Platform(s): PC (version reviewed), PS5, Xbox Series
Genre: Role-Playing Game, Open World, Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

I’ll have to say, Pearl Abyss’ magnum opus single-player fantasy-esque role-playing game Crimson Desert has arguably the worst onboarding process for any game I’ve played in a while. Story missions that just feel like it’s cobbled up at the last minute, numerous mechanics not explained properly, your main character Kliff controlling like a Red Dead Redemption/Grand Theft Auto 5 character in the worst way possible, and combat that can feel a tad overwhelming at first. It’s not the friendliest and most accommodating game for sure.

But after a few hours, the gameplay and mechanics just click. It was probably around Chapter 3 which is 5 to 6 hours in, but as soon as I found out that I had access to double jumps, palm strikes, and wrestling moves, as well as no restriction to explore the world further than the starting town and base camp which you’ll eventually have to grow, it’s apparent that Pearl Abyss’ efforts were meant to be taken very, VERY slowly.

Crimson Abyss is the worst game to review and to blaze through under tight schedules and deadlines. But it is one of the best titles around if you have loads of time to spare and to dick around.

Scarlet Spread

Crimson Desert’s plot is about main character Kliff’s quest in getting his Greymanes tribe back together and finding the evil Black Bears tribe who wrecked his group in the starting cutscenes. While it’s an easy plot to get behind (like with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s “kill Ganon” objective), it gets bogged down with so much unnecessary filler and strange detours, like with the Abyss, witches, and a bunch of other magic nonsense that may or may not be from the company’s MMO Black Desert. In some twisted way, it is kinda similar to the narrative bulls*** in the recent open-world Zelda games (ie the flashbacks), but cranked to eleven here. It’s like as if the game’s entire plot was thought up within a week or two before it went gold master.

Thankfully that isn’t the case with the rest of the game. The world of Pywel is divided into different countries, ranging from your standard dense forests and taigas-slash countryside kingdoms to the titular Crimson Desert, to even snowy mountains and fiery lava-laden spots. There are dozens of cities and settlements to help out, or even rob blind as there’s a criminal system in place. Loads of bandits and rival armies have encampments and strongholds peppered throughout your journey, ripe for ass-kicking. There are sky mazes and magic runes up in the sky that needs unlocking, where you have to use your magic grappling hook to either launch yourself upwards, or just activate them either with the tether or by carrying the floating battery blocks littered throughout the general puzzle area.

As you level up, you gain Abyss cubes that act as skill points; you can either bolster your health, stamina, and spirit (for mystic moves and Force punches), or gain new skills and spells. If you want to take a break from combat, you can do some fishing, hunting on horseback, mining, lumbering, or even arm-wrestling for money. Or you can just go out exploring and uncovering the vast map with its own secrets, ruins, treasure, and fast travel pads.

With all this breadth of activities and quests to do, I do wish some aspects of the game can be improved. You get to use different party members like Oongka and Damiene, each with their own fighting styles. However, they can only be selected at certain times past certain main story bits, so they’re not as easily accessible. The game’s user interface could be a little easier on the eyes and less busy. Some boss fights and puzzles do need a bit of explanation as you can end up getting stumped without so much as a small hint to push you forward. I’m not asking for hand-holding, but a small text blurb for a fight with new mechanics would be incredibly helpful without being condescending.

The fact that Kliff controls poorly, even with movement boosts and better weaponry, does mean you will have to get used to his weight and whatnot when planning to fight. But once you do, dodging, evading, and countering becomes a breeze. I managed to get a couple of weapons and swap out Abyss cores so that Kliff shoots raven projectiles and satellite space orbs when doing heavy sword slashes when dual wielding. Defense be damned; you can choose to play Kliff how you want to, whether with a sword-and-shield combo or just a flame-imbued spear with some tricks up its sleeve.

Red Dead, No Redemption

Crimson Desert is a beast of a role-playing game. Part fun, part frustration, but uniquely all its own and incredibly ambitious in its design and structure. Its world and beauty, as well as its adventuring prospects, can be enticing and eventually sink its hooks into you. Simultaneously, it also can drive you nuts with its user interface, controls and responsiveness, along with its obtuse puzzles that do require hints or so. This is especially the ones leading you to boss fights where failure and restarting means getting sent back to bumf*** areas of backtracking.

As someone who loves role-playing games from the West and East, this figurative (and literal in the second half) desert can really exhaust you for all its worth if you’re not patient with it. There is still a good amount of fun to be had here -30 hours minimum- but with a lot more work and fair play in some of its design, it has the potential to get better.

As of now, Crimson Desert is still a work-in-progress role-playing experience that still entices if you can tolerate some of its quirks. At the very least, it’s still an ambitious game that somehow got me hooked still even after writing up this review just because of its rewards, secrets, activities, and wanderlust-sating. My advice is not to blaze through it like most reviewers did when they got their early copies; just do whatever sidequests and exploring you fancy before tackling the main quests. You’ll get more out of it that way, nonsensical plot be damned.

I think of Crimson Desert as an unrefined-but-still-promising The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild successor, but with a lot more Rockstar-design-level shenanigans in play. You have to give Pearl Abyss huge credit for somewhat succeeding in that action-adventure role-playing game design front, as well as listening to the community while implementing important changes for its long-term health. Crimson Desert’s going places, but for now it’s in quite a half-baked-but-still-entertaining state.

Pros

• Amazing open-world gameplay and landscapes with lots to do.
• Fun combat that gets better with upgrades.
• Main character is fully customizable gear and abilities-wise.
• Loads of activities and sidequests with its own rewards.
• Fun – if absurdly challenging- boss fights.

Cons

• Nonsensical story with stock protagonists.
• Companions feel wasted.
• First few onboarding hours are badly structured.
• Main character default movement feels too weighty & unwieldy.

Final Score: 70/100

Review copy provided by publisher.