If there was one title widely tipped as a Game of the Year contender, Crimson Desert was near the top of that list. Pearl Abyss’ ambitious open-world RPG built enormous hype in the lead-up to release, and it’s easy to see why. Every trailer seemed to introduce another standout feature—rideable dragons, jetpacks, floating sky islands—all wrapped in a vast, visually striking world.
Even once you’re in-game, that sense of discovery remains. But after more than 70 hours in Pywel, I can’t help but feel slightly disappointed.
Crimson Desert is a game overflowing with ideas, but many of them feel unnecessary or underdeveloped. Systems pile on top of one another without a clear purpose, and that lack of cohesion often undermines the experience, especially when core elements like combat and controls can feel awkward at best.
A World Worth Saving, But A Story That Isn’t
For a game of this scale, the premise is surprisingly straightforward. You play as Kliff, a member of the Greymanes, whose faction is torn apart by a rival group known as the Black Bears. Left for dead, Kliff awakens in the Abyss—a series of mysterious floating islands—and is drawn into a larger threat facing the continent of Pywel.
Along the way, he gains supernatural abilities through Spirit powers, letting him glide through the air or manipulate objects in ways reminiscent of Tears of the Kingdom’s Ultrahand ability. With a second chance at life, Kliff sets out to rebuild the Greymanes and restore order.
Unfortunately, that journey unfolds through a largely forgettable narrative.
Kliff himself is a bit of an issue. He’s not offensively written, but he rarely does anything memorable. Blank slate protagonists can work in player-driven stories, but Crimson Desert tells a fairly fixed narrative, leaving Kliff feeling more like a passive observer than a compelling lead. He’s just your generic ‘good guy,’ which makes the crime and bounty system another confusing inclusion, given his obvious morality.
The supporting cast doesn’t do much to elevate things either. Much of the story revolves around reconnecting with lost members of the Greymanes, yet the game gives you little reason to care about them. Characters like Yann, the group’s loudmouthed fighter, quickly become grating—not because they’re intentionally abrasive, but because they lack depth.
That extends to its quest design. Many objectives boil down to familiar menial tasks: Follow an NPC, retrieve an item, defeat a group of enemies. There’s variety on paper, with eavesdropping segments, dialogue choices, and other mechanics, but they often feel clunky and unintuitive, as though they were included for the sake of diversity rather than meaningful engagement.
Side quests fare little better. While I’ve only scratched the surface of such an expansive title, even in 70 hours of gameplay, what I experienced was underwhelming, especially given how much they need to compensate for the weak campaign.
In the end, I often found myself pushing through the story simply to reach new areas, because the world itself is easily Crimson Desert’s greatest strength.
Brave New World
From the open plains of Hernand to the forests of Pailune, the bustling city of Demeniss, and the harsh Crimson Desert itself, Pywel is packed with variety.
More importantly, it feels believable.
The world is thoughtfully constructed, with natural transitions between environments and a huge, diverse roster of wildlife inhabiting nearly every corner. It doesn’t just look impressive; it feels grounded, and it might be one of the most jaw-droppingly immersive open worlds I’ve ever played.
On PC with Ultra settings, performance was largely stable, aside from a single crash and a few minor stutters, but it was worth it for the visuals. Simply put, Crimson Desert is stunning. The draw distance is exceptional, allowing you to spot landmarks from vast distances, reinforcing the sense of scale. Despite its size, the map rarely feels bloated, and travelling between regions feels natural.
Lighting is another standout. Lanterns cast warm glows across dark paths, candles illuminate interiors with subtle detail, and cities feel alive thanks to dense NPC populations. While many NPCs exist more for atmosphere than complex behaviour, they successfully bring the world of Pywel to life.
Exploration is where Crimson Desert truly shines, though. The map avoids overwhelming you with icons, instead highlighting only key locations and leaving the rest to be discovered organically. Perhaps most importantly, though, these discoveries consistently feel rewarding. Environmental puzzles are frequent, and completing them yields meaningful rewards, from Abyss Shards that enhance your skill tree to unique gear with useful stat bonuses.
Crimson Desert rarely holds your hand, either. While tutorials introduce mechanics, the finer details are left for you to figure out. At times, this leads to satisfying moments of experimentation and discovery.
However, that design choice can also be a cause of frustration. Important information is often buried in menus, making it difficult to revisit mechanics when needed. There’s a fine line between encouraging discovery and overwhelming players, and Crimson Desert occasionally crosses it.
So Many Moves & Not Enough Buttons
That same sense of excess carries over into the game’s mechanics.
Despite playing on PC, Crimson Desert clearly encourages controller use, so I opted for a PlayStation DualSense. As you unlock more abilities, though, the control scheme becomes increasingly cluttered.
Multiple actions are mapped to the same inputs, often leading to confusion. Nature’s Grasp, for example, uses Triangle and Circle to lift objects, but those same inputs can trigger a tackle. Square is even more overloaded, handling jumping, double jumping, gliding, item interaction, and more!
As a result, the game frequently misreads your intent. In a title so heavily focused on combat and traversal, that lack of precision is a major issue.
It’s particularly frustrating because the combat system shows real promise. When everything clicks, it feels fantastic. Large encounters allow you to chain together a wide range of abilities, creating fluid, dynamic sequences. The animations are excellent, and the sheer variety of moves makes combat feel stylish and expressive.
But those highs are often undermined.
Ranged enemies can constantly chip away at your health, and your own ranged attacks, at least the basic ones, feel incredibly underpowered. You’ll be forced to rely on consumable food items for healing; while functional, this system often becomes tedious, with much of my currency going toward maintaining a steady supply. Running out leaves you dangerously vulnerable, and crafting food can feel like a chore when all I want to do is be in the action.
Boss fights are a mixed bag. On one hand, they’re visually impressive and mechanically varied—you’ll face everything from giant apes in cathedrals to mining suits and heavily armed enemies. Learning patterns and identifying openings can be satisfying, and unique mechanics like wrestling moves add bundles of flair.
On the other hand, many encounters feel frustratingly unfair. Unlike games like Dark Souls, where difficulty feels tied to player skill, Crimson Desert’s challenge can feel inconsistent. Some attacks are extremely difficult to avoid, and even successful dodges can result in unavoidable damage.
This is especially apparent in later fights, such as a lightning-powered boss capable of stunlocking you before delivering near-instant kills. Combined with dodging and parrying that feels incredibly unreliable, these moments can quickly become discouraging. The absence of difficulty options only amplifies the issue, making it harder for players to tailor the experience to their preferences.
To be clear, this isn’t about difficulty itself. Challenging games can be incredibly rewarding, but Crimson Desert’s combat often lacks the balance needed to make that challenge feel fair. When it works, you feel unstoppable—but too often, it tips into frustration.
Crimson Desert Verdict
Crimson Desert is a game of extremes.
At its best, it offers a breathtaking world filled with meaningful exploration, impressive scale, and moments of genuinely thrilling combat. Pywel is one of the most believable open worlds in recent memory, and simply existing within it can be a joy.
But that brilliance is weighed down by an overabundance of unfocused systems, a weak narrative, and combat that struggles to maintain consistency. Too often, the game prioritises scale over cohesion, resulting in an experience that feels cluttered rather than refined.
Even so, I’ll likely keep playing—not for the story or the systems, but for the world itself. And in the end, that says everything about both what Crimson Desert gets right and where it falls short.
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