A downloadable game for Windows and macOS.
What an absolutely delightful ride! The Crimson Diamond is a Sierra-style text parsing adventure game. You play as Nancy Maple, a mineralogist and museum clerk sent to investigate rumors of a diamond found in a small mining town in Ontario named Crimson right on the edge of Canada's entry into The Great War. Nancy is determined, clever, and passionate about her field, but also has a great head for investigation and being a detective. Over the course of the 8 hour playthrough, you'll investigate murder, fraud, and of course, the truth of the diamonds, as you tangle with a charming cast who all have their secrets. This is adventure gaming at its finest.
The game uses a smart text parser, which manages to avoid most of the pitfalls from early text parsing games, and will move players to where they need to be for certain actions. There are instances where I'd learn of an item, but not state "get item", and thus have to go back and grab it. The game DOES have Sierra humor deaths, but intentionally avoids the Sierra style softlock of "you didn't grab this item at the beginning of the game." As a result, it's very accessible and fun to play. The developer even added an external hint book if the player gets stuck or wants to know what else they can find or learn.
The graphics are gorgeous EGA style throwbacks, that contain excellent amounts of detail while still using a very nostalgic palette. The music is appropriate and fitting.
The story is well written and engaging, and you feel like you're on the adventure with Nancy and trying to do your best to learn the truth. You are given several choices during the game to determine your ending based entirely upon how you feel about the future of the town of Crimson. There's a definite sense of environmentalism and political intrigue in the background of an inheritance squabble in a town that used to be booming with functioning mines. The characters are all very compelling with their own personalities and what they bring to the adventure. If you like adventure games like Hotel Dusk or Roberta Williams' Sierra adventures, you'll feel right at home with the character dynamics and knowledge that you can pick up anything and everything and it may come in handy.
This is easily one of the best bite-sized adventures I've played in a long time. The game is not too long to require a massive investment, but long enough to deliver the story it wants to tell in a very satisfying manner. I often caught myself thinking "Nancy Drew? No, Nancy Maple!" as Nancy just eagerly dove into poking her nose into everything in the hopes of learning everything she could to learn the truth and deliver the best mineralogical report she could. Definitely worth the playthrough if you like adventure games AT ALL!
