“One-hundred hours.”
“It took approximately one-hundred hours to complete the main quest,” said a friend of mine, lavishing praise over his new favorite game. I raised an eyebrow. Whether he was speaking hyperbole, or simply had more patience than I, the idea of a one-hundred hour long campaign seemed unlikely to me. One month later, as the screen faded to black and the credits began to roll, my doubts had been thoroughly scattered. One-hundred hours was no exaggeration for the behemoth known as Crimson Desert. But make no mistake: It was one-hundred hours well spent.
One-hundred and twelve, to be exact, but one may reasonably round that number down to account for sidetracking. Open world video games lack the linear structure of other genres, making every distraction either a blessing or a curse for the sporadic gamer, and Crimson Desert is no exception. However, Crimson Desert stands in stark contrast to its open world predecessors. Unlike Genshin Impact and its hamster wheel feedback loop, or The Legend of Zelda’s static environment (fight me), Crimson Desert marries the overwhelming scale of a sprawling, thriving world with an easygoing atmosphere. In many open world games, the world depends on the player to bring it to life. In Crimson Desert, the world has no such dependencies. It’s a living, breathing organism.
Story
The main quest follows the story of Kliff, the steadfast protagonist who belongs to a group of lupine-themed warriors known as Greymanes. After a deadly raid by the rival Black Bears, Kliff and his people are left weakened and scattered across the world of Pywel. Although eager to reunite and rebuild with his brethren, Kliff now bears a responsibility beyond his own people. Throughout his journey, Kliff uncovers the secrets of the Abyss (not to be confused with Genshin Impact’s Abyss), and the looming threat mankind faces. Furthermore, political turmoil knocks at the door of kingdoms all across Pywel, as war threatens to rear its ugly head. Kliff must rebuild his home, forge alliances with noble houses, and prevent the corruption of reality itself.
Anyone approaching Crimson Desert with the anticipation of another Witcher 3 or Red Dead Redemption 2 will be sorely disappointed. Crimson Desert’s narrative falls along the lines of “serviceable”, but aside from the two aforementioned games and their elite circle, “serviceable” is quite stellar in comparison to most of Pearl Abyss’s western competition. For one thing, each cutscene usually contains a well-choreographed fight sequence. They’re just plain fun to watch, and create reasonable tension in the presence of lackluster stakes. As for Kliff’s story, I personally find it quite touching, despite its lack of depth. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” [Matthew 5:5] Christ’s words from the Sermon on the Mount describe Kliff quite succinctly: he is gentle and slow to anger, but capable of unyielding violence. But virtue has many faces, and Kliff’s restraint is one of many lessons taught through his charity towards others. Throughout his journey (main quests, side quests, daily interactions), the connective tissue lies in his willingness to pursue virtue whenever an opportunity beckons, and this goodwill does not go unnoticed by its benefactors. For the sake of spoilers, I will reserve a more detailed analysis for another article, but Crimson Desert‘s thesis can be summed up in Kliff’s own words: “True strength… can only come from humility.” It’s simplistic, heartwarming, and puts a smile on my face. Kliff isn’t another morally grey antihero with conflicted motives. He’s just a good man.
Gameplay
The discourse around Crimson Desert‘s release was, initially, apathetic. Although the game was praised for its graphical quality and sheer scale, the plethora of confusing menus and janky controls forced many to set aside their controllers in defeat. Indeed, Crimson Desert is a game one must learn to love over the course of several sessions. But when the confusion is dispelled, and the controls are finessed, the game doesn’t just click: it hooks. Upon entering the game for the very first time, I thought I had made a seventy-dollar mistake. By hour five, I gained a proper sense of the game and how to navigate it. By hour twelve, not even Old Testament Samson could unglue me from the chair. To be fair, the initial frustrations permeating Crimson Desert‘s mechanics never fully disappear. In light of the entire experience, however, I have no problem turning a blind eye to most of them.
There are three playable characters in total: Kliff, Damiane, and Oongka. The two additional characters, while not always part of the main quest, can be selected from the quick menu once unlocked. Unlike the Mihoyo system, this is not on-the-field deployment where the player switches between characters on the fly. Apart from a shared inventory, each character acts on his or her own; switching to another character will locate him from a bird’s-eye perspective, before entering a loading sequence. Calling it seamless would be generous, but it certainly gives each character a sense of independence, and fits within the nature of the game. Some overlap is present between the characters, such as shared weapon types and accessories, but each of the three characters puts his own spin on combat and movement. While Damiane and Oongka lack Kliff’s versatile wing glider, they make up for it with “double jumps”, improved stats, and unique weapons. Lately, I’ve spent a lot of time playing as Damiane. I’m told it’s because she’s an attractive lady, not necessarily because she’s the superior option, but theories are ongoing.
Mechanically speaking, Crimson Desert‘s controls are comparable to its not-so-distant open world cousins, albeit far less polished. Parkour is often hindered by environmental detail, such as sudden interruptions by rock faces when sprinting or climbing. Still more frustrating are the moments when your glider simply won’t reactivate during a brief state of free-fall, sending poor Kliff tumbling to the ground. Asset-dense locations occasionally force accidental actions, such as shoving or kicking an NPC when attempting to interact with it. There are a myriad of minor annoyances littered throughout the game, and for anyone used to a higher standard of quality in the genre, these problems will seem amplified. That said, Pearl Abyss and its rapid quality of life updates have smoothed over the roughest edges since launch. The mechanics are an acquired taste, but there is much satisfaction to be derived from them once learned.
While it’s not Ghost of Tsushima levels of fluidity, Crimson Desert‘s combat is satisfying enough to be sought out at every opportunity. Although the character skill tree offers an assortment of special moves to add variety and flair, the backbone of combat resides in your weapon’s light and heavy attacks. In other words, complexity is available, but largely optional. Most players will probably keep one or two special moves in their back pocket, but keeping track of your abilities can often feel like a chore compared to the efficient hack-and-slash alternative. Light attacks are quick, but deal less damage than heavy attacks. Heavy attacks are marginally slower, but are more effective at breaking the enemy’s guard. Furthermore, performing heavy attacks costs a chunk of stamina; if too many are performed consecutively, you’ll find yourself exposed when it’s time to evade. Defeating an enemy in melee combat will (usually) end with an execution. Aside from the rule of cool, executions provide invincibility frames, accompanied by a variety of animations depending on the type of weapon equipped and the position of the characters. During these sequences, stamina will regenerate, and a modest amount of spirit is returned. The melee is far from the best of its kind, but it never overstays its welcome.
In most open world titles, a ranged meta means a focus on stockpiling ammunition over improving your melee weapons. In The Legend of Zelda, I would take a bundle of arrows over my favorite melee weapon any day of the week. Bows and arrows were simply more efficient. Not so in Crimson Desert; although bows, muskets, and blasters are lovingly crafted and fun to operate, they take a clear backseat to their melee counterparts. With enough upgrades, ranged weapons can make quick work of grunts, but a sword is always the more efficient choice. Furthermore, ranged weapons are inefficient in a crowded battle, where multiple enemies attack in rapid succession. Reload animations cannot be reliably cancelled, and thus, evasion during these brief interludes is often impossible. Bows and firearms are situational weapons that are best suited for positions behind friendly lines, or picking off stray enemies before they have a chance to regroup. The weapons themselves, however, are awesome: bows feel smooth on the drawback and release, while firearms feel methodical and mechanical.
Combat aside, the vibrant world of Pywel offers endless activities outside of exploration and conflict. The Greymane campsite, Kliff’s home base, contains a slice of life format that appeals to the “daily life” loop I’ve longed for in other open world games. Farming, trading, and homestead decoration are easygoing activities that allow players to relax from the dangers of adventuring. Trade involves more than a push of a button: from transporting packaged goods in a horse-drawn cart, to keeping tabs on market prices, players can lose themselves in a dynamic system that effectively creates the illusion of a complex economic background. However, enemy threats are not omitted from these everyday dynamics; Crimson Desert includes a special “War” mechanic that can be toggled in the settings menu. Camps and strongholds are either under friendly or enemy occupation (white if liberated, red if under occupation). Once liberated, enemy factions will eventually launch another attack on these locations. The player can blockade these points of interest with Greymane allies before an impending attack. If an attack has been initiated, there is a window of time to join the allied forces before they are defeated. If the enemies successfully take the stronghold, they will have to be rooted out again. War reports will notify the player every time these events take place, making it easy to keep tabs on enemy behavior. Admittedly, this is my favorite mechanic in the game, and something I’ve longed for since Ghost of Tsushima‘s underwhelming one-and-done camp system. Of everything to improve upon in Crimson Desert, I hope the War system continues to evolve in new ways. As of right now, it’s quite simple. Perhaps it will eventually involve entire kingdoms.
Crimson Desert hosts intermittent puzzle sequences that will either please or disappoint fans of the genre. Some puzzles are easy; others are difficult enough to provide a cathartic “aha” moment when the solution finally clicks. Others dragged me to online guides in utter defeat. Although puzzles are not my forte (skill issue, I know), there exists a stark difficulty gap across the handful contained in the main quest. Some are clever and well-implemented, while others feel like chores to pad out runtime, or are otherwise poorly executed. It’s certainly not Portal 3, but in my opinion, puzzles in a non-puzzle genre are generally a sign of thoughtful consideration and professionalism. That, or they are a nuisance interrupting the carnage simulator I paid for.
There is a laundry list of features I did not touch upon, but attempting to breach all of them would turn this review into a light novel. Pearl Abyss has expressed its desire to expand the world of Pywel beyond the base game, with new sections of the map and additional storylines. All things considered, Crimson Desert is a labor of love that deserves victory laps for years to come, and I look forward to the next chapter in Kliff’s story. One-hundred hours aren’t enough.
Scoring: 85%
Graphics: 5/5
Controls: 3/5
Gameplay: 4/5
Replayability: 5/5
Morality/Parental Warnings:
Language: Vulgarity is part of everyday vocabulary across Pywel. Merely bumping into passers-by is enough to earn the C-word or the F-word. This strong language persists throughout cutscenes and the open world, and is completely unavoidable.
Sex/Nudity: Damiane can discover a few skimpy outfits that are quite revealing. However, these outfits must be sought out in hidden locations before they are crafted, making the issue reasonably remote. Although less revealing, other outfits are skin-tight, accentuating certain corporeal details/physics. Her default outfit, however, is completely modest.
Violence: Players hack, stab, and shoot enemies. Innocent NPCs can be attacked, though such actions are not encouraged, and players will be severely penalized for doing so. Blood is procured in large quantities in stylized fashion, and characters are often impaled, but there is no dismemberment beyond an interrogation cutscene in the main quest.
Alcohol: Players can consume alcoholic items, and occasionally witness NPCs in a drunken state. Certain characters engage in excessive drinking within cutscenes.
Consumerism: N/A
