In all my years of being a gamer, I don’t think I’ve ever played a game that made me loathe it with every fibre of my being in one minute, then swing to potential Game of the Year candidate the next. Crimson Desert does that, frequently, and with so much gusto that I can’t even recommend it simply on the basis that I really don’t know who this game is going to appeal to at any given moment. It’s an amalgamation of ideas – some more fully realised than others – in a messy sandbox adventure that, after a certain point, I couldn’t put down.

I think the best way to view Crimson Desert is through the lens of an MMO, only it’s a single-player action-adventure game. Ironically, developer Pearl Abyss cut their teeth on building the hugely successful MMO Black Desert Online, so a lot of that expertise is brought over here. That’s to say, Crimson Desert is light on story and most of the emphasis is placed on exploration, ticking off a checklist of activities that you randomly stumble upon, and getting immersed in a world that’s as dense and beautiful as it is sprawling, boundless and a little frustrating.



Crimson Desert takes place on the continent of Pywel. Players initially assume the role of Kliff, a member of the influential Greymane faction who dies under circumstances and is resurrected by mysterious forces. However, conflict has torn Pywel into pieces – fractured kingdoms, factions and groups with the heated rivalry between the Greymanes and the Black Bears at the heart of it all. Kliff sets off on a journey to reunite with his comrades and bring some stability to Pywel.

You can feel that influence in basically every facet of the game, from The Witcher, Assassin’s Creed and Skyrim to Tears of the Kingdom and Final Fantasy.

Crimson Desert is a difficult game to definitively pin down because so much of it is borrowed ideas and concepts, stitched together in a more inspired way than just being hastily thrown into a melting pot. You can feel that influence in basically every facet of the game, from The Witcher, Assassin’s Creed and Skyrim to Tears of the Kingdom and Final Fantasy. Nothing feels truly original, but in saying that, Crimson Desert does impressively manage to carve an identity for itself. This reminded me of the Darksiders games which are, by all means, heavily derivative of other third-person action games, yet it coalesces to form something distinct that eventually sets it apart. Crimson Desert operates in the same way but arguably on a larger and more ambitious scale.



Jumping straight into the gameplay, the satisfying combat system’s closest comparison (at least in my opinion) is Assassin’s Creed Valhalla but just a little faster and flashier (think Final Fantasy XVI). Pearl Abyss incorporates a few acrobatic, stylish movesets for Kliff dependant on his skills. There aren’t gigantic skill trees to level up Kliff and no RPG-esque systems to really work with. You get stronger by literally going out and exploring since you unlock new skills, abilities and items through organic exploration. I really appreciate this approach because it incentivises you to keep venturing out into the open world every opportunity you get, often at the expense of telling a coherent story (but more on that later).

Crimson Desert is crammed to the absolute brim with content and things to do, that getting lost in its world is both exhilarating and daunting at the same time.

Among the staggeringly long laundry list of open-world activities for you to do, players can discover bustling towns, hideouts, fortified encampments, and some of the most baffling environmental puzzles I’ve seen in a very long time. Side activities also include bounty hunting, cooking, collecting Sealed Abyss Artifacts, finding key points to unlock portions of the map like Assassin’s Creed, alchemy, hunting, fishing, gear upgrades, exploring hidden ruins, base-building… *deep breath*… secret boss fights, managing resources and inventory, building an army of pet cats, exploring floating islands and swan-diving off of them, gliding, f***ing poker, arm wrestling, castle sieges, dragon riding, robbing wagons, mount racing, and mining – I’m sure I’m forgetting a few things. Crimson Desert is crammed to the absolute brim with content and things to do, that getting lost in its world is both exhilarating and daunting at the same time. It makes Final Fantasy VII Rebirth honestly look like a walk in the park.



On that note, Crimson Desert’s wealth of content is a double-edged sword. If you’re going into the game expecting to get swept up in an epic narrative with world-class writing and consistent character development, you’ve come to the wrong place. Upfront, its story only gets somewhat interesting around the halfway mark and by then, you’d probably be more absorbed in just leisurely exploration and doing other productive things than hone in on the main quest. It’s a game that’s meant to be played at your own pace and without the expectations of engaging the main story without a five-hour detour, because that is where you’ll get the most enjoyment out of it.

It’s all about those detours because eventually, it clicks. Admittedly, the first ten or so hours of the game were a rough experience. On top of wrapping my head around its unnecessarily complicated controls and UI (that were gracefully streamlined a little in a post-launch patch), learning the ins and outs of the world’s activities, and just letting myself be guided naturally by curiosity, I came to have a lot of fun with Crimson Desert. It doesn’t expect players to get on its wavelength – rather, it expects them to make their own wavelengths, which is where the MMO-esque feeling of the game really shines.



The most glaring issues with Crimson Desert appear when you pay attention to its story and characters, only to discover how paper-thin everything feels. Kliff is a walking archetype lifted straight out of the “How to Build a Protagonist” handbook and there’s not much to get emotionally invested in, even during some of the story’s higher points towards the latter half of the game. The same can be said for the other playable characters, Damiane and Oongka, who are almost replacements for RPG classes in the game. They’re fine and Oongka has a few noteworthy moments, but rarely did I ever feel connected to these characters for anything deeper than what gameplay they offered to the experience, which is a shame and a missed opportunity to do something great with this idea. Perhaps a meaty story DLC can correct this problem.

It doesn’t expect players to get on its wavelength – rather, it expects them to make their own wavelengths, which is where the MMO-esque feeling of the game really shines.

Another point that some might find problematic is Crimson Desert’s lack of focus. It’s very much a jack-of-all-trades type of game, and I know I just praised it for feeling like a single-player MMO done right, but players are going to have a lot of misconceptions and expectations going into it when even the marketing can’t accurately convey the experience. People will look at it and think it’s like The Witcher, or Dragon’s Dogma, or The Legend of Zelda – simultaneously, it both is and isn’t all of those things. You’re not going to know if you’re going to love or hate Crimson Desert unless you sit down and play it, preferably for a few hours. I said the same thing about Death Stranding, another game that was pretty hard to pin down, and the same rule applies here.



On a technical level, this is where I can shower Crimson Desert with some very high praise. Pearl Abyss’ BlackSpace Engine is a miracle, creating some of the most jaw-dropping physics, visuals and weather effects I’ve ever seen in an open-world game. Pearl Abyss builds an incredibly immersive and atmospheric game at times, specifically at night when your torch light realistically only illuminates a fraction of your pitch-black surroundings, or when a storm rolls in and you see how it affects the environment. From a technical standpoint, it’s groundbreaking stuff.

Pearl Abyss’ BlackSpace Engine is a miracle, creating some of the most jaw-dropping physics, visuals and weather effects I’ve ever seen in an open-world game.

On a PS5 Pro, it also looks and runs outstandingly well, barring a few instances of texture pop-ins, especially when freefalling from a great height. Even then, I was blown away by the game’s huge draw distance and how much detail it was able to cram on-screen without somehow tanking the framerate into oblivion or crashing outright. The game’s sound design and music is also terrific, really drawing you into its unique blend of modern elements mixed with high fantasy.



Crimson Desert is the result of way too many ingredients that come together to create a delectable dish in the end, against all odds. Some ingredients aren’t as refined as others – the story, writing and characters often take a backseat to the game’s true intention of being a sandbox adventure where exploration and adventure is always at the forefront. Could those aspects have been improved upon? Yes, absolutely. But for what it offers, Crimson Desert is like many games but not many games are like Crimson Desert, if you catch my drift.

PS5 Review code provided by Pearl Abyss | Crimson Desert is now available at Nexus Hub for R1,199