The Crimson Hunt story centers on Victoria, a seasoned vampire hunter hired to infiltrate an isolated Victorian estate and extract Eleanor, a kidnapped civilian. What begins as a straightforward rescue mission rapidly deteriorates into a psychological clash of vengeance, ancient bloodline traditions, and repressed identities. Beneath the objective of escaping the decaying mansion lies Victoria's personal vendetta against Lord Edmund Blackthornnene, the vampire patriarch responsible for executing her family centuries prior.
Written by Cynthia and Jeanine for solo developer Farelas, the survival horror title divides its narrative across three distinct chapters: The Beginning, The Truth, and The Rebirth. As Victoria and Eleanor navigate subterranean catacombs, mechanical puzzles, and grotesque predators, their dynamic shifts from uneasy survival allies to a tragic partnership bound by the supernatural.
Core Characters and Secret Lore
The narrative tension in The Crimson Hunt relies on character history gradually revealed through dialogue, environmental notes, and visual cues.
Victoria: The Vengeful Half-Blood
Victoria presents herself as a pragmatic mercenary who accepts perilous bounty contracts no one else will touch. In early dialogue, she expresses contempt for the undead, declaring that wiping them out is the only comfort she has left. However, early hints foreshadow her true nature: her reflection in dusty mansion mirrors appears faint and translucent, and she demonstrates physical strength far beyond normal human capability.
During the final chapter, Edmund Blackthornnene confirms that Victoria is a half-blood—born from a forbidden union between a human father and a vampire mother. Her drive to clear the estate is fueled by a desire to avenge her parents, whom Edmund murdered in cold blood.
Eleanor: The Captive with an Artist's Eye
Eleanor was abducted from a nearby town after an aristocratic man asked her to help locate his lost daughter in the northern woods. Upon reaching the forest, she was drugged and awakened inside the estate's holding cells. Despite the trauma, Eleanor possesses practical skills: her father taught her how to swim and defend herself, suspecting dangers roamed the world.
Unlike Victoria's hardened focus, Eleanor retains compassion and curiosity. In the mansion's studio, she stops to finish an abandoned canvas, explaining that her mother taught her to complete what she starts and that art preserves memories. Eleanor consistently acts as Victoria's moral conscience, warning her that unresolved hatred only burns the person clinging to it.
Edmund Blackthornnene: The Ancient Patriarch
Lord Edmund Blackthornnene is an ancient vampire who has ruled the estate for centuries. Arrogant and theatrical, Edmund views mortals as expendable cattle and enforces strict hierarchy over vampire lineage. He orchestrated Eleanor's abduction not merely for a meal, but to harvest her vital essence through a ritual in his underground torture chambers.
To Edmund, Victoria's existence is an affront to vampire supremacy. He justifies slaughtering Victoria's mother because she broke ancient bloodline laws by consorting with a human, dismissing Victoria as a mongrel whose human half makes her inherently fragile.
Chapter 1: Infiltration and the Mansion Alliance
The story begins immediately after Victoria infiltrates the secluded mansion. Eleanor has managed to break out of her holding cell and hides behind furniture, mistaking Victoria's heavy footfalls for another monster. Victoria calms her, and the two discover that the primary entrance locks strictly from the exterior, forcing them to find an alternate route through the interior wings.
To survive the ghouls prowling the hallways, Victoria hands Eleanor an ultraviolet flashlight. Victoria explains that the creatures possess an altered physiology sensitive to UV radiation, which blinds and stuns them long enough to deliver fatal attacks.
As they collect keys and mechanical gears across the library and west wing, Eleanor tries to piece together Victoria's identity. Victoria deflects personal inquiries, insisting they stay focused on escaping. In the art studio, Eleanor pauses to complete an oil painting of a forest, sparking a philosophical debate: Victoria dismisses memories as distractions that obscure current survival, while Eleanor defends them as the foundation of identity.
Their investigation uncovers notes detailing Edmund's cruel hospitality. One journal entry reveals Eleanor was initially permitted to visit the music and art rooms under the condition that she surrender "something of herself" to Blackthornnene. After using a statue head and extinguishing a fireplace passage, the pair drops into the mansion's subterranean depths.
Chapter 2: The Catacombs, Torture Chambers, and Truth
Beneath the living quarters lies an expansive network of flooded catacombs, lever-operated floodgates, and crypts. When an aqueduct puzzle collapses a walkway, Victoria plummets into deep water. Eleanor admits she is terrified of water and cannot follow, prompting Victoria to swim through flooded tunnels alone while Eleanor navigates upper catwalks to reunite with her.
Upon aligning ancient heraldic crests, stone guardians awaken to ambush the pair. Eleanor discovers a flare gun, which she uses alongside Victoria's firearms to repel swarming vampires. Shortly after the skirmish, Edmund's disembodied voice echoes across the rafters. He mocks Victoria, addressing her as a traitor and Eleanor as his misplaced acquisition, urging Victoria to leave while he is still feeling gracious.
Following the encounter, Victoria's demeanor turns colder. When Eleanor asks if the rescue mission was merely a cover, Victoria admits confronting Edmund is an "additional service" connected to her past.
They proceed through Edmund's private torture chambers, lined with surgical racks and bloodletting instruments. Victoria confirms that Edmund lured Eleanor here to execute a dark ritual, intending to strip away her life force. Eleanor expresses deep terror at how close she came to ending up on the slab, but thanks Victoria for giving her a chance to fight back. Before reaching the deeper waterway, the pair faces an animated stone golem serving as the crypt's guardian, destroying its weak points to clear the path forward.
Chapter 3: The Sewer Boat Chase and Ideological Rift
Continuing through the sewer systems, the pair reaches an underground dock housing an engine boat. Before they can disembark, a massive vampire bat swoops down from the cavern ceiling. Victoria commandeers the boat while navigating jagged subterranean rapids, dodging falling debris and stalactites while Eleanor assists from the stern. The chase concludes when the creature is crushed beneath a collapsing rock formation.
Reaching a sewer grating that leads directly to the exterior forest, Eleanor celebrates their survival, jokingly proposing they form a permanent hunting duo named the Van Helsings. Victoria interrupts her, stating she cannot step through the exit. She must turn back into the depths to kill Edmund.
Eleanor confronts her, pointing out the signs she had observed throughout the escape: Victoria's missing reflection in mirrors, her supernatural endurance, and her disproportionate hatred. Eleanor accuses Victoria of using her rescue as a pretext to reach Edmund. She begs Victoria to walk away, arguing that abandoning mercy will make Victoria identical to the monster she despises. Victoria refuses, stating her mission to save Eleanor is complete, and orders her to run to the surface.
The Climax: Duel in the Cathedral
Victoria retraces her steps to Edmund's personal cathedral. Edmund awaits her with mock courtesy, chiding a half-blood for challenging an elder pureblood.
The battle unfolds across multiple stages:
- The Blade Duel: Victoria engages Edmund in close-quarters melee combat. Edmund parries her strikes and teleports across the cathedral, continually insulting her human father's weakness.
- The Ancient Metamorphosis: Frustrated by her persistence, Edmund unleashes his monstrous power, summoning waves of vampire minions and hurling projectiles from the altar.
- Eleanor's Intervention: Having refused to abandon her rescuer, Eleanor returns to the chamber, distracting Edmund by hurling an incendiary device that sets the elder vampire ablaze.
- The Final Stake: Weakened by fire and gunfire, Edmund falls to his knees. Victoria drives a wooden stake through his heart with the parting curse, "May the wind carry your ashes to hell."
As he disintegrates, Edmund delivers a final warning: his death will not bring peace, as pureblood vampire clans will relentlessly hunt down the half-blood who killed him.
The Crimson Hunt Ending Explained
With Edmund turned to dust, Victoria searches the ruined cathedral and discovers Eleanor lying motionless on the stone floor, mortally injured during the crossfire of the final battle.
Eleanor smiles weakly, whispering that they succeeded together before losing consciousness. Distraught by the realization that her quest for vengeance led the innocent woman she was hired to protect to her death, Victoria refuses to repeat the tragedy of her parents.
Embracing the predatory nature she spent years suppressing, Victoria bites Eleanor on the neck, transmitting the vampiric strain to preserve her life. In the final cinematic sequence, Eleanor revives, transformed into an immortal creature of the night. The story concludes with both women bonded together—not as human survivor and hunter, but as nocturnal outcasts forced to face incoming vampire pursuers.
Character and Lore Summary
The following table summarizes the primary cast members, their story motivations, and their final narrative fates in The Crimson Hunt.
| Character | Role & Identity | Voice Actor | Narrative Motivation | Fate in Story Ending |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victoria | Protagonist; Dhampir / Half-Blood Vampire Hunter | Sarah Bella Joyce | Avenging her parents; wiping out Edmund's line | Survives; kills Edmund and turns Eleanor to save her |
| Eleanor | Co-Protagonist; Kidnapped Civilian & Artist | Cat Pepin | Escaping the mansion; preserving her humanity | Fatally wounded by Edmund; turned into a vampire by Victoria |
| Lord Edmund Blackthornnene | Primary Antagonist; Ancient Vampire Patriarch | Uncredited in notes | Enforcing vampire supremacy; ritual sacrifice | Staked through the heart by Victoria; reduced to ashes |
| Victoria's Mother | Background Figure; Pureblood Vampire | Dane Keck Geklay (Evelyn) | Loving a human; raising Victoria | Executed by Edmund centuries before the story began |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Victoria completely human in The Crimson Hunt?
No. During Chapter 3 and the final confrontation, dialogue between Eleanor and Edmund Blackthornnene confirms Victoria is a half-blood (dhampir). Her mother was a vampire and her father was human. This heritage explains why her reflection appears faint in mirrors, why she has superhuman physical abilities, and how she possesses the ability to turn Eleanor at the end of the game.
Why did Edmund Blackthornnene target Eleanor?
Edmund lured Eleanor to his estate under the false pretense of needing help to find a lost daughter in the woods. His intention was to lock her inside his subterranean torture chambers and execute a dark ritual to harvest her life essence, which he believed would sustain his power.
Why did Victoria return to the mansion instead of escaping?
Although Victoria fulfilled her mercenary contract by guiding Eleanor to the sewer escape tunnel, she refused to leave because her primary life goal was killing Edmund Blackthornnene. Edmund had murdered her parents long ago, and Victoria was unwilling to abandon the opportunity to exact vengeance, even when Eleanor begged her to let go of her hatred.
What happens to Eleanor in the final ending?
Eleanor returns to the cathedral to assist Victoria during the boss fight, setting Edmund on fire. However, she sustains fatal wounds during the confrontation. To prevent Eleanor from dying, Victoria bites her neck, converting her into a vampire and ensuring her survival at the cost of her humanity.
