The world of Crimson Desert is huge. How huge, is now emphasized by the in-game map of a player who reportedly has invested over 200 hours in the open-world adventure.
How big is Crimson Desert? Even before the release, the people in charge at Pearl Abyss stated that we can expect a game world in Pywel that is twice as large as the playable open world of Skyrim (about 37 km²) and also larger than the map of Red Dead Redemption 2 (about 75 km²).
What this comparison means in practice can only be determined since the release of Crimson Desert this week. Or rather since the distribution of review access, if one is lucky enough to write a report about the game for an editorial office or a channel.
Many tips for getting started in Crimson Desert can be found on our YouTube channel of MeinMMO – check it out!
I consider myself one of the lucky ones and currently have about 70 hours of playtime logged. While the starting region Hernand is now quite well uncovered, I could only step into the neighboring areas of Demeniss and Pailune – most of it is still undiscovered. I haven’t been to Crimson Desert and Delesyia at all yet.
205 hours are not enough
Many other colleagues feel similarly. I find a recent map excerpt from Blaine Smith on Reddit particularly impressive, showing his progress after 205 hours of playtime.
Blaine has almost completed the quests in the blue areas. In the yellow-orange areas, he has started the first quests. He hasn’t been to the red areas at all. His assessment: “Crimson Desert is one of the largest games ever made, if not the largest.”
This size is also reflected in the in-game statistics. So far, I have
- seen 15 out of 75 bosses
- discovered 62 out of 397 life forms
- found 53 out of 359 blueprints
- documented 6 out of 28 mounts (the game counts the horse breeds separately and transportation options such as the cloud wagon (balloon) or horse-drawn carriages)
How does the community react to the map excerpt? With over 1,500 thumbs up and more than 395 comments.
- MagoCauteloso writes on Reddit: “Holy Moly, now we are going back into the unknown and we are saying goodbye to our social lives.”
- Great_Bed_6334 comments on the tester’s time: “What the hell … The review copies were distributed about two weeks ago, so you’ve been playing about 14.5 hours every day.”
- Beermedear celebrates the size: “That’s the crucial point for why I decided to buy it. I love it when there is a huge amount of content to discover. It doesn’t always have to be breathtaking thrills, but even trivial side quests draw me into the game and its world.”
How do you see it: Rather big and full of content or short, concise, but intense? Share your thoughts in the comments! If you want to know how I like Crimson Desert so far, feel free to check out my experience report: Our MMORPG expert is overwhelmed by the best of 12 years of open-world games after over 60 hours in Crimson Desert
