The new open-world RPG made by Pearl Abyss, Crimson Desert, has something for everyone. It is a massive project that delivers on an immersive world of puzzles, expansive environmental storytelling and inventive game play.
This game is super big and very fun to explore. I’ve played 20 hours of it already, and I’ve still yet to leave the first area, which gives you a hint of how big this game really is.
The story for Crimson Desert is pretty simple: You play as Kilf, who is part of this mercenary clan called the Greymanes. After a big battle, the Greymanes get separated from one another, and now he’s trying to find all of them and rebuild his clan.
The story also involves a place called the Abyss that only certain people can enter, and Kilf is some sort of chosen one. It’s pretty mysterious, but I’m sure it will play a bigger role in the later game. The story is just okay, and that’s fine. It’s more exciting to explore the world than to play the campaign. If you are a person who enjoys story games, then this game might be a little lackluster for you.
Crimson Desert is the most open world game I’ve ever played, so if you love open world games you will have a fantastic time. I will say, though, that it’s a bit of a slow burn. It will take you a while to adjust to the controls. But don’t let that ruin it for you because, trust me, when you start unlocking more skills and upgrading your health, the combat will flow much better.
I really started to enjoy the game when I got the ability to supplex people. It makes combat so satisfying–and very funny. There is just so much to do, and a wide variety of weapons, including different spears, swords, shields, the great sword and more. You can even say “screw it” and just use your fist; there is an entire skill tree just for unarmed combat!
The controls in Crimson Desert can be a bit confusing when you’re starting off. For instance, the same button is used for jump, interacting and stealing. So you might accidentally just steal something from someone when you’re just trying to talk to them.
The combat has a lot of combos you can do to make the fights cooler. They start out simple, like “press X and square to supplex people.” Then it gets more complicated, like “press R3 and L3 to activate focus and then rotate R3 to make a snare that can catch arrows and bullets and throw them back at your enemies.”
It’s a lot to keep track of while fighting people, but hey, it’s just cool that they let you do all this stuff because when you do learn how to combo all these moves, it feels so good when you destroy your enemies with them.
Not every quest you go on is going to be an epic adventure. Sometimes people just need a guy to pick up bread from the grocery store.
You can cook in this game. You can do alchemy. You can own pets, or even build up your camp. This game has so much content that it is estimated to take 300 hours to complete everything.
I’ve enjoyed cooking in this game, bug collecting and experimenting with my armor. This game really has something for everyone. No two people will have the same experience, and that’s just amazing.
Even with all this content, though, the game does fall short sometimes. For instance, I noticed while playing many side quests that the main character will reuse a lot of common lines to answer the NPCS. He’ll say stuff like, “What’s going on?” or “Yes.” An my favorite, “hmm.”
It just really takes you out of the game because after the fifth side quest, you’ll start noticing it, and it’s just a funny kind of annoying. To be fair though, I kind of understand why the game is like that. You unlock a couple of more playable characters as you progress through the game, so making unique voice lines for each of them for the hundreds of side quests would take forever.
Even with the repetitive lines, I still find myself enjoying the side quests. They vary in difficulty. Some are like, “Go fight the stag lord on top of his mountain!” Others are, “Oh hey, can you buy me a grain jar from the shop?” I really like that it makes the world feel alive and lived in. Not every quest you go on is going to be an epic adventure. Sometimes people just need a guy to pick up bread from the grocery store.
The world of Crimson Desert is so beautiful. The towns feel so alive. They have stray dogs, butchers, blacksmiths, taverns. I feel like I’m really in a fantasy world. In one town, people are carving a statue and you can actually stand there and watch them carve it. The world feels so immense and expansive that it almost sidelines the campaign.
Honestly, that’s good. Think about it. Think of your favorite open world games. Did you say Skyrim? Breath of The Wild? The Witcher 3?
All those games are like that. I want to explore the world. I want to go to those mountains, I want to find every little secret that the developers left for me. Because that’s what it means to be open world, and Crimson Desert gives you that.
I really like Crimson Desert, and I’m enjoying playing it. It’s honestly one of the best open world games I’ve ever played. If you’re still hesitant, give it some time. The people at Pearl Abyss are pushing out more updates. They’re listening to their fans and adding more difficulties such as the ability to replay bosses and the ability to map out your own controls.
You can buy Crimson Desert on Xbox, PlayStation and Steam.
Velocity 
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