Crimson Snow is an indie horror game developed by Steppe Hare Studio, released in December 2022.
Mark was supposed to be spending a pleasant Christmas holiday with his girlfriend Joyce. However, he gets lost in the snow to find himself trapped in a creepy house where an otherworldly lady in a black dress stalks the halls with intent on forcing Mark to spend the holiday with her instead.
Mark and Joyce's chances of survival against this uninvited guest depends on every word and decision made.
The game is available on Steam.
Crimson Snow invites you to spend time with these examples:
- Ax-Crazy: The Ex-Girlfriend was already veering dangerously close to this behavior by the time Mark broke up with her. But by the time she returns to menace Mark and Joyce, she’s transformed into a volatile, sadistic Mood-Swinger that traps and plays a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with the two, then later murders the cops sent to rescue them.
- Absurdly Sharp Claws: The Ex-Girlfriend's fingernails are long enough to work like claws.
- Big Bad: The Ex-Girlfriend, who turns what should have been Mark's romantic holiday getaway with Joyce into a full-on living nightmare, all out of her Yandere-level obsession with him.
- Braving the Blizzard: Mark makes a trek through the blizzard to reach Joyce's house and spend the night with her. Too bad he ends up in the wrong house - and to make matters worse, with a monstrous ex-girlfriend waiting for him.
- Cell Phones Are Useless: Subverted. Despite being trapped in a dark house in the middle of a blizzard, Mark is still able to communicate with Joyce, and she's able to call the police.
- Cower Power: Mark can evade getting killed by hiding under tables.
- Creepy Basement: Mark has to navigate the basement in order to progress through the game and grab the second box of stolen items. Along the way, he finds bodies in bags wrapped in Christmas lights and a room where an occult ritual has apparently taken place.
- Deal with the Devil: Only possible explanation for why Mark's ex-girlfriend turned from an ordinary, if unstable and possessive human, to a monstrous, demonic entity with Reality Warper abilities. That is, if she was ever human to begin with...
- "Dear John" Letter: An old letter reveals that Mark broke up with his ex-girlfriend because he couldn't handle her possessive behavior and how she threatened and harassed his family and friends, forcing him to leave for another town.
- Defeat Equals Explosion: When finally Mark finally manages to kill the Ex-Girlfriend, the crazy bitch explodes like an RPG boss. Played with in that her corpse is still there, burnt to a crisp.
- The Dog Bites Back: After spending the entire game escaping from the Ex-Girlfriend, Mark retrieves the murdered cop's gun and figures out her weakness, leading to a climactic final battle where he finally succeeds in pumping the bitch full of lead.
- Evil Makes You Monstrous: Whatever happened to the Ex-Girlfriend, by the events of the game, she's since become a monstrous entity that can teleport at will and bend her limbs in impossible ways. Upon being slain by Mark, her body burns away.
- The Ghost: Joyce is never actually seen in person, only appearing through her phone calls with Mark.
- Hate Sink: The Ex-Girlfriend has no sympathetic qualities whatsoever, being very possessive of Mark to the point of threatening and harassing his family and friends out of petty jealousy, forcing him to escape to another town. When she's killed, no sympathy is given to her as Joyce congratulates Mark for finally killing her.
- Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday: The entire game takes place on Christmas Eve.
- Humanoid Abomination: Although she was a normal, if disturbingly possessive human being when Mark broke up with her, by the time of the game, the Ex-Girlfriend has metamorphosed into an elastic, twitching beast with sharp teeth, inhuman strength and speed, long claws and not only the ability to teleport, but fully control the inside of the house she’s in.
- Immune to Bullets: Downplayed, but present. While the Ex-Girlfriend isn't bulletproof per-se, her sheer speed allows her to easily dodge gunfire, as the cops who were sent to help found out the hard way. However, Mark manages to circumvent this by stunning her with fireworks before opening fire, allowing him to finally kill the Ex-Girlfriend after a short battle throughout the house, despite her taking a surprisingly large number of bullets to finally bring down.
- Logical Weakness: During their respective encounters with the Ex-Girlfriend, Mark and Joyce discover that bright light and loud noises scare her off. An old note clues in that she's hypersensitive to any light.
- Lying to Protect Your Feelings: When Joyce asks about the card Mark recently received, he tells a lie about receiving a card from his parents to ease her concerns.
- Marionette Motion: The Ex-Girlfriend walks awkwardly as she twitches and shakes, even bending in weird ways.
- More Teeth than the Osmond Family: The Ex-Girlfriend also sports long sharp teeth that aren't normal, and she's more comfortable with showing them off.
- Multiple Endings: Whether Mark and Joyce survive the night depends on the words and decisions made throughout the game.
- Mark getting caught by the Ex-Girlfriend results in him dying at her hands, leading to a Non-Standard Game Over.
- Joyce can potentially meet an untimely demise, depending on how you choose Mark's response.
- Nightmare Face: The Ex-Girlfriend's Slasher Smiles are utterly bone-chilling, and she's definitely not shy when it comes to cracking her ghastly grins.
- No Name Given: The Ex-Girlfriend's name is never revealed.
- Old, Dark House: Mark spends the entire story navigating a creepy old house where his ex-girlfriend has full control of the environment.
- Police Are Useless: In an attempt to get help, the police are called to Joyce's house and the house Mark is trapped in. Unfortunately, the Ex-Girlfriend slaughters them for their trouble. Played with in that, while they personally couldn't help, their gun is instrumental in Mark saving the day.
- Psycho Ex-Girlfriend: The main antagonist of the game, who Mark must avoid until he can find a way to stop her jealous rampage.
- Red and Black and Evil All Over: Mark's ex-girlfriend is seen in a black dress with trims of red, and she's bent on getting the romantic Christmas she wants by getting rid of the competition.
- Resources Management Gameplay: The flares Mark can use for light in the house don't last long and are limited in supply, so best use them wisely.
- Rule of Three:
- To get through one door, Mark has to collect three snow globes in the house.
- Mark has to collect the Christmas decorations, fireworks, and the engagement ring to distract and later take the fight to the Ex-Girlfriend.
- Slasher Smile: The Ex-Girlfriend isn't afraid to show off her razor-sharp teeth via flashing absolutely terrifying grins.
- Twisted Christmas: What's supposed to be a romantic Christmas turns into a night of horror with a psycho ex.
- Was Once a Man: Although the Ex-Girlfriend was completely normal when Mark ditched her and skipped town, when she finally resurfaces to target him and Joyce, she’s since become something unspeakable, with the only lingering traces of her former humanity being skin-deep at best.
- Wight in a Wedding Dress: Not a ghost, but the Ex-Girlfriend appears in the later part of the game wearing a white dress that fits the bill.
- Yandere: The Ex-Girlfriend does not take Joyce's existence well, and is hellbent on killing her so she can have Mark back for herself.
