Hype is a word that gets thrown around a lot these days, despite the fact that there are so many earth-shatteringly good games coming thick and fast, that there’s simply no room for hype in most cases.
Excitement builds in an instant, then before you know it, the next big game of the moment comes to steal the spotlight. However, occasionally you witness a generational release. Something that cuts through the noise to steal all the plaudits. That’s what everyone has been hoping Crimson Desert can be.
By now, we have seen enough snippets of this game to know it’s a looker. Plus, i’ve had the privilege of sitting down to play this one through various stages of its development. So, I already know more than most that this game isn’t a case of ‘too good to be true’.
It’s delivers on just about every promise. It’s as big as everyone says, and it’s a game that hopes to take the open world genre by storm. A feat that, despite some healthy scepticism on my part, I can now see, it just might pull off.
Potato PCs, Rejoice!
As the saying goes. How do you eat an elephant? In small bites. Let’s start with the obvious, and then work our way in to the more complex nougaty center.
Crimson Desert is one of, if not the most outstandingly gorgeous game in existence, at least from the perspective of games that lean into true-to-life graphic realism. I’ve become a little disenchanted with the usual Unreal Engine 5 sheen that a lot of modern games boast these days. However, Crimson Desert is a shining example of what a developer is capable of when they build their own engine, as the BlackSpace engine is clearly something in the league of its own.
The draw distance rendering the landscape in crisp detail as far as the eye can see invites players to explore anywhere and everywhere. The glorious animations playing out in a smooth and slick fashion add to the grandeur of each encounter or otherworldly piece of magic, and every area, from a large town to a small encampment, is buzzing with life, making the world feel truly alive.
I’m very much of the opinion that graphics and presentation are nice, but whether the game is actually ‘a game’ matters most. So I have done my best to separate the eye candy from the actual playable product here.
The game is a technical marvel in more ways than one and is an accessible title that won’t have you buying a 5090 anytime soon. I can’t speak for everyone, but I think all those Denuvo DRM worries were a little premature.
However, because of the sheer scale of this project, and the attention to detail, I can’t help but marvel at what Pearl Abyss has created here. But most of all, I marvel at how they’ve optimized the hell out of this title.
For scope, I have a pretty mid-tier rig with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 powering things, and despite that, I was able to run the game very comfortably on Ultra settings. I’ll grant that there was occasional stuttering in built-up areas, and cut-scenes ran a little choppy.
As well as the caveat that I needed to drop things down to the lowest of the low for most boss fights, as my 60fps left the chat. But all in all, I was astounded by how well this game ran on my humble PC.
The game is a technical marvel in more ways than one and is an accessible title that won’t have you buying a 5090 anytime soon. I can’t speak for everyone, but I think all those Denuvo DRM worries were a little premature.
Bigger Is Better
If there was one word that I would use to describe Crimson Desert, it would be excessive. In a lot of ways, this could be seen as a negative, and I assure you, I’ll get to that. But what cannot be denied is that this game’s ambition is commendable, and the execution, while far from perfect, is still staggeringly impressive.
If you are someone who really likes to get bang for your buck and loves open-world games. Crimson Desert is honestly so jam-packed with content and detail that you could easily not buy another game all year and still be very satisfied roaming Pywel for the remainder of 2026.
I played this game for upwards of 50 hours. Something that I rarely have to do for any review, because credits tend to roll long before that. But even with this time invested, I feel like I’ve only barely managed to garner a fair verdict on whether Crimson Desert is truly a good game. Simply because the sheer scope of the project is like nothing I’ve ever witnessed.
You could easily spend tens of hours in this unique fantasy epic, never once pushing beyond the starting area of Hernand, and you’d still be able to stay very busy. Purely because this game isn’t an RPG checklist, nor is it a linear narrative-driven adventure. This is a world built to immerse the player, and truly allows them to do whatever their heart desires.
If you are someone who really likes to get bang for your buck, and loves open-world games. Crimson Desert is honestly so jam-packed with content and detail that you could easily not buy another game all year and still be very satisfied roaming Pywel for the remainder of 2026.
Whether that’s solving cerebral environmental puzzles in the open-world, collecting bounties for the local guard, becoming a master thief, or managing your camp of Greymane buddies. Crimson Desert provides, allowing you to carve out the experience you want.
Sure, there’s a skill tree, and there’s a gradual improvement in player stats and competence as you go. But honestly, a lot of that player growth feels tied to knowledge and understanding of the world rather than anything else, which is rather refreshing.
The open-world design is the one aspect of the game where the excess of detail feels worthwhile and awe-inspiring without feeling overwhelming. It boasts the biggest map I’ve ever roamed in gaming, an exhaustive compendium of flora and fauna to find out in the wild, and more odd jobs to assign you than Preston Garvey. But all this adds to this unique open-world experience without feeling like bloat.
A Little Bit Of Everything
Not to sound like a broken record, but because of the sheer scope of the project, Crimson Desert, in my eyes, is a completely unique entity in gaming and an experience that everyone should try. However, in a lot of ways, it’s not all that unique, as it borrows from a lot of open-world big hitters, playing the hits to appeal to the masses.
In terms of the game’s overall open-world fantasy feel, its interface, and, to an extent, its combat. Things feel rather similar to The Witcher series, making everything feel like stepping into the shoes of Geralt, only with a much more lame name. Honestly, who thought Kliff was a good idea?
Then, in terms of the world’s sandbox feel, with an abundance of mini-games, detailed wildlife systems, and quest encounters that feel natural moments of circumstance. Not to mention the game’s Howling Hills camp setup. It’s very clear that these aspects are very Red Dead Redemption coded.
But the familiarity doesn’t stop there: you have a scan system that lets you learn skills and knowledge in real time, akin to Where Winds Meet. You have a Skyward Abyss world above the traditional map and experimental mechanics akin to Tears of the Kingdom. Plus, you have the ability to clear camps and conquer the map like games such as Ghost of Tsushima, Far Cry, and various other open-world titles.
In short, Crimson Desert sure does have a lot of its own ideas. But many of the best features are ones we have seen before. But they don’t feel derivative. They feel like unique tweaks and homages to the genre’s former titans. In truth, it’s a relief that these familiar, comforting mechanics were present. Without them, Crimson Desert would perhaps be too obtuse and frustrating to handle for tenured open-world adventurers.
Learning To Game Again
While a lot of those on the outside looking in are keen to put Crimson Desert in the same box as The Witcher, RDR2, and Tears of the Kingdom, as I have, admittedly. You could just as easily put this game in the same bracket as games like Morrowind or Gothic. Games that respect the players’ intelligence and refuse to hold their hand.
However, unlike those games where this creates a truly immersive and rewarding feeling more often than not, Crimson Desert gets in its own way a lot. Often creating unnecessary roadblocks that serve as jumping off points for less patient and persistent players.
You could just as easily put this game in the same bracket as games like Morrowind or Gothic. Games that respect the players’ intelligence and refuse to hold their hand.
You see, a lot of the time when you’re trying to make sense of Crimson Desert’s mechanics and systems, it’s not about trial and error or reading between the lines. Simply because the game doesn’t tutorialize much content and leaves you in the dark.
One of the best examples was when my horse became exhausted through overuse. A mechanic that was never explained, which left my horse only able to trot slowly. Yet many missions require you to follow an NPC on horseback. Which, as you can imagine, led to some comical sprinting alongside NPC mounts at best, and some massively elongated quests at worst.
Literal hours of working around this and procrastination followed, only for me to stumble across a stables where you could buy horse feed, which you would then need to access in your menu, and physically drop in front of the horse for them to eat. This is just a small example of the excessive and borderline cryptic nature of Crimson Desert that will grind your gears.
I’ve played thousands of games at this point in my life, and you get a knack for working out mechanics and systems through experience, to the point that it’s almost automatic. Crimson Desert is the first game that made me feel I needed to relearn how to game in many respects. In the early stages, this was a chore, but with time, it became a labor of love that paid off.
I would go as far as to say that the first 15-20 hours of this game simply will not be enjoyable for most players. As it all feels like a very disjointed and obtuse tutorial. It’s a slow burn, and one that you’ll need to ignite yourself by rubbing sticks together furiously. But those that do persist will be rewarded with a game built around innumerable systems that really shine when you know how they work.
An MMO-kay Story
I’ll be honest, I know as much about Black Desert as I do about quantum physics. I am aware of its existence and nothing more. However, that was enough for me to immediately connect the dots and establish why I adored the world of Crimson Desert but loathed the content within it.
It’s well documented that Crimson Desert was an MMO that was pivoted into a single-player experience, and it really shows. Quests often feel like busy work, NPCs feel shallow, and story beats feel like disjointed happenstance to lazily push the player forward or teach a mechanic in an obtuse manner.
But, if this were an MMO, it’s not something I would excuse even then, as MMOs these days tend to have some incredible core storylines, even if the quests within are a little threadbare. You need only look to the likes of Final Fantasy XIV for proof of that.
But, by contrast, Crimson Desert can’t even hit the mark with the core narrative, as it feels nonsensical, overly convenient, and, to put it plainly, forgettable.
Which means that any cinematic moments or action-packed encounters fall rather flat, as there aren’t stakes, there’s no real emotional investment, and ultimately, you’re just trying to get from one quest to the next so you can get back to exploring some more.
It ultimately makes my mind wander back to The Witcher once again, because the similarities are clear as day. But one thing that Geralt’s story has that Crimson Desert doesn’t is substance and nuance. Quests felt intentional and well-written, and players had choices to make. Whereas Crimson Desert’s quest content just feels like a way to frame the sandbox world they take place in.
I’ll stand by the opinion that the world itself is so jaw-dropping that it shoulders the burden of the lackluster story and is worth the price of admission alone. But it would have been nice to see a more joined-up, interesting, and substantial story to match the quality of the world on offer.
"Crimson Desert isn't a perfect game. It's not a game for everyone, and it's got as many good ideas as it does poorly implemented ones. However, what cannot be denied is that this game is a generational game and an open-world experience like no other. It's visually outstanding, mechanically dense, and immersive beyond compare. Yet, it's also one of the most laborious games to get to grips with in recent memory, meaning a lot of players may bounce off this title. However, what I would say is 'stick with it'. As Crimson Desert is a game that doesn't respect your time, but certainly deserves it."
Pros
- Staggeringly beautiful Visuals
- An Enormous, detailed open-world
- Oodles of content
- Mechanically dense & chock full of unique ideas
Cons
- Frustratingly obtuse
- Performance issues occasionally detract from overall experience
- Core narrative is dull and forgettable
