Even before the release of Crimson Desert, many were convinced: This could become something truly powerful and, above all, large. A developer who has previously worked on GTA believes the game has the potential to be Game of the Year, if it weren’t for the great fear of many game studios.
What stands in the way of Crimson Desert for GOTY according to the developer? Mike York, a former developer from Rockstar Studios who worked on titles such as GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2, shared his thoughts on the new open-world title Crimson Desert on YouTube. In the video, the animator, who has been in the industry for 20 years, shares his impressions of the game and finds that Crimson Desert is a game where one can truly lose themselves.
According to York, the game even has a chance of being named the prestigious Game of the Year, if it weren’t for an obstacle in the way: The long-awaited and feared giant blockbuster GTA 6 in the video game industry.
“Regarding the overall offering [of Crimson Desert], it is really a serious competitor,” explains York, “however, it would have to beat GTA 6 if it comes out this year. And if GTA 6 releases this year, they would really have to mess things up.”
The competition stands in the way of Crimson Desert to become the winner
What would GTA 6 need to do for Crimson Desert to win? Based on the developer’s explanation, Crimson Desert is a serious contender that could be crowned the best game of the year. But that would only happen through a catastrophic failure of GTA 6.
[GTA 6] would have to be really terrible. It would have to include some “woke” theme for people to have a reason to hate the game and for Crimson Desert to ultimately win the award and be named Game of the Year. It certainly has the potential to do so. If there were no GTA 6, this game would probably at least on first impression be awarded Game of the Year.
Mike York on YouTube
What makes Crimson Desert a worthy Game of the Year for the developer? According to the developer, Crimson Desert does exactly what he loves about Red Dead Redemption 2. What initially sounds like a flaw, Crimson Desert likely does right:
They are trying to cram a lot in. And sometimes, when you pack too many things in, you just get lost as a player. You can’t follow the story anymore or lose the thread and are just kind of lost. But it seems like that’s the point in Crimson Desert… to get lost. Just like in Red Dead Redemption 2, you just get lost. In this game, I never use the fast travel feature, I always explore everything. I always go off the path. And I love it.
Mike York on YouTube
Whether Crimson Desert will become as iconic a game as Red Dead Redemption 2 remains exciting, just like the fight for the title Game of the Year. Crimson Desert is already in the starting blocks, and first reviews on Metacritic are not looking too bad, if it weren’t for one thing: Crimson Desert on Metacritic: First reviews look solid, but especially the story does not fare well
