehow, so there was a lot of returning to various spots to go through the whole series of steps again.

The UI on the notebook is not great - it's hard to keep track of the various threads, such that when I got to the final interrogation scene, even though I knew I technically had uncovered some of the answers I found myself unmotivated to figure them out.

There are a couple of puzzles that are quite hard - an optional hint or two baked into the game would be nice.

The game is also fairly short. While I haven't technically completed it (from getting annoyed at the final interrogation scene), I've played 7 hrs and it's basically done. I don't feel that motivated to replay it, even though I know I missed some clues/puzzles.

If it's on a steep sale, I'd still recommend for those nostalgic for games like this. I hope the designer continues to make games like this and/or improve on this game.

I grew up on Sierra style adventure games and played a lot of old 'Quest' games. Heck it's where my handle came from. Really enjoyed this. Felt it was maybe a little TOO hand-holdy in the first few chapters but really opened up more near the end. I can't say how it feels for a new adventure game fan, but as a vet it really hit the spot.

I really enjoyed playing this game! It brought back all those fond memories of playing Sierra games, but with a new mystery to get immersed into.

Love it. Great game with flexible interface. It may take about an hour to warm up to the UI but once you are, the story takes on. Really miss the type of games that makes you think. And yes, you can miss items or events, but it is not too bad (or to reach a dead end scenario).

Masterpiece

It°s difficult to find the right words. AI could be put to good use here, or at least a dictionary.

Really great game. I'm not usually a fan of text parsers, but this one really drew me in. The writing and story were great, and grounded in real Canadian history and science. There was a lot of optional content, and opportunity to explore and do as much or as little as you like. The game often gave nudges on what was important or what to do next, and the notepad system was great. Beautiful pixel art.

A pleasant adventure game with charming EGA graphics and an un-obtuse text parser.

Though I've never played an adventure game that used a text parser before, I never found it unwieldy or obstructive. I was always able to get Nancy to do what I wanted her to do.

I found the mystery-solving rewarding, and I enjoyed how even my (fairly basic) detective instincts helped to solve puzzles.

The atmosphere was rustic and lighthearted and I felt that I had been transported to a simpler time.

Worth the price!

Great game. Beautiful setting, gameplay and story. Already looking forward to play it once again.

this game is wonderful! There are so many details all around that can affect the outcome of the game, Highly recommend

A text parser murder mystery heavily inspired by The Colonel's Bequest, made almost entirely by a single developer. I wasn't around to play these sorts of graphical parser games when they were still in fashion, but I've got immense nostalgia for the point and click adventure that followed after, and deep love for the pure-text interactive fiction which came before. So finally playing something from this awkward evolutionary midpoint was a real treat.

I had a blast ransacking every inch of this fancy hotel, taking handwritten notes and slowly putting the pieces of the case together. Lovely EGA graphics, too, and a bunch of smart parser and UI features that make the whole thing play smoother than you'd expect!

It's just awesome to see an EGA-palette, text-parser adventure game being released in 2024. The art is so incredibly gorgeous and lovingly crafted. The story and characters are top notch. And while the gameplay is certainly late-80s-inspired, it is not nearly as punishing as those old games could often be. The puzzles strike a nice balance of being easy enough to solve while still making the player feel clever for solving them. I did get stuck a few times, but the included hint guide helped me avoid any frustration. In an era of a lot of cookie-cutter game releases, this one stands out as something truly unique and special. Highly recommended!

A true gem of an adventure game. It's rare for these type of games to feel so reactive, and accidentally getting murdered by thinking a bit too LucasArts with my actions was a pleasant surprise. The EGA colour palette art in both the closeups and the world are wonderfully evocative, and being able to just ask the game to "look" using the parser overcomes any pixel hunt concerns.
Also, why is this the best presentation of geology and mineralogy I can think of in gaming?
A wonderful few hours of murder mystery/field survey, and I feel richer for the time I've spent in it.

I grew up with typing adventure games like Sierra used to make. This is an amazing mystery game that stands with those greats. It draws inspiration from the Colonel's Bequest. Despite typing out commands, it's very user friendly and helps you do what you want to do. Also, I can tell they did their research with the fascinating information on geology and mineralogy sprinkled into the game. 5/5 highly recommend

A well-realized adventure game throwback, even if it share a few pitfalls of the genre.

Emulates the old games perfectly, and in doing so is complicit in their crimes. I respect it! But I'm not any good at it.

So far has been such a fun game. Puzzles are interesting and make sense, feels like there's a lot you can do. And of course feels like a classic adventure game.

"Love letter" has been a common phrase used to describe this game as a non-subtle tribute to the style of computer games from the late 80s in all of their glory. Perhaps that is much of what it is, displayed in vibrant 16 EGA colors and punctuated with a soundtrack developed with a Roland MT-32 for music, a mix of both old and new tools to bring forth an adventure game which could have been born in the 1980s, but with modern day conveniences and improvements.

This game is divided into several chapters, where each chapter has its own set story and goals to achieve, which leads to good pacing and some interesting puzzles. Nancy Maple turns from aspiring student into an impromptu detective as she tries to solve some mysteries which unfold during her time at the Crimson Lodge. I particularly liked these puzzles and investigations which occurred in the middle chapters, and these puzzles felt natural and well integrated into the story, not some mere puzzle for the sake of having something to take up time and space.

Portions of this game were developed live on stream, showing the passion and dedication that Julia and Dan had in creating this game. All of those efforts come out beautifully into a well-crafted adventure game with an amazing depth. One can complete the game with satisfactory results, but it is worth multiple playthroughs to catch everything and even try out the multiple endings. And speaking of the ending, there is the obvious nod to our predecessors in the gaming industry, as we stand on the shoulders of giants. A love letter indeed, full of love and a tip o' the cap to the gaming pioneers of the 80s.

Best game I have played in many years, easily up there with the best adventure games Sierra ever produced. Frankly it is a better game than the Colonel's Bequest, which clearly inspired it. Clear, logical, nontrivial puzzles (I did not find that I ever needed to look at the hint book), great mystery & detective stuff, very good atmosphere, very well-paced, exciting to play. Engages with real facts about the world, historical facts and geological and mineralogical facts, instead of having a contrived "gameplay loop" like many games have. Feels like a retreat TO the world, rather than a retreat FROM it. This is the rare kind of game that seems like it leaves you a bit richer after playing it.

Awesome game. Charm-tastic music, adorable DOS-throwback art. A true tincture of sweet sweet Laura Bow nostalgia. Loved every suspenseful minute of it. Cant wait for the more gruesome sequel ; J

its a great adventure game

I'm giving this a yes but it is a very, very tepid yes. I would say for people who were not immediately attracted by the color palette (EGA), this is going to be a no.

This is a classic adventure game - in the positive and negative way. The graphics are primitive but that means real creativity needed to be put into them to make the visuals tell a story. It's exceptionally well done. The music, what little there is, is serviceable. The characters are straight out of a classic whodunnit movie ... or Scooby-Doo episode. Stylistically there is nothing wrong with this game, I love that part of the game being an 80's child and having grown up with all of the games.

It's Sierra-inspired, so there are deaths. Only a few of them. Some obvious, some kind of dumb. That might be strike one for a lot of people, adventure games with deaths are not everyone's cup of tea. But they're more of an in-joke than a game mechanic really. The game even challenges you to collect all of them.

What grinds my gears is the fact that you can actually miss large chunks of this game. You are invited to explore off the beaten path (as in if the game tells you to go somewhere or do something, you are free to ignore that and go everywhere else first) - but the game doesn't actually have all that many screens in it, "off the beaten path" can often mean going back to a screen you just left. Other characters in the game kind of teleport around to where the script tells them they need to be. A shame that this design choice was made. I do not like to drink tea with a large chance to miss the biscuit, I need them both for full enjoyment.

The game itself isn't all too long - and that can mean only one thing, it has artificial padding like many old games that needed to fit on a single floppy disk (an excuse the Crimson Diamond does not have). Lucasarts games tended to include maze sections for example where you would get royally stuck because every room looked the same. It's not fun... it's just runtime padding, wasting your time in the hopes that you do not realize the game actually effectively only has an hour or two worth of content.

Similarly, puzzles in the Crimson Diamond can be quite obtuse to make it so you're going to be stuck not knowing what to do - and no way to really find out besides a hint book and just randomly trying things. As an example in chapter 3 you need to obtain fingerprints and you need to get one from a cookie (that's no spoiler, the game telegraphs at you that it is a thumbprint cookie)... good luck. It's not moon logic but it is equally insane what you have to do. Perhaps if I was more in touch with my inner child, I might have figured it out myself. But on that particular puzzle... I really needed a walkthrough. What a downer.

I love that this was made, I hope to see more. It hits my nostalgia bone quite hard. But this isn't quite it just yet. I hope to see a second game with the same protagonist, this time with more than 2 hours of content so the puzzles can be slightly more refined.

Recommended, but only for enthusiasts of text based adventure games. This game was very well made, with a great story and fun logic puzzles. The presentation is great too from the pixel art to the sound effects and music too. This is retro gaming done right.

I recently finished this game having started it closer to release. As it often does, life got in the way of completing the final two chapters and had to put it away until after the holidays. I came back to wonderful surprise and challenge with the conclusion. If you've played the ending, you know what I mean. Overall, this was a fantastic game and hard to put down. The EGA graphics were so charming. It was also fun to play a game in this genre with my wife and have her enjoy the game as much as me. On the constructive side, it required some patience and experience with playing a text parser game. I recall struggling with the thumb print cookies and another few moments from the format of my commands. However, I believe there was a also a major patch in between my plays and I'm looking forward to giving the game another play through. Highly recommended whether you are new to adventure games or looking for some nostalgia!

A throwback to the era of EGA mysteries in the key of Laura Bow, filled to the brim with intrigue, scientifically-accurate Easter Eggs, lovable friends and foils, and *just* enough peril to keep things interesting. Rewards curiosity at every turn, while staying true to the Roomba-style investigation technique that text-parser adventure games lend themselves to. Does what it says on the tin. IMO, handedly outclasses the first four Kings Quests, and first Laura Bow. Nancy Maple's adventure The Crimson Diamond is the sweetest thing to come out of Canada since the Nanaimo bar. ★★★★★

(Played on my alt account via Family Sharing, so reviewing the title was unavailable. Briefly played on this account in order to leave a review, but publicly viewable playtime will not be accurate.)

The EVGA style graphics and the text parser were novel, but it wasn't a very fun game. Many actions in the game are frustratingly multi-part, and the ending makes you feel punished for not taking every step. For example, if you search a container and find something you haven't collected what you found. You'll need to do that separately. In the conclusion of the game there are several items that I'd discovered but never picked up and didn't have. It wasn't a great experience, and the resulting unsatisfying ending did not make me want to replay it to get a better one.

While I haven't finished it yet, this is a great throwback to playing adventure games on my first PC in the early ninties, but with some modern design sensibilities.

👍

I love this game. It should have the posibility of export the saved games in order to continue playing in other computer and saving cloud. I´m starting the game but it remind me the old Sierra games and it´s very funny if you like this type of games. The game should have a background music during the gameplay :)

pretty great

This plays a lot like the old Sierra game Laura Bow and the Colonel's bequest. This is an old style parser game where you are trying to solve a mystery. The game also features auto-save which is a nice feature. The game could do with some more music or ambiance it's a bit too quiet.

One of the best adventure games i have ever played!

The Crimson Diamond is a delightful Canadian-flavored remake/remix of The Colonel's Bequest, one of the later classic Sierra titles (1989). The art style is gorgeous and perfectly evokes the parser games of that era.

It is also, in many ways, an improvement over TCB, a long, quirky, and flawed game that I remember fondly. The structure is similar - a central isolated house and grounds, with a plot excuse keeping a mixed group in place - but TCB's "clock" with its maddening 15-minute increments are gone, supplemented by a less intrusive autosave and a notebook/review system that keeps you on track. The design places extreme emphasis on evidence gathering to prove what you mostly already know rather than concealing things until the end - more of a procedural quest rather than the usual big reveal. There are some Sierra-worthy item puzzles that are moderately difficult but not impossible. Multiple endings. Everything I might want, save perhaps a lengthier story - though I think it whizzed by because I was having fun!

The only thing that I would nitpick, maybe, is that the 50-save-game limit seems arbitrary. But I would not hesitate to pay full price for another.

Had a good time playing through it.

I liked the parser, I didn't get stuck. Didn't need to use the hint book.

Beautiful and truly old school.

If you’re old like me, the garishly bright colors of this game bring a very specific sense of nostalgia which the game fully delivers on, with enough modern concessions and touches to still feel good to play.

Just when I started to get confused about some puzzle elements, I found out that the developer has their own hintbook online! As useful as any Brady brand strategy guide.

Honestly one of the most impressive games released in 2024 and by far the one with the most heart.

As a callback to text-based adventure games of yesteryear, the text parser necessitates a level of creative thinking in puzzle solving I've not seen in ages and it is exceptionally refreshing.

While the storyline is a fairly standard whodunit, the writing is solid and the fact that there are several sub-plots that you can succeed or fail to solve really adds to the immersion of the experience. There is no visible score tracker as in older Sierra titles, but you will be given a score at the end of the game based on how well you did in solving the various mysteries, making it a replayable title if you want to go for the full 100%.

The text parser does come with a few problems, of course, as you need to phrase your actions in the same way as the developer intended, but it is mostly well done. Most puzzles in the game are quite manageable, although I did have to spoiler about 3 of the more obscure ones, thankfully through the very useful in-game hint system.

All in all, Crimson Diamond is absolutely a labour of love and a wonderful adventure game. I would absolutely buy more games from the same developer.

An excellent adventure game with a compelling story, satisfying puzzles, and great mechanics!
1. The story and characters are well written, with engaging dialogue and fascinating mysteries. I found myself thinking about this game, characters, and setting even after finishing the central story.
2. The puzzles have satisfying answers and everything feels 'solvable' as long as you have some patience and keen observation. There are lots of item interactions that all follow from reasonable assumptions, and not too much "adventure game logic".
3. The text parser works great, and even wrong guesses will usually result in some unique or entertaining dialogue. I also appreciate the post game debrief that allows some additional insights if you decide to play again.
I cannot say enough good things about this game. I genuinely enjoyed my time with it, and I hope Nancy Maple returns with future mineralogical adventures.

Such a gem of a game! I was skeptical at first but as the game went on and the mystery unfolded, I got very curious to see how it all ends and The Crimson Diamond did not disappoint.

It's a pretty tough for an adventure game, mostly because you have to think for yourself what you can and should do. There are plenty of optional things to discover that are important to the mystery but aren't mandatory for finishing the game, and I really loved that.

Even though some characters weren't very developed, I did end up caring about them by the (somewhat emotional) end. Kudos to the devs for managing to create such an excellent text-parser game in 2024.

Fantastic game! For those who enjoy old fashioned adventure games, this is a real treat. The story is very well put together and engaging. It is clearly made with a lot of love and attention to detail.

Absolutely loved it. I've been a huge fan of text parser games since the 80s and welcomed the chance to play a spiritual successor to Laura Bow. The graphics are beautiful, I enjoyed interacting with the characters, the addition of achievements was fun, and it had an atmosphere that was warm at times and creepy at others. It was actually kind of educational as well (especially if you're interested in rocks), while providing good tutorials and plenty of access to hints if you want them.
Gorgeous game, I've been looking forward to it for a while and it did not disappoint!

Lovely game, love letter to Sierra classics like Colonel's Bequest and old Agatha Christie mystery novels
Beautiful graphics, great story, good puzzles - tho it can get a bit frustrating with the parser verbiage classic issues (where you know what you need to do but you keep using the wrong words to do it) and the classic Sierra "oops you forgot a key item a while ago, better load that hour old save!!" but I guess these are part of the charm with these games.
Only thing I'd improve are the notes UI as I didn't find it that helpful to keep track of what I knew vs what I had to do, and scrolling it was a pain.
I hope there are more games like these coming out, particularly more from this series!

I had followed this game's development for ages and bought it on release, but never got around to properly playing it until just now.

Julia Minamata has crafted an absolutely wonderful adventure mystery, with a lovely EGA look, great atmosphere and a compelling mystery to solve. Eavesdrop on secret conversations, explore, search, pick up clues and learn new sides about characters. If you've ever enjoyed older Sierra adventure games, especially The Colonel's Bequest, The Crimson Diamond is a warm, comforting blanket, but it's so much more than just a throwback.

This is a compelling, confident adventure with so much heart and care put into it, it's so charming, it's well written, the puzzles are wonderfully part of the detective work. There are a few funny deaths you can find, but in no way is the game mean like old Sierra games used to be designed. The developer understands what frustrated about those games, but also completely understands what made those game so special and different from other, later, more streamlined adventure games.

Don't be afraid of the text parser, it's wonderful. If you're not used to old adventure games, it might take a moment to get used to it (there is a great and friendly tutorial, and smart shortcuts), but once you do it feels great. It means you don't just randomly solve puzzles by mashing any random item in your inventory on a thing until a cutscene plays, you are much more present in each location, paying attention to characters, items on shelves and tables, reading wonderfully written descriptions and detail, and it just becomes second nature walking up to a desk, opening the drawer, searching it for content and picking stuff up before examining them and gasping in excitement when you finally realize what you're holding and know exactly what you can go do next. But then on the way to do that, you hear voices from a nearby room, and decide to listen in, and the secret conversation you happen to hear, suddenly reveals a new twist you must consider, and you're now deciding to follow a different character to see what they're up to. It's so great, you feel like such a detective, and they really don't make enough games like this anymore. What an absolute treat.

The last few chapters are fantastic, the myriad of different ways the events can go depending on what you've found out and decide to do is just incredible work. Unraveling all the of the twists and secrets was extremely satisfying, with a beautiful, deeply touching ending that I really hope means the developer is up for making more adventures for Nancy Maple.

I knew I would like the game a lot, especially after trying the demo, but I did not expect it to end up being my favourite game in all of 2024. It's really something, and I hope the developer gets to design even more wonderful works like this. I want more Nancy Maple mysteries!

9/10

All the nostalgia of classic text and adventure games with modern touches like skippable cutscenes, quick walking speed, and intuitive puzzles. Every part of it feels thoughtfully made. Highly recommend for cozy gamers!

The Crimson Diamond is beautifully rendered in old EGA adventure game style, but suffers from all the same problems as its parser predecessors. Among them are - frustrating verb usage, cluttered inventories, unclear ways to advance, and overly complex clue/item collecting.

Many, many times I found myself knowing exactly what I needed to do, but then agonizingly puzzling my way through how to enter it in the parser so that Nancy would actually do it. And while I understand the desire to eliminate the word "use" from the parser - it often came across as high falutin rather than accessible or player friendly. The game wants you to be more precise - but my attempts at precision led to frustration and repeated frustration led me to care less about being thorough. This in turn meant I just pushed through where I could. It's too bad because the story is somewhat interesting and the dialog is not overly bloated.

Despite missing key things (and knowing I did - because I just wanted to finish the story), I'd say the ending was satisfying, but I am not inclined to replay it to get other endings, lest I develop more resentment toward the ever-condescending parser.

Lovely to look at, frustrating to play - skip this unless you want something that offers a very similar experience to the parser games of yore. I would absolutely not characterize this game as an accessible on-ramp to adventure games. It gets the job done for a EGA parser style game, and it's lovely looking.

MOST IMPORTANTLY - uncritical nostalgia is a toxic impulse that this game insists you indulge in fully - and due to that I cannot recommend it.

Really fun and charming game! I messed up at the end and needed a walkthrough in several places, but it's a highly engaging old-school adventure game/mystery! Definitely give it a shot if you like the genre at all :D

I had an absolute blast playing this game. The main character is really well written (as is every character) and the attention to detail does not go unnoticed as you try to solve puzzles, providing a real sense of freedom in your investigations. I have trouble completing story-based games but I could not put this one down, a big endorsement coming from me.