- Small patch and future plans - 5 September 2026
It's been a little under two months since the release of The Crimson Maid. We've seen playthroughs, read reviews, and took in your feedback. We are grateful for all your support and your kind words of praise. This game has been with us for more than three years, and we're happy it has found its audience.We've just released a small patch that addresses a few minor issues, like some plants floating around or clipping through geometry, some misspelling errors and other minor issues with the texts. Thankfully, there were no major bugs found so far. A handful of players complained about lost saves, but we have yet to get an answer from any of them regarding the contents of their save folder, so it's impossible for us to reproduce this issue. If you've experienced this yourself, please help us out with some extra info in the discussions.So, what have we, GrimTalin and Darkania Works, been up…
- The Crimson Maid Is Out Now - 14 July 2026
The estate awaits your arrival. Return home to a fractured family, uncover long-buried secrets, and decide Marius' ultimate fate in a tale of romance, mystery, and murder. Stay up to date with the latest news by following our official social media channels and be the first to catch new updates! Follow Wales Interactive X: https://x.com/WalesInterInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/WalesInteractive TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@walesinteractiveYouTube: Follow GrimTalin & Darkania WorksX: https://x.com/GrimTalinX: https://x.com/Darkania_Works Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grimtalinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/darkaniaworks/
- What's in the box? - 9 July 2026
We are are just a few days away from the release of The Crimson Maid! We wanted to take this opportunity to go over what's included in the game. Let's talk numbers!The Crimson Maid has sixteen chapters, with an estimated playtime of about five to six hours for the first playthrough. Of course, your mileage may vary significantly depending on your read speed, your inclination to explore every nook and cranny, and your desire to talk about everything - or nothing at all - with the various characters in the game.There are four endings, ranging from very bad to downright romantic. A couple of them are more straightforward to unlock, but the other two not so much - you'll have to get out of your way to get them.Everything in The Crimson Maid revolves around the titular maid, Irina. But your family and your relationship to everyone in it are major components of the game. Each has a story you…
- A Glorious New Trailer Awaits... - 16 June 2026
It's official, The Crimson Maid is coming to PC, PS5 & Xbox Series X|S on July 14th. You'll finally be able to unravel the secrets of the Rosenthals and decide Marius' ultimate fate. Take a look at the glorious, brand new trailer, which teases more gameplay and the compelling drama that surrounds this mysterious family and their strikingly beautiful maid.
- New Demo for Steam Next Fest! - 15 June 2026
We have some great news! We've updated our demo to feature chapters 3 and 4 from The Crimson Maid for Steam Next Fest. While the first two chapters were great for mood setting and to get an initial idea of how the game feels and plays, the new ones are far more representative to the full game. So be sure to check them out - unless you want to keep yourself unspoiled for the final release. In the first two chapters, Marius, our protagonist has returned home to face his not too welcoming family and had the pleasure to meet the new maid, Irina. The demo now picks up after Marius returns to the mansion for an evening fraught with tension and unexpected events. WARNING! If you're bothered by nudity, better make sure to turn on Censor nudity in Options. We hope you enjoy the new content and please don't forget to wishlist the game!
- Romanian Game Awards nomination and vote - 15 May 2026
We're proud to be nominated for Best Upcoming Romanian Game at this year's edition of the Romanian Game Awards, a celebration of the most notable games in our local industry taking place in a few weeks, on June 9th.There is also an open vote for the Most Popular Game and we'd be very grateful if you could vote for The Crimson Maid here.It's great to see our fellow Romanian devs produce such quality games, please check them out and give them a wishlist!
- The thing about doors - 13 May 2026
Catalin from GrimTalin here, game director. I've been traumatized. In a game, I clicked on a door, but, to my folly, I was too close to it. As it opened, it hit me in the face and pushed me into the wall. I got stuck between door and wall, to spend eternity there - or until I reloaded the game.In another game, I opened a door and it clipped through me. I nonchalantly walked out of it. That was a happy day. Other times, I was stuck inside it or the game physics popped me next to the door.These are memories that have scarred my soul...So, in The Crimson Maid, I took it upon myself to make less evil-inclined violent-prone doors. It wasn't that difficult, honestly. If we take into account the position of the player relative to the door, there are three scenarios: he is inside the door frame as the door closes, in the arc of the door as it opens or closes, or safely outside. Obviously, we do…
- Preparing for release - 5 May 2026
It's been a long road, but we're nearing our destination! Catalin from GrimTalin here, game director.We started working on The Crimson Maid in January 2023. We've revealed our first demo in December of that same year. Since then, there were many who asked us when is this game coming out. While we don't have the exact date yet, it's going to be very soon. Here's where we're at.Most importantly, the game is content complete - has been for a while now. All the chapters are done, all the gameplay has been polished and every bit of this intense and extensive story has been transferred from our hearts into the game. We can't wait for you to check it all out!In case you've missed it, we also announced our collaboration with none other than Wales Interactive, experts in the narrative games field, to bring The Crimson Maid not only to PC, but also to PS5 and Xbox. The console ports were one of t…
- Meet the character: Irina - 18 December 2025
Irina has been employed as a maid for the Rosenthals for less than two years. As such, she hasn't had a chance to meet Marius before he left for the seminary. She only heard stories about him from the rest of the family and, considering they were unhappy with his decision, they weren't the most favorable tales. If Marius was anything like his brother, she had no reason to be excited by his arrival. Yet Irina has always felt alone during her time with the Rosenthals. The fact their estate was rather secluded didn't help, nor did her feeling she was a mere maid, too low-status to be noticed by anyone. She spent her days doing her chores and daydreaming. Irina is an avid reader, which explains her witty banter and how she ponders things few people seem to think about. Lady Rosenthal has a soft spot for Irina, but Leon can't stand her, while Remus is indifferent to her existence. Aside from…
- Meet the character: Dr. Filumen - 19 November 2025
You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone with anything bad to say about Dr. Filumen. He has been caring for Leon Rosenthal since soon after his symptoms began. Although he has failed to cure him, the family agrees that his endeavors slowed down the illness and even allowed him brief moments of clarity - for which Catrina is particularly grateful. During his house calls, Dr. Filumen has befriended Remus, who considers him the only one willing to understand him, unlike his unsupportive family. The doctor believes Catrina isn't too pleased by this friendship, for reasons unknown to him. A fact rather surprising, considering his utmost respect for Lady Rosenthal and his willingness to take the long drive from his neighboring town all the way to the mansion whenever Leon's condition deems it necessary. As he'll tell you himself, given the opportunity, Dr. Filumen served during the war as a docto…
- Meet the character: Remus - 21 October 2025
Poor Remus! Always in last place, even when running alone. Despite having stayed with his parents when Marius, his brother, abandoned the family, he never felt gratitude for his commitment. Even as he assumed the unwanted role of being in charge of the family factory, he was only met with criticism and contempt. Nothing he does ever seems to be good enough for anyone. Even though he was often overshadowed by his older brother. Remus looked up to him growing up. As such, he resents Marius for abandoning him. The responsibilities that were always intended for the older son unexpectedly fell on his shoulders, overwhelming him. The only silver lining for Remus is his close friendship with Dr. Filumen, his father's trusted physician. Despite the age difference, the two are like two peas in a pod, as the doctor jests. Remus cherises his friend and heeds his advice in all matters, as he feels…
- Meet the character: Catrina - 13 September 2025
Coming from a military family herself, Catrina married up in the world. Despite her not being of noble lineage, she married Leon Rosenthal due to the friendship between their fathers. Though an arranged marriage, it proved a fortunate one, as the bond and respect between Catrina and Leon is a cause for envy in their circle. They raised a beautiful family together and have the respect of their peers. Over the years, Catrina gained a reputation of sternness - fair, but implacable. To those unfamiliar with her family's origins, she was the epitome of a noble lady. Unbeknownst to everyone but her husband, her demeanor was motivated rather by insecurity and the fear of being seen as a social climber. Her family and its reputation are everything to Catrina. Some would badmouth her for caring more of the latter than the former. But Catrina knows that reputation is everything in this cutthroat…
- Controller support - 25 July 2025
If you've played any of my games before, you know I always have controller support in them - not least of all because all my games also release on consoles, so it's a must. The Crimson Maid is no different, of course. But, for this game, I played around a bit more on the vibrations side and I'm quite happy with the results. The first instance where the improvements become visible is in the first chapter, when you interact with the fountain wheel. Spinning it feels very physical when you hold the controller in your hands. There are many such instances in the game, as we wanted to have an enhanced tactile feel created by a combination of interactions, visual cues, sounds and vibrations. Now, mouse and keyboard are just fine and they're a great way to play The Crimson Maid too - especially when you're solving the optional puzzles with swapping ceramic tiles. But if you truly want to feel t…
- Meet the character: Leon - 13 June 2025
Leon is the heir of the Rosenthal noble family and a much esteemed pillar of the community. He is married to Catrina and they have two sons, Marius and Remus. Coming from a long line of military figures, Leon himself is a decorated war hero, having fought during the Independence War, along with his brother and father - a general in the Romanian Army. When asked, though, his views on war are not what you'd expect - he abhors the notion completely and has raised his two sons as pacifists, breaking the tradition of his lineage. Leon was the sole inheritor of the family fortunes, as his brother was disowned after he allegedly committed war crimes during the Independence War. Yet, long before receiving his inheritance, Leon had started a family business with his wife, Catrina - a small stained glass workshop that he grew into a large factory of renowned craftsmanship. After his father's pass…
- Most Popular Game @ Dev.Play 2025 - 6 June 2025
We're back from Dev.Play 2025, which was a blast! Good talks, great people, lovely times. During the Indie Festival hosted by the conference and streamed online, The Crimson Maid was voted Most Popular Game, for which we are truly grateful!We'll post some deep dives into the game's characters soon. We know you're curious about the release date, but we just don't know it yet. We still have three more chapters to implement and we want to take our time to do a final polish and QA pass, so the game will be in good shape when it reaches your screens.We hope to have more exciting news soon, so stay tuned and don't forget to wishlist The Crimson Maid!
- Is The Crimson Maid NSFW? - 9 May 2025
The Crimson Maid tells a mature story with complex character arcs and motivations. When we set out to write it, we haven't imposed ourselves any artificial boundaries, but rather we defined our characters, their history, their desires, and we let them speak for themselves in shaping the story. We inevitably reached the question of how hidden we wanted to keep the sexual part of the human experience, especially since our story revolves around romance. We decided it would be a disservice to the narrative to shy away from nudity and sexuality. This is a game in which lust and temptation play a central role. So, yes, in the end, we are going to have a few instances of nudity in the game, particularly breasts and bottocks. But what do we do about our players who simply don't want to expose themselves to such imagery? We give them the option to blur out any kind of nudity. Simply go to the Op…
- Core Pillars: Light Puzzles - 25 April 2025
We see The Crimson Maid, if we're allowed to be a tad pretentious, as an evolved point-and-click adventure game. You have dialogue trees, exploring, inspecting, finding items, and, of course, puzzles. But our goal is to make a game that is easily played by everyone. Playing with the environment To kick off, probably the simplest puzzles in our game are those that rely on basic interaction with the environment, coupled with finding and using items in the right places. Such an interaction can be, for example, finding a coffee pot, filling it with water by interacting with a sink, then placing the pot of water to boil on the stove. These actions help with embodying Marius and to immerse yourself in his surroundings. Tactile contraptions We always loved the idea of looking at a box, unable to open it, only to find there is a hidden compartment or a knob on its bottom that unlocks it. And we…
- Reboot Develop 2025 - 19 April 2025
Reboot Develop 2025 is over, leaving behind good memories of fun times, friendly people and insightful talks. Showcasing your game to the public is always a good idea, as it leads to valuable feedback and potential collaborations. Everyone was excited to hear we're nearing the release of The Crimson Maid - but not as much as we are, of course! And they had the chance to try out our new demo featuring acts 3 and 4 from the game. We will include these in the Steam demo as well, sometime in the future. Since we love adventure games so much, we wanted to highlight a few cool games that caught our eye during the conference. Check them out and give them a wishlist! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2879840/Escape_Simulator_2/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1519180/President_Rocket_Game/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/2475620/Misgiven/
- Meet us at Reboot Develop 2025 - 11 April 2025
We'll be showing our gaming at Reboot Develop 2025 in Dubrovnik, Croatia, between April 14-16. If you're in the area, come meet us and try the game. Last year's edition brought us a lot of valuable feedback and much needed praise from the many people that tried our first demo. We're looking forward to get more insights into our game from both players and industry veterans. Plus we're excited to check out what everyone else is making!
- Core Pillars: Compelling Story - 4 April 2025
It's no secret that The Crimson Maid is a heavily story driven game. The narrative is the main raison d'être of our game. Below are some of our approaches in creating this compelling story. Character driven story The core of our narrative are its characters. The events in the game are all character driven, meaning everything that occurs in the game is caused by characters taking action according to their desires, not because we're trying to force our plot into their lives. Marius, Irina and the rest of the family members all have their own agendas, histories and sympathies. Our hope is that you'll have fun getting to know these characters and understanding their motivations. And ultimately strive to influence their fate, as much as one person can influence another's destiny. Learning secrets through dialogue The main activity in The Crimson Maid is talking. Or, rather, as a player, read…
