In an interview, a publishing representative from Crimson Desert explained that they don’t actually like the RPG term. However, that doesn’t mean that the open-world adventure lacks any RPG elements. MeinMMO reveals what you can expect in detail.
Is Crimson Desert an MMO? During the announcement in 2019, Crimson Desert was introduced as an MMORPG project. Pearl Abyss aimed to develop a kind of successor to Black Desert.
However, this has changed over the years. Officially, the developers refer to the game as an open-world action-adventure. And indeed, at release on March 19, there will be no multiplayer or co-op. Crimson Desert offers a pure single-player experience.
Is Crimson Desert a role-playing game? In the current episode of the podcast “Dropped Frames”, Will Powers, Director of Marketing for Crimson Desert, stated that they internally also don’t like the RPG term.
The developers don’t want to call it an RPG because they already have an MMORPG. Using the term RPG creates certain expectations. For example, regarding character creation, an experience points and level system, and similar aspects. These things that some players might expect [when the term RPG is mentioned] are not present in Crimson Desert.
However, there are a whole range of RPG elements. Therefore, we find it a bit difficult to categorize the genre because we want to shape the right expectations. The focus of Crimson Desert is definitely on the open world. For me, it is the truest version of an open-world game that I have played so far.
Will Powers in the podcast “Dropped Frames”
Role-playing game or no role-playing game?
Later in the podcast, Will Powers goes into more detail about specific areas of Crimson Desert, which makes it clearer how much role-playing there is in the open-world adventure.
What RPG elements are not in Crimson Desert?
- In Crimson Desert, the protagonist Kliff is the focus of the story. Additionally, you can unlock two more playable characters throughout the story. There is no character editor where you can create your own avatar.
- Similarly, there is no class system. However, the three playable characters have different combat styles, weapons, and skills.
- You do not collect experience points in Crimson Desert, do not level up, and do not distribute attribute points.
- There are no dialogues with multiple choices in Crimson Desert, and you do not make decisions to change the course of the story.
- There are no NPCs with whom you can build a close relationship, up to romance.
You can also catch the entire talk on YouTube or below:
What RPG elements are in Crimson Desert?
- There is an inventory system (with a limit on space), and you collect loot. However, this loot is not random, like in a Diablo. Instead, there are many unique equipment pieces that you can earn through well-defined methods – such as boss fights.
- There is a crafting system where you collect blueprints and can create and upgrade equipment items.
- By mastering challenges, exploring the world, or defeating opponents, you earn so-called Abyss artifacts. You then invest these in a kind of talent tree, through which you can unlock numerous new maneuvers and improvements for Kliff and the other playable characters.
- The talent tree is supposed to be branched enough to prioritize different play styles – for example, if you wish, you can focus more on ranged attacks.
- There is only one difficulty level, and all enemies in the world have a defined strength level. If you encounter problems in one area, you can continue elsewhere in the open world and attempt again later with noticeably stronger abilities.
- Additionally, there should be various ways to increase the strength of Kliff and the other fighters beyond equipment and talents: for example, in the form of buff food or collectible consumables like revival items.
When it comes to the combat system, the influences are said to even reach into the fighting game genre. According to Will Powers, the sheer number of features, systems, and content is unique for a single-player experience. This extent is only possible because Pearl Abyss thinks in MMO sizes and originally conceived Crimson Desert as an MMO.
Indeed, the almost outrageous feature offering of Crimson Desert reminds us of Where Winds Meet from the past year, except that the Asia-RPG even has an optional MMO mode and can be played co-op.
In the same interview, the publishing representative also revealed more details about the monetization of Crimson Desert. While the predecessor game Black Desert is a pure service game with a shop and seasons, the open-world adventure is supposed to be a pure premium experience – Crimson Desert promises: No cash shop, no microtransactions
