Technology that inspires
I was skeptical about whether the level of detail and the size of the game world would have unpleasant side effects on the polish or performance.
However, on my AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 8 Core with 32 GB RAM and a GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, Crimson Desert runs smoothly on Ultra (second highest setting) at a resolution of 2560X1440. I have not noticed any disturbing drops in frames at any time – not even in large siege battles with countless NPCs.
Hardly noticeable in the background are the popping environment textures or figures. This was still a problem in early play versions. I also encountered very few bugs. At one point, an NPC got stuck in a rock, and at another moment, two horse carts were tangled together, which looked hilarious.
I also want to praise the developers for already responding to the feedback on the associated Discord during the review process. One example: In the first version, inventory management was a real pain because there was far too little space for too many items.
Now Kliff not only starts with significantly more storage space, but he can also buy additional slots from merchants for a small fee. You’re welcome!
“Ecstatic and deeply saddened” – the conclusion
This brings me back to the quote from the beginning and allows me to tie a loop around Crimson Desert. You can expect a special open-world adventure, with one of the most beautiful, immersive game worlds I have had the pleasure of exploring, a powerful action combat system, and plenty of varied content. Exploring and experimenting in Pywel is definitely rewarding.
At the same time, the game feels like work in many places. The difficulty level sometimes swings from challenging to frustratingly unfair, which only exacerbates the complex, often unintuitive controls. Additionally, it is often unclear what Crimson Desert actually wants from you.
The many varied activities, collectibles, and quest types give me the feeling of a kind of single-player MMO experience that is genuinely fun and could make Crimson Desert a perfect game to unwind – if it weren’t for a few downsides.
The difficulty level, which can only be adjusted through intricate upgrade grinding, pairs wonderfully with the unnecessarily overloaded and clunky controls, so there are quickly pitfalls that can cost you hours and lead to frustration. Hitboxes can be hard to see depending on the boss, and memorizing the moveset doesn’t help much.
Moreover, the world and its activities lose some of their charm the longer you spend time in them. A lot eventually feels like the same shade of green, just superficially varied, like drölfzig different types of meat, vegetables, and herbs that lead to the same dishes.
After a while, the NPCs also appear generic. Many spoken sentences quickly repeat, and some are so inappropriate that they break immersion. After the 100th person tells me in a short time that he is going mushroom picking with his children, I believe there might be some mafia behind it.
Also, a well-told story and exciting characters are hard to find in Crimson Desert. Many characters possess the charisma of a piece of bread, and at least I couldn’t establish a personal connection with them or the world.
However, despite the sometimes significant downsides, Crimson Desert manages to retain my interest and keeps pulling me back to Pywel. This is because the sense of exploration and that MMO feeling weigh more heavily for me than all the negatives. For my part, I will probably continue to spend many hours in Crimson Desert, even if I’ll keep cursing along the way.
Additionally, there are little things that increasingly annoy me and that I haven’t even mentioned yet. For example, the multitude of different types of meat and meal variants, which not only clutter the inventory but prolong the cooking process unnecessarily. However, you have to cook often because you consume a large supply of healing items in boss fights.
A game as extensive and challenging as this should aim to make such repetitive tasks as comfortable and time-saving as possible, in my view. I hope the developers deliver an update on this as well.
In summary, I therefore see Crimson Desert primarily as a game for experienced action adventurers who a) don’t mind delving into the complex controls and tackling challenging challenges, and who b) have plenty of time to see the end of the story within a reasonably foreseeable time. If you are not deterred by this, you can find everything important about the release of Crimson Desert here.
