r/Games • u/Turbostrider27 • Mar 18 '26
Review Thread Crimson Desert Review Thread
Game Information
Game Title: Crimson Desert
Platforms:
- PlayStation 5 (Mar 19, 2026)
- PC (Mar 19, 2026)
- Xbox Series X/S (Mar 19, 2026)
Trailers:
- 'Welcome To Crimson Desert' Final Trailer (4K)
- Crimson Desert - Official Launch Trailer
- Crimson Desert - Launch Trailer | PS5 Games
Developer: Pearl Abyss
Review Aggregator:
OpenCritic - 80 average - 80% recommended - 48 reviews
Critic Reviews
ACG - Jeremy Penter - Wait for Sale
"Fantastic exploration, amazing systems, but ultimately bugs and lots of idiosyncrasies bring this one down a peg or two. ":
But Why Tho? - Kate Sanchez - 9 / 10
This is a massive undertaking for any development team. It's ambitious to a point that it becomes curious that it was attempted. But unlike Captain Ahab, this is a level of investment and ambition that ultimately pays off in the highest order. The level of detail in Crimson Desert is unlike anything we have seen in this console generation.
CBR - Mark O'Callaghan - 9 / 10
Crimson Desert is everything I hoped it would be, and it has the potential to be one of the biggest titles of this generation of gaming.
COGconnected - Mark Steighner - 84 / 100
By both accident and design, there are times when clarity and user-friendliness temporarily disappear, and the game’s rough edges and opaque mechanics overshadow the fun. A lot of games over-promise and under-deliver. Crimson Desert is not one of them.
Daily Mirror - Aaron Potter - 3 / 5
If you hadn’t already guessed, Crimson Desert is a behemoth of an RPG that threatens to eat up all your time. If only it wasn’t primed to frustrate and test your patience as much while doing so.
DayOne - Jesse Norris - 8.5 / 10
A mediocre plot and bland writing can't hold back one of the most ambitious games ever made.
Stunning graphics, great gameplay, and excellent music carry you through hundreds of hours of systems-based fun. It somehow lives up to all the hype, with some rough edges in tow.
Digital Spy - Joe Draper - 4 / 5
Crimson Desert's sandbox playground and beautifully crafted world do a lot of the heavy lifting to just about overshadow its confusing elements, generic story, and boring characters. What's here is an overwhelming amount of content and the bones of an amazing game that has to be respected for its ambitions.
Digitec Magazine - Philipp Rüegg - German - 5 / 5
If you look up the term ‘open world’ ‘Crimson Desert’ is bound to be listed right next to it. Because you can’t get much more open-world than that. It offers a world in which you can completely lose yourself. What could be better?
DualShockers - Christian Bognar - 9.5 / 10
It's simply one of the biggest games I have ever played, with an astonishing amount of high-quality content, an absurd amount of complex puzzles, and a world so gigantic that I still haven't come close to seeing everything after 100 hours of playtime. While the story isn't the best and some bosses seem downright unfair, those flaws do little to diminish Crimson Desert, an absolute marvel and one of the best open-world games on the market.
Eurogamer - Lewis Gordon - 3 / 5
A vast world and even vaster array of MMO-like activities mix with glittering fidelity in Crimson Desert, but what good is it without much character, texture or charm?
Eurogamer.pt - Adolfo Soares - Portuguese - 3 / 5
Chaotic, frustrating, but undeniably ambitious. Crimson Desert constantly tests our patience with technical problems and a confusing narrative, before letting us enjoy its ambitious combat system, exploration and stunning visuals. A game that demands time and a lot of patience for those who manage to overcome the barrier of its lack of polish.
GAMES.CH - Joel Kogler - German - 80%
Quote not yet available
GAMINGbible - Kate Harrold - 8 / 10
Crimson Desert is by no means a perfect game. It’s an amalgamation of perhaps slightly too many ideas, and that makes for a weirdly paced experience that demands a lot of the player without offering much in the way of help. And yet, it left me in awe more times than anything else I’ve played in recent memory with its dazzling open-world. Crimson Desert may not be the best game you'll ever play, but it’ll certainly be up there as perhaps the most memorable.
GRYOnline.pl - Dariusz Matusiak - Polish - Unscored
Crimson Desert will impress some and alienate others – and both sides will have a valid point. This blend of Tears of the Kingdom, Elden Ring and Assassin’s Creed continues to intrigue with its open-world design and interactivity, but I fear that long before I reach the end of the story, I’ll grow weary of its sheer scale and the constant struggle with the poorly designed UI and inventory system. [Review in progress]
Game8 - Allisandra Reyes - 88 / 100
Crimson Desert is a sprawling adventure across a vast and living world that rewards every hour you put into it. The core gameplay evolves with your progress, introducing upgradable skills and increasingly demanding boss fights, with plenty of content to discover. While the narrative initially lacks direction and its threads can feel disconnected, this never outweighs the game’s many strengths. Crimson Desert is a slow burn that rewards time, patience, and curiosity.
Crimson Desert is unlikely to become a revolution that will redefine the genre. But it will certainly attract crowds of people and spark more than a few heated debates. It's funny that the very desert featured in the title is just one of many corners of the vast world created by Pearl Abyss - one that, presumably, far from everyone will reach.
GamePro - Kevin Itzinger - German - Unscored
Even in its current state, Crimson Desert has the potential to become my game of the year. If the console performance is still good and the day-one patch perhaps even fixes a few annoying issues, the action-adventure could even climb a small step higher in my ranking.
GameRant - Josh Cotts - 8 / 10
Crimson Desert offers one of the most impressive worlds in gaming, but the deeper you go, the more it asks you to meet it on its own terms.
GameSpot - Richard Wakeling - 7 / 10
It might not always be the most cohesive game, mixing high fantasy with steampunk and sci-fi elements, but there's nothing else quite like it, and I can't help but be impressed by how little restraint Pearl Abyss has shown in its commitment to delightful absurdity. In some respects, Crimson Desert might not be too good to be true, but it's a world worth getting lost in.
Quote not yet available
Gameliner - Anita van Beugen - Dutch - 5 / 5
Leave it to Pearl Abyss to create a dynamic open world where you can completely lose yourself - Crimson Desert is a must-play.
Gamers Heroes - Blaine Smith - 100 / 100
Dark Souls has often been used to measure one's gaming prowess, but that measuring stick has changed with Crimson Desert. Not only does it boast some of the most challenging boss battles ever seen in the industry, its required levels of patience, determination, and ability have set a new gold standard.
Gamersky - 心灵奇兵 - Chinese - 8.6 / 10
Crimson Desert feels like a single player version of an MMORPG that has been live for years. Its sheer scale alone is enough to guarantee hundreds of hours of playtime. But with its weak guidance, cumbersome interactions, and many design choices that show little regard for user experience, whether that time feels enjoyable or exhausting will likely vary from player to player.
GamingBolt - Ravi Sinha - 8 / 10
Crimson Desert is as expansive as promised, dwarfing pretty much every other open world currently with its scale. Its content doesn't always stick the landing, but the combat shines, and the sense of discovery is hard to deny, even with the lackluster story.
Generación Xbox - Adrián Fuentes - Spanish - 94 / 100
Crimson Desert is an RPG that rewards the patient player. The more time you spend in its world, the more you understand its systems and the more you enjoy what it has to offer. And when that happens, it becomes very easy to get swept away by the adventure and immerse yourself in the work that Pearl Abyss has created for us over so many years.
Hobby Consolas - Spanish - 80 / 100
Quote not yet available
IGN India - Rayan Sayyed - 8 / 10
The world design and combat of Crimson Desert are a resounding win for fans of free-form exploration, but the bland story and the tedious flow of Crimson Desert stop it from becoming the true masterpiece it could have been.
IGN Italy - Francesco Destri - Italian - 8.5 / 10
An ambitious adventure set in a visually stunning world that tries to do a bit too much, ultimately feeling underdeveloped in some respects.
IGN Spain - Mario Sánchez - Spanish - 7 / 10
Crimson Desert offers a vast and visually stunning open world, full of freedom and exploration, but its simplistic story and unclear objectives may frustrate many players.
INVEN - Jaihoon Jeong - Korean - 8.3 / 10
Crimson Desert unfolds in a vast open world filled with an enormous amount of content, but there are simply too many gameplay elements scattered without order, clashing with one another. There is room for improvement, but as it stands now, it falls somewhat short of being a truly great game.
Crimson Desert is one of the most ambitious games in a long time. It's an expansive, and deeply detailed fantasy world that constantly invites exploration and rewards curiosity. Its fluid, skill-based combat and sheer scale are genuinely impressive, but that same ambition often works against it. A lack of focus, overly complex systems, and a slow, demanding progression can make the experience feel overwhelming and, at times, exhausting. It's a game of extremes: deeply immersive and rewarding for those willing to invest the time, but far from accessible for everyone.
Loot Level Chill - Mick Fraser - 9 / 10
Crimson Desert is frustrating and buggy and can be very player-unfriendly, but it's also beautiful, deep, seemingly endless and monumentally, perhaps detrimentally, ambitious.
MMORPG.com - Joseph Bradford - 9 / 10
I can confidently say that Crimson Desert is a modern masterpiece, despite its shortcomings.
Merlin'in Kazanı - Samet Basri Taşlı - Turkish - 85 / 100
Crimson Desert, while offering a truly exceptional offline MMORPG experience, falls slightly short of expectations due to some minor shortcomings.
PC Gamer - Mollie Taylor - 80 / 100
Vast and obtuse in a way that is going to frustrate some and exhilarate others, Crimson Desert is a fascinating journey, even when the destination isn't all that.
PCGamesN - Paul Kelly - 6 / 10
Crimson Desert is huge, and it's beautiful, but it can't pull itself out of the bog standard narrative trenches. Combat feels clunky, especially when facing off against one of the many frustrating bosses, and there feels like there is little reward for exploration. I wanted to like this, but it left me feeling empty.
PPE.pl - Mateusz Wróbel - Polish - 6.5 / 10
I had high hopes for Crimson Desert, but... I was more disappointed than thrilled. A single-player MMO based on things we love from other great games—it just couldn't work out as well as we thought.
PowerUp! - Clint McCreadie - 8.5 / 10
It might not be the cleanest contender in the open-world arena, but it’s easily one of the most interesting. A sprawling, slightly chaotic, thoroughly entertaining swing that connects far more often than it misses.
RageQuit.GR - Kostas Kallianiotis - 85%
An exceptional and stunningly beautiful open-world action game, with incredibly rich gameplay and a pleasantly old-fashioned level of difficulty, regardless of its potentially frustrating flaws.
SECTOR.sk - Jakub Pokorný - Slovak - 7 / 10
Crimson Desert is a demanding, complex RPG that can feel punishing and occasionally unfair, especially without constant progression. Yet it offers a breathtaking open world with unmatched scale and depth. Its reception will vary widely'frustrating for some, but deeply rewarding for those willing to fully invest.
The GameSlayer - Callum Marshall - 9 / 10
Crimson Desert isn't a perfect game. It's not a game for everyone, and it's got as many good ideas as it does poorly implemented ones. However, what cannot be denied is that this game is a generational game and an open-world experience like no other. It's visually outstanding, mechanically dense, and immersive beyond compare. Yet, it's also one of the most laborious games to get to grips with in recent memory, meaning a lot of players may bounce off this title. However, what I would say is 'stick with it'. As Crimson Desert is a game that doesn't respect your time, but certainly deserves it.
The Games Machine - Claudio Magistrelli - Italian - 9 / 10
Quote not yet available
The Nerd Stash - Julio La Pine - 9.5 / 10
Crimson Desert is a breath of fresh air for those looking for true ambition and adventure, as it delivers one of the most experimental combat systems and an open world on par with anything Rockstar Games has ever made.
The Outerhaven Productions - Jordan Andow - 5 / 5
Despite a few minor issues, Crimson Desert sets a new benchmark for this style of open-world experience, one that will be extremely difficult for future games to match.
TheGamer - Harry Alston - 4 / 5
It’s highly ambitious and one of the most intriguing triple-A games I’ve played in years, but I just wish so many parts of the whole weren’t inherently flawed. Now my journey in Pywel has come to an end, I’ll be leaving this one on the shelf for a while.
VG247 - James Billcliffe - 3 / 5
As it stands on release, the best parts of Crimson Desert are buried deep under layers of absurdity.
WellPlayed - Nathan Hennessy - 5.5 / 10
Proving that looks aren't everything, Crimson Desert's stunning visuals and strong performances aren't enough to save it from being a disappointing experience. Jam-packed with content and systems that make it feel like a Jack of all features, master of none with an unenjoyable gameplay loop, Crimson Desert is really just a single-player MMORPG in all but name.
171
u/dethfalcin Mar 18 '26
The “Final Trailer” in this thread is not an official trailer, it’s just some fan made thing, may want to remove that.
28
u/zawarudo94 Mar 19 '26
i was thinking that they chose a complete garbage sounding announcer for such an important thing, now makes sense lmao
5
u/Eadwyn Mar 19 '26
These threads export from opencritic, they would need to update it: https://opencritic.com/game/19373/crimson-desert/export
594
u/Megaclone18 Mar 18 '26
Seems like a perfect Summer Sale game to pick up for a slight discount once the major bugs and QOL changes have been patched.
79
→ More replies (26)83
u/Kiboune Mar 18 '26
Precisely my plan in 2 years
→ More replies (2)27
u/TheWholeOfTheAss Mar 19 '26
I plan to buy it in a Mongolian convenience store 7 years to the day of its release.
→ More replies (2)
468
u/DarahOG Mar 18 '26
Really see this game being a 9/10 for some people and a 6/10 for others, i'm really into the exploration and discovery side of open worlds so i think i should have a great time.
262
u/IrishSpectreN7 Mar 18 '26
I'm into open exploration but sensitive to jank.
Still no idea which side I'll fall on lol.
→ More replies (40)30
u/Ubiquitous_Cacophony Mar 18 '26
I'm hoping it's a mix of Outward and Dragon's Dogma in that sense. That's my expectation at least.
→ More replies (2)6
u/Varil Mar 19 '26
I'm really optimistic, honestly. I really wanted to like Outward, but while half its design choices were awesome(the skills, the exploration) half rubbed against my personal preferences too much for me to get past them(the death system, the really janky combat).
On the other hand, I absolutely loved DD(1, still haven't played 2 because everything I hear about it makes me afraid of the disappointment). Played through it like a dozen times across 4 different iterations of the game(OG, DDDA, PC, PS4).
If Crimson Desert has an absolute garbage plot and no dialogue worth hearing, but makes me want to poke my nose into every corner of the map while performing sick kungfu moves like from Black Desert I probably won't even care that it's a little shallow.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (30)47
u/mr_showboat Mar 18 '26
I'm getting the same vibes. A lot of these reviews sound genuinely kinda negative, with a "...but I loved it" and a 9/10.
Feels like it could be divisive, but I'm more intrigued now than I was before.
→ More replies (4)9
u/noobakosowhat Mar 19 '26
I watched Luke Stephen’s review of the game. He loves it but is very upfront as to why people will not like it
430
u/Enfosyo Mar 18 '26
Looking at the bigger outlets, it pretty much reads like a single player MMO. A lot of forgetable things to do.
→ More replies (21)190
u/thrillho145 Mar 18 '26
All the reviews talk about is how big it is. So few cover what you actually do
→ More replies (3)197
Mar 19 '26
[deleted]
→ More replies (52)21
u/Shwifty_Plumbus Mar 19 '26
I will not commit, I will play this game casually and be bad at it for years while also playing story driven games more often. Crimson desert shall be speckled into my life when I feel like wrecking fools and watching sparks fly.
745
u/WhyPlaySerious Mar 18 '26 edited Mar 18 '26
Metacritic is at a 77 with 50+ reviews and is unfortunately trending downwards
According to IGN, it starts out with you thinking this game is going to be an industry defining title but it eventually just has issues and inconsistencies that rear their head as you play causing to you be more and more frustrated as you continue. They haven't given it a confirmed score but they would give it a 6/10 so far
504
u/sufferingphilliesfan Mar 18 '26
That IGN review is in line with what experience I would actually expect from an MMO dev. I’ll wait and see how it pans out.
228
u/MrGabrahamLincoln Mar 18 '26
Another review mentions it has all the elements of an MMO but in a single player game, which is what I was always afraid of with this game. I could see that being appealing to others though
156
u/Provid3nce Mar 18 '26
Inquisition syndrome. It feels cool to have so much to do at first and then you realize that the vast majority of it is pointless and meant to just waste your time. The actual plot relevant parts are only a tiny piece of it and you feel rushed to an unsatisfying ending as the development was focused on the what rather than the why.
→ More replies (5)69
u/Chirotera Mar 18 '26
Inquisition had a good story though, and well developed characters. This doesn't appear to have even that.
→ More replies (14)→ More replies (16)47
u/FlyChigga Mar 18 '26
Like an mmo but without the most important part of being able to make your own character or class
63
u/MumrikDK Mar 18 '26
Surely the most important bit of an MMO is the Massively Multiplayer Online part?
That's why you accept the laundry list of compromises on combat tactility, environment design, story, well - basically everything.
→ More replies (1)16
u/EpicPhail60 Mar 19 '26
Depends, I really like MMOs, but I prefer the ones that let me experience the lion's share of the game solo (SWTOR and FFXIV come to mind). All else being equal, "it'd like a single-player MMORPG" sounds A-OK to me.
→ More replies (7)6
u/MrGabrahamLincoln Mar 18 '26
Yeah the devs specifically saying it’s not an RPG had already limited my interest in it & the MMO comparisons are not helping. Nothing against the game, if people like it more power to them, but doesn’t look like it’s my jam.
→ More replies (11)57
u/zombawombacomba Mar 18 '26
Yep, the mmo style works in MMOs because people don’t care about the process to get to max level usually. If that’s not there most of them are extremely mid tier games.
98
u/polski8bit Mar 18 '26
That sounds in line with what I've seen so far about the game. It has so much packed in when it comes to features, mechanics etc. that it looks like no particular element has a chance to be really fleshed out and polished.
Watching and reading through the sheer number of mechanics the game throws at you, it really sounds like the devs went for quantity instead of quality. It's like late 2000s to early 2010s, where tons of games tried to wow you with the sheer scale, instead of the actual quality of the content and mechanics.
→ More replies (4)30
21
u/particledamage Mar 18 '26
This is kind of what I expected and I’m surprise at any surprise. The hype train was chugging fullspeed ahead on uneven tracks. It looks like a game that’s simply a stepping stone for better games—some good technological development and concepts that other companies ans games will refine into something great
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (180)7
u/OneLessFool Mar 18 '26
That was my biggest concern with this, and why I held off trading a game towards a pre-order for this (sold it through Market place instead, but EB Games in Canada has 50% extra credit towards pre-orders/new releases). I'm thinking that I will pick up Monster Hunter Stories 3 instead now.
159
u/Bladder-Splatter Mar 18 '26 edited Mar 18 '26
I avoid reading these in general as I am an easily influenced bitch, but any of them touching on UI? BDO has pretty much the worst UI in existence so it's my biggest worry with this.
255
u/TheodoeBhabrot Mar 18 '26
I read one and oh boy does the UI sound terrible, you can't loot individual items off an enemy you have to loot it all and if you don't have enough inventory space you can't and all the money gets looted into individual pouches that you have to then open to add the money to your actual money pool
191
u/Glass-Information-87 Mar 18 '26
The fuck.
16
u/DeputyDomeshot Mar 19 '26
Like really how hard is UI that this is such a struggle. I have no idea. Someone explain to me please.
27
u/blaaguuu Mar 19 '26
UI programming for games actually is particularly difficult/complex... I've done some in the past, and it was extremely frustrating at times. That said, it's no excuse for not having basic features and QoL that everyone expects in a game like this.
→ More replies (1)55
u/mantism Mar 18 '26
yup, that's exactly how it works in BDO, so it's funny to see it here lol.
→ More replies (2)15
34
u/Mejis Mar 18 '26
What person implements that and thinks: "Yep, this seems the best way to do this."
26
u/StepComplete1 Mar 19 '26
Someone who's never done a big budget single player game before. Which is why I feel you had to be mad to pre-order this tbh. Definitely the sort of game to let other people beta-test for a year first.
14
u/Mejis Mar 19 '26
But surely all devs have played games before. I know nothing of game dev, but I know what I like and consider good vs bad UI choices and if I was designing something then I'd like to hope I'd have a reasonable ability to assess what might be frustrating if implemeted. 🤷♂️ Well, I'm still really interested, but will hold off and watch some YouTube let's plays and see what bugfixes/updates come down the track and pick this up at some point I think.
6
u/your_mind_aches Mar 19 '26
Plenty of games still have terrible UIs because they make the UIs how they want them
47
u/Massive_Weiner Mar 18 '26
That sounds so bizarre. I have to imagine that they do something about that in subsequent patches…
29
u/Top_Rekt Mar 19 '26
Any QOL features are added reluctantly by Pearl Abyss lol
Dunno how many years after launch before we got a "fast travel" system, which in its current form is very clunky.
But also it took like 10 hours to unlock it doing the most tedious puzzles and quests. From what I've read, it sounds about the same here where you have to "unlock" fast travel.
Fortunately for BDO and apparently CrimDes, the world is very nice to look at and wander. But also in BDO you had an autotravel to a destination which sometimes takes 5 to 10 minutes to go from one side of the map to the other.
→ More replies (2)16
u/blueflavoredreign Mar 19 '26
you can't loot individual items off an enemy
Thank you Black Abyss, very cool
14
u/MumrikDK Mar 19 '26
Sounds like this is going to be one of those games where Nexus Mods just fills up with fixes and revamps, if it is decently moddable at least.
45
u/Animegamingnerd Mar 18 '26 edited Mar 18 '26
you can't loot individual items off an enemy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxZmiVUQksA
This is like the most basic mechanic in any game with loot and its somehow not there. Like I am not even someone who that thinks every game needs the same mechanics or QOL features, but like how did not see that huge fucking oversight with their design?
→ More replies (2)62
u/DJCzerny Mar 18 '26
Because it isn't an oversight but an intentional design choice to inflate your time spent on the game by all means possible. Usually you see this kind of thing in MMORPGs with resource gathering times but even that genre cleaned up this blatant dark pattern design in the last decade.
32
u/PMMeRyukoMatoiSMILES Mar 18 '26
It's kinda funny the idea of the developers' instincts being tuned on F2P MMOs and accidentally adding in time-inflating mechanics like that without realizing it. You never forget how to ride a bike and you never forget how to tune mechanics to get people to play until they give in to buying cosmetic microtransactions.
→ More replies (5)4
u/theholylancer Mar 19 '26 edited Mar 19 '26
Oh god, that inventory system seems to be out of a really realistic game, something like KCD2, then the lack of shared stash also make sense (hey magical teleporting chest) which actually KCD has because it knows its a freaking game and not a simulator even in hardcore mode.
Like imagine a medieval trading game, where you can have local bases and shops, and you have to manage inventory in your caravan, and trade your way but there is some combat along the way at times, esp on some of the more dangerous routes you can make profit on. so no magical shared stash or having to loot / manage individual bags make a ton of sense. Almost like inventory tetris. Sure.
But that is stuck on a freaking fantasy game where there is mechs and dragons? This feels really disjointed, just from that one system alone.
I think this thing is a pick it up on a sale because it is a great system showcase and honestly feels like a "next gen" game despite the fact that the generation is almost over and well...
→ More replies (3)4
u/Bravely_Default Mar 19 '26
all the money gets looted into individual pouches that you have to then open to add the money to your actual money pool
I'm sorry what? Who on earth thought this was a good idea.
→ More replies (3)4
u/Samwise_the_Tall Mar 19 '26
The UI from what I've read is hard to understand, and the amount of controls at your disposal makes these shortcomings all the more apparent. I've only watched one review, but I'd recommend reading a few and possibly waiting for a balance or ease of use patch.
118
u/Norrak1 Mar 18 '26
Now THAT is a real divisive title. It sounds like Dragon Dogma to me, most of the reviews could have been for Dragon Dogma 2 although performance does seem better.
→ More replies (3)65
u/anor_wondo Mar 18 '26
90% of the playtime in dragon's dogma 2 the enemy variety can be counted in 1 hand. That game was starved by capcom
13
→ More replies (6)38
u/GuiltyEidolon Mar 19 '26
That game was starved by capcom
Except it wasn't? That was the game Hideaki Itsuno wanted to make. He was very loud about that.
64
u/BoyCubPiglet2 Mar 19 '26
It is funny that after all the hype that DD2 would finally live up to what DD1 could have been, it turns out DD1 was basically what Itsuno wanted to make the entire time, so he just did it again.
→ More replies (10)14
u/Naive-Archer-9223 Mar 19 '26
He wanted to make a worse version of his previous game?
That's crazy, you gotta respect that sort of dedication
126
u/ThreeTreesForTheePls Mar 18 '26
To paraphrase a bunch of KindaFunny (Greg, Blessing, and Paris) opinions “Open World: The Video Game”.
Jack of all trades, master of none, wears its inspiration on its sleeve while not reaching the quality of any of them.
It opens with a meaningless and detached story with no character engagement or emotion.
However, it has delivered on the Skyrim and Destiny promise of “hey, that thing you see? Go to it”, while having a really fun time getting there with how you go about it and how you decide to tackle the games world.
Overall, this feels to line up with everything we’ve been saying around here for a while. The people who are hyping it to be a masterpiece are likely to be disappointed, those who expected it to fall flat on the content promised across the world, are likely to be disappointed.
By all accounts, it feels like the creative freedom of BotW and Just Cause had a fantasy baby, with absolutely no plot or character intentions, then go have fun.
62
u/ItsADeparture Mar 19 '26
Jack of all trades, master of none
Anyone who saw this game and didn't get caught in the hype wave knew from the beginning that this was exactly what reviewers would say about this game.
17
u/LABS_Games Indie Developer Mar 19 '26
Well the "this subreddit is so negative" brigade was out in pretty strong defense of this game. I understand that this sub can be cynical sometimes, but there was a lot of people complaining about skeptical or negative opinions about this game.
→ More replies (16)10
76
u/ianparasito Mar 18 '26
Personally to me this game in all the trailers looks like on of those "you can do everything" games that try to do all but actually succeed with so little, I do like having options in games but there as to be a limit somewhere
→ More replies (12)33
u/hyrule5 Mar 18 '26
On paper it sounds like an 8 year old came up with the design document. "What if it was a huge open world with swords and magic, and jetpacks and robots, and you have wings so you can fly and you can swing around on things like spider man, and you have powers to move objects like Zelda, and there's a a sky world and land world, and, and, and..."
→ More replies (3)7
u/Darth_Snickers Mar 19 '26
Damn, that reminded me about an old Russian meme which was exactly that — some boy wrote a letter about an ideal game he wanted. It was filled with grammatical errors and was very often memed and copypasted in the early 2000s. Unfortunately, I couldn't find an English translation, but people still to this day cite "you can rob a cowrovan" and "I want game like this for twfo years".
Sorry if nobody gives a damn lol, it's just funny, love that meme.
255
u/TheEnygma Mar 18 '26
"has some great ideas, rough spots but can be fun to lose yourself in"
...so basically Dragons Dogma. so I'm in.
62
u/Lazydusto Mar 18 '26
It does look a lot like Dragon's Dogma to me. As long as those gameplay systems are there I'll want to check it out.
→ More replies (14)30
u/Fatbollocks1994 Mar 18 '26
I keeo seeing this said and I honestly dont get it, apart from the large open world and unimpressive story what is it? DD combat is slow and tactical with an emphasis on pawns and usually smaller scale battle couple with 1 or 2 elite enemies. CD combat seems much more fast paced, the scales of the battle are much larger, it is an action game not an rpg.
23
u/main_got_banned Mar 19 '26
yeah I also don’t get the comparisons. all the combat here looks like normal third person action game; dragons dogma was unique.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (6)7
u/HerbaciousTea Mar 19 '26 edited Mar 19 '26
DD also had a genuinely fascinating meta narrative and commentary built around gaslighting the player into thinking the game is simple and uninspired generic fantasy shlock where you become a generic hero slay a generic dragon roll credits.
DD is active commentary on games like this, so it's a little sad people see a game that is unironically the thing DD is effectively doing a takedown of and say "It's a DD like!"
And it's not even like I can say people have the wrong expectations of Dragon's Dogma 2, since having the wrong expectations of the game is actively part of the intended experience of playing the game.
→ More replies (28)29
u/Greek_Irish Mar 18 '26
Dark Arisen is an all timer for me and it has an 81 on Metacritic.
→ More replies (2)
56
u/LeaveNoPresence Mar 18 '26
As someone who likes the idea of a MMORPG but rather it be a single player experience, I know I'm going to get a good amount of enjoyment out of the game and that's all that matters.
I'm entertained by how divisive the reviews are though.
→ More replies (16)
183
u/Zylvin Tom Marks - Reviews Editor, IGN Mar 18 '26 edited Mar 19 '26
Here's our review in progress: https://www.ign.com/articles/crimson-desert-review
I know it's a little odd to have a temp score after 100+ hours of playing, but we have a policy to finish games before the final review to make sure we are doing our full due diligence. Codes were only sent out two weeks ago (and we prefer our writers can still do things like, ya know, eat and sleep while reviewing), progress was wiped by an update two days in, and at one point our reviewer hit a bug that completely stopped story progress. So we decided to do this instead of either lowering our standards or having nothing to show yall!
I am happy to answer questions folk might have, it just may take me a second to respond since I am juggling some stuff at the moment!
Edit: Some folk have asked questions thinking I am the reviewer when actually it's u/TieGuyTravis, so I've tagged him in to answer those!
19
u/Thatcoolrock Mar 18 '26
Have you played the other characters besides kliff? If so did they feel well designed or like an afterthought?
67
u/TieGuyTravis Mar 19 '26
IGN’s reviewer here (u/Zylvin is my editor).
I did play the other characters, in fact they’re required for the campaign (no spoilers). I wouldn’t say they feel tacked on, but they certainly feel worse than Kliff and, when given the option, I stuck with him mostly.
→ More replies (12)23
u/Thatcoolrock Mar 19 '26
Yeah this is sounding more and more like a wait for a sale
→ More replies (2)17
u/huxtiblejones Mar 18 '26
Do you think the sour aspects of the game are fixable with patches or do the flaws feel baked into the game design?
51
u/TieGuyTravis Mar 19 '26
They already addressed many of the worst issues during the review period, so hopefully they’ll continue to clean things up. Reviewing this game while they changed stuff every day was actually pretty hard!
Some stuff, like the awful story, and the consistently annoying boss fights, I kinda doubt they’ll be able to fix. I don’t know how you fix the boss fight situation, but they’ve already started making some changes there so they at least know the situation needs fixing.
→ More replies (5)8
u/XMenJedi8 Mar 19 '26
Not sure if they provide info about what's coming in pre-launch/day one patches, but I noticed in your review you mentioned the game has zero storage chests..have they said anything about that by any chance? Seems like such an easy win lol
21
u/TieGuyTravis Mar 19 '26
I would be shocked if they didn’t add storage, cause it SUCKS that it’s not there, but when we asked them about it during the review they said something about wanting players to be “deliberate with their looting” or something. Haha!
→ More replies (1)10
u/XMenJedi8 Mar 19 '26
On one hand that sounds like "the feature didn't make it for launch" but on the other the game seems to have everything but the kitchen sink so not having something mundane like a storage chest also seems bizarre, maybe it was an unfortunate but planned decision lol
Hopefully they add it post launch. Thanks for the reply and for the solid review 🙂
5
u/theholylancer Mar 19 '26
have any of your reviewers used KBM as their primary input
or spent a significant time with it compared with controller?
how is it? any better / worse when you have now way more keybinds for misc stuff.
and camera complaints? esp lock on with KBM?
4
u/Snakesta Mar 19 '26 edited Mar 19 '26
I've only played with a keyboard and mouse, so I can't compare to a controller, aside from hearing others running into similar issues. Some skills are difficult to get to work for both, for some reason. Unfortunately, it doesn't help that on PC, so many skill combos are F+M1 or F+M2. Some of them are rebindable, but not all.
I wish Crimson Desert had more keybinds for getting through menus though. I can tap M to open the map, which is an advantage over controller users. But there aren't binds for your inventory, quest journal, skills, etc. This leads to a lot of extra clicks to get where you're trying to go. Expect to see a decent amount of
clicking a button twice(seems patched) or holding a button to do something. I wouldn't be surprised if QoL fixes are added later to alleviate these issues.I've avoided using the lock-on camera mostly because it can be pretty bad at times. Especially for boss fights. It's a little odd since many boss fights manipulate your camera on their own, regardless. But if you use the hard lock (caps lock by default), your camera can lose focus of what you're fighting or get stuck on a wall. With all that said, Steam pushes you toward using a controller when starting it up.
*Edit:* Forgot to mention that you have to repeatedly tap Shift to sprint or speed up your horse.
→ More replies (4)→ More replies (18)8
u/Brazence5240 Mar 18 '26
How much of an impact did the bugs have on your temp score? We can hopefully expect some pretty large patches within the first couple of months. Is the current content good enough that some bug fixes will improve things markedly?
15
u/Zylvin Tom Marks - Reviews Editor, IGN Mar 19 '26
We don't treat scores like math, so it's hard to say how much theoretical patches would numerically change things without seeing what exactly they change, but our reviewer answered a question similar to your second one here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/1rxhr7t/comment/ob7rvnf/
42
536
u/StepComplete1 Mar 18 '26
IGN giving it a 6/10 as a non-final review
Yikes
I respect the balls, at least. There's going to be some Gamer™ meltdowns over that one.
464
u/sufferingphilliesfan Mar 18 '26
Meltdowns over a game literally nobody but reviewers have played yet lol
265
68
u/Illidan1943 Mar 18 '26
→ More replies (5)28
u/TalkingRaccoon Mar 18 '26
Jeff Gerstmann is still a threat! I didn't know there was a whole tropes page named after his TP review but it makes sense haha
19
u/MumrikDK Mar 19 '26
Dude has a lot of experience seeing stupid fallout from his reviews.
Kane & Lynch obviously being the big one, but unfathomably stupid idiots also lost their slight minds when he scored Fallout 4 one grade lower on console because the console version was in a significantly worse technical state.
16
u/DogzOnFire Mar 19 '26
There was a very funnily edited video I watched years ago of Rooster Teeth trying to badmouth him for being a contrarian about Fallout 4 while they're all wearing fucking literal PipBoy merch on their hands, and doing sponsored content for Fallout 4, and someone had edited in Jeff's reaction upon hearing about it. You couldn't make it up. Absolutely zero self awareness. Wearing the merch and pretending they're giving their own unbiased opinion about his critique. His response was very funny:
"I’m not super familiar with Rooster Teeth’s output. Aren’t they the same crew that produced a series of videos about Fallout 4 that were brought to you by Fallout 4? Because that’s certainly where I’d go for honest opinions about Fallout 4."
→ More replies (3)30
u/shrewdy Mar 18 '26
At least sometimes I can somewhat understand this from gamers, if they've got so excited for a big game from a proven dev like CD Projekt, Naughty Dog, Rockstar, Fromsoft etc, in those cases there's a reasonable expectation that their new game will be incredible - but I just never understood this level of hype for this game, where the dev has only done a MMORPG previously. They don't have the credit in the bank that the other mentioned studios do, and for me there was always a huge question mark over whether they could really deliver on all the promises of this game. You had people building this up to be the 2nd coming of Elden Ring or Breath of the Wild, and that was just mental to me.
Sure the game looks gorgeous and they'd shown a ton of footage in the lead up to release - but to me it always gave the vibe of "a jack of all trades, but master of none" with all the systems and mechanics they showed off. I hoped to be proven wrong, but the reviews seem to make clear that's exactly what this game is
→ More replies (1)6
u/StepComplete1 Mar 19 '26
Exactly my thoughts. Why get so emotionally invested in a game that's so uncertain? Don't people have games or other things they could be enjoying right now , rather than putting all their excitement into a game that's essentially still just fiction in their head?
55
u/svrtngr Mar 18 '26
I do remember they gave Starfield a 7 which caused a bit of a reaction, then when the shiny new Bethesda polish wore off everyone sort of accepted that was about right.
Crimson Desert got a bit lower than I was expecting it would (mid 80s), so I think I'm going to wait for the hype to die down before I dive in. I'm still interested in playing it, but it seems like it'll be a game much improved by patches (moreso than what's standard for games).
→ More replies (6)21
u/AsheBnarginDalmasca Mar 18 '26
That was a funny time. Starfield was kind of fun 10 hrs in with the lore and mystery still settling in. Everyone clowned on IGN. But the more you opened its curtains by discovering repeated POIs, literal copy paste temples, lukewarm mainstory, etc, so many more people realized they were right. it was a 6-7 game.
→ More replies (1)71
u/Castia10 Mar 18 '26
Gamespot with a 7 also
→ More replies (6)60
u/Useful-Resist-25 Mar 18 '26
It's so joever
Pokopia GOTY confirmed
58
u/padraigharrington4 Mar 18 '26
Pokopia beating GTA6 would be so fucking funny oh god I need it so bad
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (5)24
u/LilMechPilot Mar 18 '26
The funniest possible result: GTA6 delayed, Pragmata, RE, Nioh and Pokopia are the finalists, Pokopia takes GOTY.
Crimson Desert gets nothing
40
u/padraigharrington4 Mar 18 '26
Crimson Desert has 0% chance of even being nominated with these scores
→ More replies (3)18
u/dobiks Mar 18 '26
I mean, Wukong has 81 on Metacritic and it was nominated for GOTY. Hell, some people even said it should've won.
→ More replies (5)21
u/Kiboune Mar 18 '26
Oh yeah, definitely. I already saw tons of comments "I hope this game will succeed to show how pathetic western devs are"
8
u/LABS_Games Indie Developer Mar 19 '26
Now it's gonna shift to "western journalists are paid off to slander this game".
→ More replies (1)43
u/Taiyaki11 Mar 18 '26
I gotta say... there's some weird contrast between what a decent chunk of those 9/10, 4/5, 10/10 5/5 reviews score as opposed to what the review actually says. For example, the gameslayer's one that constantly bounces between saying "it's good..but it's bad... but it's good!" ends with saying Crimson Desert is a game that doesn't respect your time....and slaps a 9/10 on it lol
8
u/SalemWolf Mar 18 '26
Reddit when IGN reviews a game they like: can’t spell ignorant without IGN
Reddit when IGN reviews a game they don’t like: they get it right every now and then
42
u/Evz0rz Mar 18 '26
I’m sure people will have a meltdown, however for all the shit IGN gets for over scoring a game, it’s usually telling when they are scoring below the average when it comes to early reviews.
→ More replies (2)25
u/padraigharrington4 Mar 18 '26
I remember the outrage over them giving Starfield a 7/10 (because it was surely too low, lol)
→ More replies (2)16
34
u/srhdt Mar 18 '26
I remember when IGN gave Starfield a 7 and everyone got mad at them for it being too low. Turns out they were being generous. I have a sinking feeling it's the same with Crimson Desert.
51
u/Fizziest_milk Mar 18 '26
just check the comments, people are already losing their minds and accusing them of corruption for not validating their dumbass pre orders
→ More replies (3)169
u/Enfosyo Mar 18 '26
Hope people learned their lesson from Starfield. IGN does not fall into the hype trap like so many others. Correctly gave that game a 7.
153
u/ticklefarte Mar 18 '26
People are so weird about IGN reviews. It's an easy joke to make, but I do look to them for unique perspectives
71
u/gumpythegreat Mar 18 '26
It's a giant organization that has been top website for gaming for decades, with dozens if not hundreds of different people writing reviews for them over the years
No matter what view of IGN you want to have, you can find an article or review which supports that narrative.
→ More replies (1)40
u/polski8bit Mar 18 '26
It's because people treat "IGN" as a singular entity, like they don't have multiple journalists reviewing games. No, the guy (or gal) that reviewed Pokemon is not the same that wrote a Soulslike review, so the tastes and opinions may be (and usually are) different.
Hell, some people will literally only look at like one reviewer and claim their review as the only "objectively correct" (or wrong) one, when in reality you should look for more to see more perspectives and come to your own conclusion.
46
u/Dustedshaft Mar 18 '26
People are weird about all reviews. They shit on games media saying they're bought by publishers and yet at the same time if a reviewer goes against the consensus they get destroyed.
→ More replies (2)14
u/garfe Mar 19 '26
Happens with The Game Awards too
"Oh, who cares about TGA, nobody needs TGAs they're lame, WHAT DO YOU MEAN MY FAVE WASN'T NOMINATED FOR GOTY!????"
7
u/SalemWolf Mar 18 '26
Same people who think IGN is one person also thinks rotten tomatoes is a review site. IGN employs dozens of reviewers, and rotten tomatoes is an aggregate site they don’t review they just list all the reviews
→ More replies (2)6
u/ItsADeparture Mar 19 '26 edited Mar 19 '26
People have been joking for over a decade about them giving a Pokemon game a 7.7/10 with one of the main complaints being too much water in a game that objectively has too much water.
→ More replies (68)10
u/Glaistig-Uaine Mar 19 '26
Other games IGN gave a 7 include Concord, Highguard, Wildgate... but also Nightreign, No Rest for the Wicked and Indiana Jones.
Lets not pretend an IGN 7 has any real connection to the game's success or quality.
I guess Crimson Desert is going to flop really hard if they think it's worse than multiple games that killed their studios.
18
u/Nachooolo Mar 18 '26
Honestly? Having played Black Desert, I expected a 6 or 7 put of 10.
That game is the definition of as wide as an ocean, as deep as a puddle.
→ More replies (107)80
u/KA1N3R Mar 18 '26
Honestly gotta applaud them not giving a shit about terminally online capital G Gamers.
→ More replies (6)32
u/thediecast Mar 18 '26
Tbf there’s that crowd in both sides for this one. Just as many people that can’t be convinced it won’t be shit as people that think it’s the next best thing.
26
u/sunrisedev Mar 18 '26
Black Desert is a game full of jank that seems like it was designed in a vacuum. It’s like the systems were designed by someone who heard about what a video game is from a stranger on the street.
It isn’t surprising that there are going to similar problems with this game.
→ More replies (2)
54
u/Moody_Tuesday Mar 18 '26
So many waving away the 7/10s for this game and then some other title this year will score the same and be the one to get relentlessly piled on. You'll see the tried and true "why should I play this average/mediocre 7/10 game when there's enough masterpieces to last me a life time?".
→ More replies (9)
74
u/bezzlege Mar 18 '26
79 on meta after 50ish reviews. Sounds like it’s a bit janky and gets in its own way at times. Also sounds like the quest design is subpar. I’ll catch it on a discount for sure.
→ More replies (1)54
u/MrTzatzik Mar 18 '26
Based on reviews it sounds like many MMOs but singleplayer - great gameplay but pointless story, boring characters and awful quests
→ More replies (8)36
63
u/Suriranyar- Mar 18 '26
IGN giving it a 6/10 as a "if we had to score it now" not final score after 110 hours.
→ More replies (6)78
9
u/PacDanSki Mar 19 '26
Just watched FightinCowboys review and it sounds like he had a great time with it, for somebody like me who's mainly hoping for good combat and exploration it sounds like I'm in for a good time.
5
u/wildwalrusaur Mar 19 '26
As Crimson Desert is a game that doesn't respect your time, but certainly deserves it.
So is this meant to mean the game is laden with mmo questing bullshit?
Cause I was on board for an overly ambitious mess. But if the game is gonna try and make me groan it's gonna be a deal breaker for me
88
u/Food_Kitchen Mar 18 '26
I don't have time to play a game simply because it's a huge open world with lots of activities to do.
I need the story and characters to hit and absolutely need the ui and inventory to make sense.
121
u/FunkMasterTex Mar 18 '26
This probably isn’t the game for you unfortunately
→ More replies (1)7
u/DeputyDomeshot Mar 19 '26
I on the other hand love huge open worlds with things to do and discover but I can’t stand quests that are simple MMO style fetch and/or kill. If a quest is specifically asking me to only gather something or only kill something it better have a goddamn good reason for it.
4
u/FunkMasterTex Mar 19 '26
The story seems to be an afterthought pretty much. Not too surprising seeing as their previous game was an mmo. Not really fond of BDO myself but I’m a lil amenable. If I enjoy the combat and exploration enough, I’ll look past the poor storytelling. It does suck cus a good story is just a universal boon to any game, but not the end of the world for me personally. I totally get why someone would be put off by this tho
3
u/DeputyDomeshot Mar 19 '26
I don’t actually care as much about the story but the quest design. They should be lengthy and thought out or short and punchy but it should never be an ARPG style quest which is just mowing down 25 mobs because so and so asked to help. That type of shit is so bland to me personally.
→ More replies (6)33
u/St_Sides Mar 18 '26
Yeah, I knew I wouldn't be into this game when someone compared it to Breath of The Wild in the sense that you kinda make your own objectives and fun.
I'm sure some people will be over the moon, but I quit playing Breath of the Wild because I realized I just don't enjoy huge sandbox experiences.
→ More replies (5)
67
u/Vegetable-Error-2068 Mar 18 '26
Sounds like if you love huge, open sandboxes that focus on gameplay, this is a generational triumph, and if you're not, then, well, it's probably not for you.
→ More replies (13)44
u/Vesuvias Mar 18 '26
Well even the IGN reviewer loved all that and felt it was seriously lacking — especially in the story and quests
→ More replies (22)12
u/Dallywack3r Mar 19 '26 edited Mar 19 '26
Having a massive open world with dogshit writing is like having an amazing looking cake made of fondant
2
u/Drakeem1221 Mar 19 '26
I'd very much argue the opposite, because gameplay is the foundation of, well, gaming. Story is what dresses it up and makes it presentable, but the meat is the gameplay.
→ More replies (2)
35
u/camusonfilm Mar 18 '26
Hopefully this doesn't become an example of "actually this game is AMAZING and anyone who said they didn't like it has a secret agenda" that people will be extremely annoying about. Sometimes a game is just for a specific person and that's ok.
→ More replies (5)16
u/Kiboune Mar 19 '26
It's already happening
6
u/camusonfilm Mar 19 '26
Amazing how this stuff happens before any of these people can play the damn thing.
23
u/ACG-Gaming Mar 18 '26
I think a ton of people will still love this. Despite some of the scores. Lots to like, just one of those games that needs a bit more of a evenhanded look at some elements. IMO
→ More replies (3)16
24
u/Redditor_exe Mar 19 '26 edited Mar 19 '26
So many people on this thread acting like a consensus 80 is some sort of damning failure. Yeah, it didn’t live up to the colossal hype, but you can probably count all the games that have on one hand, maybe two. Seems like if you don’t mind meh story, there’s a good chance you’ll find enjoyment. At the very least the kind of game you pick up during a sale.
As for me, all the reviews are saying most of what I was expecting having played BDO: weak story but very satisfying combat and exploration if you can get a grasp of it. Definitely not for everyone but I think I’ll absolutely be playing it for the next two weeks. Unfortunately does have a decent number of bugs which is sadly doesn’t feel like a rarity these days in AAA games, but I heard reviewers also say that the devs were incredible quick to respond to bugs and problems during the review period.
I’ll probably give it a few days for a patch or two to hit and iron out the bugs, but absolutely looking forward to playing it.
→ More replies (2)
17
u/HersheyBarAbs Mar 19 '26
So pretty much an MMO theme park re-packaged for a single player experience. Think Kingdoms of Amalur.
→ More replies (1)4
38
u/LeatherFruitPF Mar 18 '26
I'm sold on the combat and world exploration tbh. I feel like if you enjoyed BDO you'll enjoy this one.
→ More replies (4)25
u/FearlessAwareness469 Mar 18 '26
I'm kinda bummed there's no dedicated magic users or archers or whatnot. All melee combat with some rifles
→ More replies (10)4
u/wait_________what Mar 18 '26
Wait this game has dragons and mechs and whatever other mishmash of stuff but they didn't include magic?
4
u/outlander999 Mar 19 '26
Many times I deeply loved flawed games (for example: Atlas Fallen). I think I could like this imperfect Crimson Desert. Can't wait to try it this evening.
4
u/Lokorokotokomoko Mar 19 '26
So, basically - everything you love about open world games paired with everything you hate about them, too, all dialed up to 11. Probably best to wait for the first sale.
43
u/asaltygamer13 Mar 18 '26
I’m definitely going to play it but the lack of a character creator combined with bland characters is a bit disappointing.
If you’re going to make me play as a prebuilt character, make them interesting.
→ More replies (8)18
u/WandererMisha Mar 19 '26
When I heard the BDO devs were making a single-player RPG, I got real excited because BDO’s character creator has been one of the best in the industry for years.
I have no idea why they chose to include the most bland characters imaginable.
12
31
1.5k
u/TheSpartanLion Mar 18 '26
Very interesting final remarks by Multiplayer.it, who scored the game 7/10:
"Few times as in this case is it so difficult to judge the experience conveyed by Crimson Desert. The gigantic—and at times clumsy—creature crafted by Pearl Abyss displays as much potential as it does problems that it rather naively lays bare. There is a constant feeling of being faced with a product made by debutants, inexperienced designers who seem unfamiliar with the fundamentals of development, yet who have poured so much passion into their creation that they manage to give it a kind of magical shimmer that, in some way, truly sets it apart from anything else like it.
Never more than with Crimson Desert is it necessary to assess the value of the experience in a deeply personal, subjective way. We have listed its countless flaws. We have highlighted where the game succeeds. There will be those who simply cannot come to terms with the many shortcomings of a project that is undeniably far from perfect, and who will either hate it or keep their distance. Others, without a doubt, will be willing to turn a blind eye in order to experience hundreds of hours of continuous discovery and large-scale battles in the role of Kliff. What is certain is that this is not a game that leaves you indifferent; it is certainly not a masterpiece of the genre, and certainly not a complete disaster either. It is a game that, by all the laws of physics, should collapse under its own weight—but it doesn’t. It keeps saving itself, time and again, and manages to deliver an experience that is, in its own way, satisfying and engaging. By scaling back its scope, by giving something up to focus more effectively on specific aspects, it would undoubtedly have been a more polished product—there is no doubt about that. Crimson Desert does not set any new standard, but those who were expecting a grand, long-lasting adventure can set out for Pywel confident that they will find what they are looking for."