Crimson Desert, developed and published by Pearl Abyss, is available now on PlayStation 5, PC and Xbox Series X/S.
Crimson Desert has been one of the most divisive games in review history, with critics and players giving their final opinions on the game. From positive opinions about the content, lots of freedom, and fantastic puzzles and combat, to the negatives: a story that doesn’t quite come together, bad controls, and a difficult learning curve. The question is, though, what do we think of Crimson Desert overall?
You are Kliff, the leader of the Graymanes. Due to the Bear Clan launching a murderous rampage, your clan has scattered, and you have been left for dead. Moment by moment, you’ll start rebuilding the clan, gathering strength and getting revenge on those responsible. However, as it is with all stories, many twists and turns happen to Kliff along the way. The storyline, I will throw it out there and be honest, it’s nothing memorable. Sure, it has its moments, and some parts do get interesting, but it often falls flat. You aren’t getting The Witcher 3 or Red Dead Redemption 2 level storyline here. I don’t think it’s the worst story out there, though; it’s just very disjointed in places.
While the main story isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, the world-building, lore and sidequests are where it shines. The world of Pywell is absolutely bustling with life. Crimson Desert shines in its exploration; the world feels alive and endless, and even with the hours I’ve put in, there is so much more to discover. I haven’t played an RPG like this in a while; it is unbelievably rewarding. I decided to journey to the ocean to see how it looked and discovered pirates. These pirates had obviously been plundering somewhere, so I did what anyone would do took their treasure and gained the fanciest of pirate hats. Pearl Abyss have nailed storytelling in the environment around you. I guess it’s just a shame that the main storyline doesn’t hold up as well.
In Crimson Desert, the world is full of things to do, and when I say full, I don’t think I’ve even discovered half of the activities yet. I can just imagine Pearl Abyss in a board meeting now: “So what do we want Crimson Desert to be? What shall we put in Crimson Desert? “Everything!” It feels like that; it is the biggest single-player RPG I have ever played. I had heard that originally it was supposed to be an MMO, and you can see that, but it doesn’t ruin the experience; it just enhances it for me. The world is huge, you’ll end up staying in the starter area for hours, it never gets old, never gets boring, it’s just fantastic. With over 100 factions, 400 animals, and so much more to search for, it feels endless. Some may think it’s a bad thing, but I think, with the number of hours I’ve put in, still finding new things is just incredible, and I hope Crimson Desert is one of those titles where people are still finding its secrets for years. In my eyes, while the story isn’t comparable to the big hitters out there, the gameplay is. The only way I can describe it is a bit of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Witcher 3 and Red Dead Redemption 2. The puzzles are where it gets a little difficult for me. I think the confusion comes from the lack of guidance. It’s about experimenting and exploring, which is great, but for those who struggle with puzzles, it’s tough. I did use a walkthrough for most of the Abyss Puzzles because, sadly, with brain fog, it’s not easy to do. I think it could use some optional guidance.
The controls are where I struggled most, at first trying to learn it on a controller was pretty brutal, and movement was sluggish. Since the patches, these have been improved each time; controls are more intuitive, and movement is more responsive. Pearl Abyss are doing incredibly well with the patching, but I still feel the controls are quite a lot to master. It isn’t impossible to learn, just hard, but once you do get the hang of it, you can pull off some incredible moves. The combat is incredibly deep; there are so many moves to learn, it’s all so punchy and reactive. I loved every second of the combat. I ended up in a quarry full of enemies. There must have been over 100 at least. I was just shredding them all down, even with the starter moves. As you gain skill points by finding the abyss cubes, you’ll start learning a ton of different combat styles, from unarmed WWE-like wrestling moves, which are amazing to use, to master sword play. I’d even say the combat here is better than some of the top titles out there. I cannot get enough. Enemy balancing, for the most part, is a lot better since launch; each faction has unique ways of trying to kill you, despite there being over 100 of them. However, bosses still feel a little overpowered. Some might enjoy the challenge, and I didn’t struggle too much. Patches have been released to tame them a little, but still, some can be quite the beast. Balancing is all being sorted steadily with updates.
Crimson Desert is stunning to explore, it looks fantastic, and funnily enough, I thought I’d get some form of hiccups from a game being this scale, but no, it ran well, even at launch. There is a huge amount of diversity in the settings and biomes, none of it ever gets samey. If anything, a ton of hours in each area, I just stop and take it in. I am in awe of how incredibly diverse it all is. In each biome, there seem to be huge cultural differences; the first area Hernand feels like a common fantasy area, not too much magic going on, but then you get to the desert area, where technology has advanced and other areas where other mechanics are more sought out by its denizens. It all feels alive.
The music in Crimson Desert fits its theme; it is stunning to listen to, and they’ve done a damn good job. It all fits everything you’re doing, from going to town shopping for local goods to the combat. The voice acting is good; it all fits quite well within the theme of the game, especially when talking to all of the citizens, guards and clans. There are a lot of talking points, and anyone you run into will have things to say. Again, it adds to the immersion of the world being alive.
Verdict
Crimson Desert is simply one of the greatest RPGs I have played. Sure, there are a few negatives that need improving on, but it seems Pearl Abyss are hearing us and improving the things we are asking for. I feel like even after so much playtime, I have a lot to discover, explore and a lot to lose myself in. While the games’ launch and reviews have been quite divisive, Ive enjoyed every minute of it despite its flaws. If I could change anything, it would simply be that I think having a custom character as our main would have been better, and just have Kliff and the other characters as side ones you can switch to. While it is in my top 10, the reason for my score is simply that there are still areas that need addressing. Once patched and refined, it would be higher, and sadly, the story does lose some points.
If you have any opinions on the game, I’d love to hear them in the comments.
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