I don’t like Crimson Desert. At occasions, I feel I truly hate it. After spending a couple of dozen hours with the newly launched open-world RPG, I’m each impressed by its practically photorealistic world and very bored with slogging by way of the content material that resides inside it. However rattling, it has some nice-looking rocks.
To be clear: This isn’t a full overview or a complete evaluation of the sport. I’m not pretending to have seen all of it in these 12 hours. What I’ve performed and seen hasn’t grabbed me, and I’m an individual who likes to discover open worlds, even when I by no means have sufficient time to play all of the video games that characteristic them. As an alternative, that is me telling you the place I’m at after taking part in Crimson Desert for a dozen hours on PS5 Professional.
Crimson Desert is (I feel) a sport about some noble warriors who’re practically worn out by an evil tribe of bearskin-wearing maniacs who’re making an attempt to beat the realm. After an action-packed intro and a few odd moments hanging out with bizarre god-like beings who use nano-like tech/magic, you get dropped into the world to attempt to carry your warrior clan again collectively whereas additionally exploring an enormous open world full of extra mechanics and concepts than a dozen AAA RPGs.
I say “I feel” as a result of the writing in Crimson Desert is messy and barely very fascinating, and cutscenes meander or concentrate on random particulars like a personality’s damage for a lot longer than appears affordable. As I met again up with my gang of noble heroes, I shortly discovered all of them unbearable, bland, or in some circumstances each!
However who cares about any of that? The overwhelming majority of individuals shopping for or desirous about taking part in Crimson Desert aren’t right here for the narrative or the cutscenes. Even developer Pearl Abyss is aware of that, as you’ll be able to fast-forward each cutscene like an adolescent skipping round a film for the motion scenes. What you probably wish to know is that if Crimson Desert is an open-world sandbox price investing 100+ hours into for the following few weeks. For me, the reply to that query is a straightforward “Nah.”
I’ve loved little or no of what’s on provide on this sandbox. Every new mechanic, like a helmet that may learn previous reminiscences or the flexibility to control objects utilizing a magic grappling hook, is simply one other instrument in an enormous toolbox that I’ve to clunkily pull out again and again.
Over time, muscle reminiscence has helped me shave seconds off of how lengthy navigating the menus and stock to do that takes, however I by no means forgot I used to be taking part in a sport. I used to be all the time annoyingly acutely aware of the controller in my hand, by no means getting really misplaced within the fantasy world of Pywel. In different phrases, due to how cumbersome interacting with the sport is, I used to be all the time conscious that I used to be taking part in it, moderately than merely experiencing it. This was the case even when swinging swords and axes in opposition to baddies.
Preventing and flying
Fight in Crimson Desert is each overly difficult, with so many various combos and choices, and likewise extremely repetitive. Kliff, one of many playable characters in Crimson Desert, can block, dodge, parry, and ship quick and heavy strikes. Mixing these collectively throughout fight is difficult, as Crimson Desert likes to toss a dozen enemies at you continuously, resulting in moments wherein you’ll get smacked round like a pinball.
Finally, I found out that every one the flamboyant combos and methods had been a waste of time. As an alternative, I simply held R1, and Kliff bounced from goal to focus on, attacking continuous till one particular person was useless, then hopping over to a different enemy. It appeared foolish. It felt dangerous. However more often than not, it labored. For some motive, whereas doing this foolish dance, enemies hardly ever attacked me, with the primary exception being archers with bows that, like Kilff’s bow, would possibly as properly be firing Nerf darts for as little harm as they do. So I may largely ignore them and maintain R1 whereas Kilff killed 50 to 100 enemies (sure, some camps demand you filter that many targets) robotically. In the meantime, I checked my telephone.
There’s a lot extra to Crimson Desert past the fight and dangerous writing, however none of it actually has a lot depth, and far of it’s buried beneath annoying controls and poorly designed menus. Fishing sucks. Utilizing Kliff’s magic powers is a chore. Managing the stock is a ache. One of many components of Crimson Desert I appreciated, the flexibility to glide wherever at any level, will get worse when the sport allows you to improve so as to add a double bounce, and it makes use of the identical button as gliding and 10 different mechanics. Now I’m by no means positive if I’ll bounce as soon as, twice, glide, begin choosing up an merchandise, or carry out another motion mapped to the identical button.
Fairly rocks
So if you’d like enjoyable fight, well-written dialogue, a cohesive sport world that’s rewarding and satisfying to discover, or a map that doesn’t crash your sport if you open it, Crimson Desert isn’t for you. However if you’re curious about attractive rocks and fairly rivers, properly, proper this manner.
Crimson Desert has a number of the best-looking rocks, cliffs, timber, rivers, and mountains I’ve seen in an open-world sport. so many cliffs and valleys unfold throughout an unlimited space in the course of the day was genuinely gorgeous on a PS5 Professional plugged into an enormous, dumb 4K TV. Particulars are sharp and clear. Lighting is unbelievable, and when considered in first-person, it will probably go at a look as a screenshot of an actual place.
I usually discovered myself not fast-traveling to locations and even utilizing my horse. As an alternative, I’d wander by way of the world of Crimson Desert and take all of it in. It’s onerous to consider how huge this open world is whereas it comprises a lot element. Bushes react to assaults. Fires could be noticed miles away at night time. Animals huge and small crawl round each inch of it. I wish to discover this world in VR. I wish to reside right here. And hey, you’ll be able to personal a home in Crimson Desert, due to course you’ll be able to, and that simply makes me jealous. Why does boring stick-in-the-mud dummy Kliff and his lack of any persona get to reside in a small, cozy cabin on this lovely place, but I’m caught working a job and residing in a suburb? I, too, yearn for fairly rocks and timber.
However fairly rocks aren’t sufficient for me. I would like greater than only a photorealistic world. And sadly, 12 hours in, that’s the perfect Crimson Desert has to supply me.
For these prepared to place up with the sport’s irritating boss fights, wonky controls, and stiff motion that feels laggy always, there’s numerous sport right here to play. I 100-percent assure you that there are going to be individuals who spend 200+ hours on this sport, mastering its controls and experiencing one thing they’ll describe as unbelievable. I’ll consider them. For me, although, nothing is clicking right here. I’m undecided how way more time I wish to spend on this lovely however forgettable open-world RPG, no matter how fairly the rocks and timber could be.
Or possibly 10 updates from now, this can be a very totally different sport, and I’ll adore it. On the very least, hopefully all of the AI slop can be eliminated quickly.
