Crimson Desert review in progress

Crimson Desert is a highly anticipated game set to release in 2026. It boasts a massive open world and has the potential to be truly innovative, but the big question is: will it actually deliver on its promises?

This game is created by Pearl Abyss, the South Korean team behind the popular online game, Black Desert Online. However, unlike Black Desert, this is a standalone, single-player experience set in an open world with action-packed gameplay.

Crimson Desert is a massive game, so this review is still in progress after a lot of playtime. We’re sharing our impressions now, but we’ll keep playing and experiencing the story to give a final score later.

Crimson Desert screenshots

camp in crimson desert

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What is Crimson Desert about?

Crimson Desert is set in Pywel, a huge medieval fantasy continent split into five distinct regions.

You take on the role of Kliff, a tough and charismatic member of the Greymane clan. The game begins with a devastating attack by their enemies, the Black Bears, leaving many Greymanes dead and the survivors scattered and forced to flee.

After the battle, Kliff is brought back to life with newfound magical powers. He uses these powers to rebuild his clan and get revenge. While you’ll meet other characters you can control, you can only use them to explore and complete optional side quests. The main story must be played as Kliff.

The developers are careful to call this game an “open-world action-adventure” rather than an RPG. But it definitely includes many features commonly found in RPGs, like skill trees, freedom to play how you want, extensive character customization, a massive open world, and plenty of side quests.

Ultimately, the question is whether this is a good use of your money and time. It is, but there are some significant drawbacks to be aware of.

Incredible open world

The open world has been the main selling point, and Pearl Abyss delivered.

Simply put, it’s incredible. The game is huge in scope and beautifully realized, feeling like a blend of Breath of the Wild and The Witcher. Both the wild landscapes and lively cities are filled with impressive detail, showing a clear dedication to quality.

If you’re looking for a massive medieval world to really lose yourself in, this is it. I’ve already spent a ton of time on the main story and a bunch of side quests, but honestly, it feels like I’ve barely begun to explore everything it has to offer!

You’ll start your journey in two distinct areas: Hernand, which evokes the landscapes of Scandinavia with its mountains and rivers, and Demeniss, a powerful region reminiscent of medieval France. Both are packed with things to do – from side quests and hunting to clearing out bandit camps and completing bounties – offering a consistently engaging experience.

The game’s expansive world is beautifully enhanced by its music, which takes clear inspiration from the soundtrack of The Witcher 3. Whether it’s gentle melodies during quiet moments or powerful drumming in combat, the music always fits the scene perfectly and makes it even better.

You can visit other areas before starting the main story, but it’s generally not a good idea. All the guards will attack you, which makes exploring those regions unproductive.

The game has a lot of items to discover, but initially, you can’t store them – if you don’t use them right away, you’ll lose them. This feels more inconvenient than it sounds, as you’re forced to carry unique items because you don’t want to discard them. However, the developers have announced that a future update will allow you to store items in your housing.

Battles are quick, smooth, and really enjoyable when fighting standard enemies. You can perform complex combos and special moves, but it’s not required – you can just use a powerful weapon to defeat them if you prefer.

After playing for around 30 hours, I haven’t been able to do any of the really cool things the game promises, like flying dragons or using special powers to swing around. It still feels like I’m just getting started.

The pacing is slow, but it doesn’t feel it when exploring the open world. The main story, however…

Main story highlights the issues

While exploring the open world of Crimson Desert is really fun, the main story isn’t as captivating. I didn’t feel much motivation to continue with it beyond wanting to unlock new areas.

The most engaging and enjoyable part of the game is definitely rebuilding and growing the Greymane clan and their camp. It’s truly the core of the experience.

The story hasn’t been very engaging so far. It feels more like a tutorial for learning the game’s systems and unlocking new content than a compelling narrative. The game is also quite challenging, and the lack of clear instructions makes progress slow and frustrating.

The bosses are the game’s biggest flaw. They’re incredibly difficult, reminiscent of FromSoftware games, but lack the clever design that makes those challenges feel fair and rewarding.

These enemies are incredibly aggressive, constantly attacking and trapping you in inescapable combos. Blocking or dodging feels useless, as you’ll still get hit. As a longtime fan of FromSoftware games, I’ve rarely been so frustrated with a single-player experience – and that includes overcoming the notoriously difficult Consort Radahn before it was weakened.

Your best chance of winning relies on spending a lot of time preparing food to heal yourself during the battle. But it’s frustrating when how well you do depends more on cooking than actual fighting.

The game also features puzzles that are challenging and often unclear. They offer very little guidance, which can be frustrating. While it’s nice when a game respects your intelligence, you’ll frequently find yourself trying to figure out what the game actually wants you to do.

This issue goes beyond just the puzzles themselves. Explaining how the game works is often difficult, as instructions are hidden within complicated menus. Sometimes, you’re simply left confused and unsure of what to do.

The game’s controls are frustrating. Many puzzles and tasks require careful climbing and alignment, which can be really annoying. Plus, the camera often moves on its own, making challenging boss battles even more difficult.

Performance is great on PC, at least

Before the game launched, many people were worried about how well it would run. I tested it on a PC with a 3070ti graphics card, a Ryzen 5600x processor, and 16GB of RAM – which meets the game’s recommended specs – and it performed very well. With most settings turned up to Ultra or High and DLSS turned on at 1440p resolution, I consistently got around 70 frames per second, making for a smooth experience.

I’m playing on PC, and honestly, it runs really smoothly – super well optimized, it seems. The biggest issue I’ve had so far was a bug where I couldn’t talk to anyone in the game, and I had to restart to fix it. I can’t say anything about how it runs on consoles though.

Early verdict

Crimson Desert offers a stunning open-world experience, but it’s let down by a weak story and some truly annoying challenges – the bosses, puzzles, and controls can be really frustrating.

People who like solving puzzles and chatting with others online will really enjoy this, but it might frustrate those who just want to relax.

Even with its flaws, the game’s impressive world, visuals, combat, and wealth of quality content make it easy to recommend.

The game is currently enjoyable and shows promise, but it could be truly excellent if the boss battles and puzzles were easier to manage. That would let players spend more time exploring and appreciating the open world.

2026-03-19 01:21