This is not the RPG you expected. Crimson Desert abandons the key elements of the genre, going for original solutions

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Crimson Desert, the upcoming game from the team behind Black Desert Online, is generating a lot of excitement. It appears incredibly ambitious based on what we’ve seen in gameplay videos, but we’ll need to play it when it releases in early 2026 to get a true sense of its quality.

Our marketing campaign is now underway, and we’ve received the first of three promotional materials designed to highlight the game’s features and its world.

Details about Crimson Desert

While often called an RPG, Crimson Desert is actually an action game that includes some RPG features, like character progression, but lacks traditional elements like dialogue choices. Players will control Kliff, a member of the Graymane tasked with protecting others, but he won’t be the only character you can play. The game will also feature two additional characters, each with distinct combat styles, abilities, and weapons.

The game is set on the continent of Pywel, which features five distinct regions. The developers say the game world is twice as large as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Players can explore floating islands in the sky and even manipulate objects, similar to what’s seen in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

In Pywel, many quests will involve choosing sides with different factions. These missions will range from simple tasks, like helping townspeople with everyday problems, to large-scale operations like retaking enemy fortresses. Combat will be dynamic, with options like climbing onto larger enemies or using the environment – for example, conducting electricity with water.

Other revealed features include:

  1. NPCs interact with each other and comment on the character’s actions, and cities are designed to feel very lively;
  2. the game will offer the ability to ride dragons, bears, and even robots;
  3. players can buy and live in their own house;
  4. a crime system is implemented – guards will chase us if we commit a crime;
  5. there is no romance system;
  6. the game includes survival elements like gathering wood or stone. The interface also displays the ambient temperature, which may be significant during exploration.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=-59893

Is Crimson Desert trying to “achieve too much”?

Pearl Abyss recently announced that Crimson Desert is finished with content development and ready for release – it’s reached ‘gold status.’ They also confirmed the game is now being fine-tuned for performance and will include special improvements for the upcoming PS5 Pro console.

We’re currently fine-tuning the game for performance. Because PCs and consoles have different capabilities, some settings may vary between platforms, but we’ll confirm those details before release. We are also enhancing the game for the PlayStation 5 Pro, and we’ll share more specific information about those improvements soon.

Some players have already gotten a chance to try out Crimson Desert. One of them, Genki, shared that the game seems to be trying to do too much, calling it very ambitious. He also noted that the controls are quite complicated, making even basic actions require complex button presses.

We’ll find out how the game plays once it’s released. Crimson Desert is coming to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S on March 19th.

  1. After spending an hour with Crimson Desert, I don’t know what it wants to be, but the current form has problems

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2026-01-30 14:33