Our review as Pearl Abyss’ long-awaited ARPG has finally launched on the PS5, PC, and Xbox
Few games this year have received as much hype across social media and gaming communities as Crimson Desert. The action RPG developed by Black Desert’s developers, Pearl Abyss, promises a large, expansive world for players to explore alongside a gripping storyline.
A cry away from the MMORPG roots of Black Desert, Pearl Abyss’ latest title focuses on a single-player immersive experience. At the time of writing, I have spent roughly 8 hours playing the game on PC and feel I have spent enough time to give my first impressions of Crimson Desert.
When discussing anticipated discourse for Crimson Desert, one key concern among players is whether the game was promising too much and whether it could truly deliver such a vast array of content while still providing meaningful gameplay and immersion, being so-called ‘as wide as an ocean but as shallow as a puddle’. Once through the game’s introduction, which provided a very rudimentary summary of the fighting and movement mechanics (more on that later), the first thing that struck me was how beautifully Crimson Desert’s world was designed.
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It struck the same feeling as when you first get out of the sewers in Oblivion or step into Elden Ring’s Limgrave for the first time and are presented with this vast, beautiful open world that, barring a few exceptions, you’re basically free to explore. While Crimson Desert does present you with a main story to follow and enjoy, I’m one of those who are far too easily distracted by side quests and activities at first, which this game was more than happy to accommodate.
After only progressing around 20 minutes into the main quest, I was presented with a wide variety of things to take part in, including arm wrestling in an inn, mining for materials, and cooking a…fish porridge? And what open-world game is complete without, yes, a fishing minigame.
Considering this was the first area of the game, it felt to me that Crimson Desert was giving me the message that I don’t need to rush the main story and that there are meaningful rewards in taking time out to tackle side quests and activities. This is further emphasised by a mechanic that confused me at first, but is central to the game’s presentation -Knowledge.
Whether it’s a person you’ve just met on the cobbled streets, a shopkeeper and their inventory, an animal in the wild, or a type of ore in a mountain, Crimson Desert asks your character, and inadvertently the player, to learn about every little thing in this world, and I love it. While most massive open-world games practically require a wiki to understand various items and things, Crimson Desert is essentially tasking you with becoming your own wiki as you fill up your journal with a flurry of information that you have to obtain yourself.
How deep of an RPG is Crimson Desert really?
Let’s start with what I believe will be the biggest con for RPG fans who may be turned off by this game: the lack of character creation. Crimson Desert has decided to take the route of throwing you into the protagonist of Kliff instead of allowing you to create your own character.
While this isn’t a dealbreaker for me, it may disappoint many, especially those who have previously played Black Desert and likely spent hours on the character creation screen alone thanks to Pearl Abyss’ attention to detail in that department. Despite this, the game allows the player to take control of other playable allies, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.
A wide array of roleplaying is also still allowed through the role of Kliff – I was especially struck when I stumbled upon a dodgy shopkeeper who sold a black mask with the fine print stating that the mask ‘allows for crimes to be committed’. While this isn’t something I’ve explored yet, it does appear that I can skew Kliff’s moral compass ever-so slightly for financial gain.
Furthermore, the game still allows you to customise Kliff’s look with different armour options and a variety of hairstyles, available at barber shops. Armour and clothing can also be further customised with the option of dyes being made available.
What about the combat?
When you’re first introduced to the ‘sword and shield’ style of Crimson Desert’s combat, you’d be forgiven for thinking the same thing I did: ‘Is that it?’. Aside from a few button combinations, the initial feeling of Crimson Desert’s combat can feel quite simple: spam one button to attack and span another to block and dodge.
This isn’t helped by the somewhat simple tutorial the game places you in, throwing wave after wave of enemies without giving much of a chance to experiment or show off combos. However, the combat allows for much more versatility than it shows on the surface, with different weapon types being made available, allowing for different playstyles for different types of enemies and bosses.
The so-called skill tree also allows for different manoeuvres to be performed in combat, many of which are essential for certain enemies, as I discovered in a particularly difficult boss fight in the first few hours of the game.
Is Crimson Desert worth all the hype?
While I have only spent a handful of hours with Crimson Desert, it has left a lasting impression and while I have no doubt not covered everything in this summary, I can tell Crimson Desert still has plenty to offer and explore. With its wide variety of systems, enemies, bosses, and more I think Crimson Desert may be the perfect game for those looking for a vast open world to explore and be rewarded while doing so.
This review is based on an early review copy received prior to Crimson Desert’s official launch.
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