Crimson Capes is a sword-and-sorcery action adventure that reimagines the core pillars of the Souls formula in two dimensions, blending deliberate combat, non-linear exploration, and online multiplayer into a high-adventure fantasy world.

Players step into the role of Milon the Tempest, a witch-hunter tasked with dismantling a growing conspiracy of wizards across the kingdom of Amvros. Leading the Crimson Capes - a guild of elite witch-hunters - players will take on contracts throughout the realm, slowly uncovering darker forces at work and coming face to face with the true cost of power.

Combat in Crimson Capes is built around deliberate, animation-commit swordplay inspired by realistic fighting techniques, where feints, thrusts, cuts, and guards create a deadly back-and-forth defined by timing, positioning, and mastery. 

Each of the four playable heroes features a distinct weapon style, moveset, and skill tree, encouraging experimentation over raw stat upgrades, while magic is woven directly into combat through elemental abilities such as wind, thunder, fire, and darkness.

Exploration follows a Souls-inspired philosophy, rewarding curiosity and player choice. Ruined towers, forgotten caverns, mystical forests, and ancient strongholds can be tackled in any order, with artifacts, abilities, and narrative threads waiting off the beaten path.

Crimson Capes also brings classic Souls multiplayer into two dimensions. Players can join forces in online co-op to hunt together as Capes, or invade another hunt as a Deathblade, introducing unpredictable PvP encounters that reshape each mission.

Visually, the game features pixel art animation and hand-drawn environments, with rotoscoped graphics. Inspired by classic pulp sword-and-sorcery tales such as Conan and Elric, Crimson Capes embraces a raw, mythic atmosphere rooted in classic fantasy adventure and discovery.

“From the very beginning, Crimson Capes was built around deliberate combat that rewards initiative, precision and quick thinking,” said Dimitris Tsatsis, programmer at Poor Locke. “We wanted to bring the tension, discipline, and satisfaction of the Souls experience into 2D, by rethinking how the level design, vibe and multiplayer interactions work in a side-scrolling space.”

Interested fans can check out a playable demo.

Key Features:

• Rotoscoped Pixel Art Animation – No filters over 3D models. The actors are all sprites; the environments are all hand-drawn pixel by pixel. Crimson Capes delivers a hand-crafted, truly unique experience.
• Souls-like, 2D combat with tight reads, punish windows, and build variety
• Thematic Boss Encounters – More than 25 bosses, each rewarding the players with gameplay-defining items. Each boss encounter is unique in moveset and mechanics, testing the player on what they have learned.
• Sword-and-Sorcery adventures in a fantasy world filled with secrets
• Online Co-op & PvP: Play online with a friend, or invade other witch hunters
• Optional Dynamic Hunts with unique enemies and bosses, randomly generated each time (reminiscent of Bloodborne's Chalice Dungeons)
• Skill & Moveset – Levelling up expands your moveset and abilities. Instead of increasing a number on a stat page, when you gain a new skill you actually get to see it immediately in action.

Crimson Capes is coming to PC (Steam) on February 12, 2026 at 15$, with XBOX/PlayStation/Nintendo Switch versions to follow at a later time.