Chapter 1 of Crisol: Theater of Idols throws you into the Mermaid District, a haunting maze of puzzles, deadly enemies, and blood-soaked secrets. After surviving the prologue's horrors, Gabriel awakens in a hub area with new allies and upgraded mechanics. This chapter demands careful resource management since your weapons still consume your own blood with every shot. You'll need to master the spindle door mechanisms, solve intricate cocktail puzzles, and evade the relentless Dolores while hunting down medallions scattered across multiple locations.
How Do You Start Chapter 1 Properly?
When you regain consciousness, you'll find yourself in a safe hub area. Before rushing into the Mermaid District, take time to prepare at the merchant station.
Upgrading Your Arsenal
Approach the NPC at the card table and select the Arsenal card to view your weapon stats. You can boost damage output, fire rate, reload speed, and ammo capacity by spending Silver Bulls. Your knife also benefits from upgrades here.
The Skill card reveals abilities you can unlock using Essence and Crow Relics. The standout choice is Last Rites, which grants a 50% chance to automatically use a syringe when you would otherwise die.
Crisol Theater of Idols Chapter 1 Walkthrough
Collecting the Solari Brooch
Before leaving the hub, explore the room near the blue truck. Find the dead body beside a shiny chest and use your Feed of Blood ability to absorb the blood. This grants you the Solari Brooch, a key item for progression. The chest nearby contains a generous pile of Silver Bulls.
Visit Saloa Tormentosa in the hub and interact with the fancy structure to obtain Holy Blood. Each vial permanently increases your maximum blood by 10 and boosts blood received from all sources by 5%.
What's the Best Route Through the Mermaid District?
Once you speak with the masked NPC to lift the main gate barrier, you'll enter the Mermaid District proper. The red shadows you encounter mark points of interest or danger.
Early Exploration and Combat
Head right after entering and look for buildings with accessible interiors. The deposit boxes at shop counters contain Silver Bulls, so check every counter you pass. When enemies appear, prioritize headshots to conserve blood. The ranged enemies on rooftops deal fire damage, so eliminate them first when possible.
Absorb blood from every dead animal you find. These creatures serve as your primary ammunition refills between fights.
Finding the Cocktail Recipes
At Cuerno Albino, you'll discover crucial recipe notes in a rack after an old lady flees the area. These recipes solve a major puzzle later:
How Do You Solve the Spindle Door Puzzles?
The spindle mechanisms appear throughout Chapter 1. These door-opening machines require you to cut chains with Bolt Cutters (found in the Ferreteria shop), then rotate the spindle while avoiding enemies.
Ferreteria and the First Spindle
After collecting the Bolt Cutters from Ferreteria, backtrack to the locked machine. Use the cutters on the chain, then press L to begin rotating the spindle. Here's the catch: the same enemy from the Prologue returns to hunt you.
Once the door opens, sprint through immediately. The Dolores will continue pursuing you through several areas, so keep moving until you reach safety.
What's the Solution for Tablao Zafiro's Clock Puzzle?
Inside Tablao Zafiro, you'll find a clock mechanism that controls elevator access. The clock requires specific times to open different doors:
Set the clock to 5:50 first to reach the upper floors. Explore thoroughly, defeat enemies in the hallways, and collect the Sapphire Medallion from a dead body in the basement (accessible after setting the clock to 7:45).
Crisol Theater of Idols Chapter 1 Walkthrough
How Do You Solve La Perla Occulta's Secret Door?
This puzzle requires matching nameplates to rooms based on environmental clues. Examine each room through peepholes and read scattered notes to piece together the solution:
Enter each name exactly as shown. The secret door opens once all nameplates are correctly placed, revealing a ritual chamber and the path forward.
What's the Trick to La Fortuna Esmeralda's Vault?
The vault puzzle uses domino-style matching across three concentric rings. Each symbol corresponds to a number:
- Tentacle: 2
- Fish: 3
- Fin/Tail: 4
- Shell: 5
Start with the center ring and work outward. Rotating one ring affects the adjacent ring, so plan your moves carefully. Match the symbols where tiles connect, and the vault opens to reveal the Emerald Medallion.
Crisol Theater of Idols Chapter 1 Walkthrough
How Do You Complete the El Cuerno Albino Cocktail Puzzle?
With all three medallions collected (Sapphire, Emerald, and Pearl), return to El Cuerno Albino and access the rooftop puzzle room. Save at the purple globe before attempting this.
Place the medallions in order: Sapphire on the left, Emerald in the middle, Pearl on the right. Then rotate the knobs in this sequence:
- Middle knob
- Right knob
- Left knob
After each upper knob rotation, turn the lower knob as well. Success opens the elevator to the final area.
How Do You Reach Herminia Espina?
The final section involves navigating platforms using spindle mechanisms. Lower platforms by rotating spindles, cross to the other side, and repeat until you reach Herminia's chamber.
You'll find Herminia Espina has hanged herself. Use your blood absorption ability on her body to obtain the Espina Dagger, triggering a cutscene that advances the story.
Escaping to the Hub
After the cutscene, the Dolores attacks again. Sprint to the small opening, crawl through, and reach the elevator. Back at the hub, upgrade your weapons with collected resources and prepare for Chapter 2.
Key Takeaways for Chapter 1 Success
Resource management determines survival in the Mermaid District. Always absorb blood from dead animals before leaving an area, and save syringes for emergencies rather than topping off minor damage. The Sharpener's Motorbike locations restore your knife to full durability, so use melee attacks liberally when you know a bike is nearby.
The purple globes scattered throughout serve as save points. Use them frequently, especially before puzzle attempts or entering areas where the Dolores hunts you.