Crimson Desert Review

Editor note: We at GameGrin do not endorse the use of undisclosed AI-generated assets and have been actively taking steps to avoid covering titles that incorporate any form of generative AI. We received our Crimson Desert code ahead of embargo and published our review the day the embargo was lifted; however, a new disclosure has been added, and we would've never requested a code for review had this been present.

The idea of taking a well-known MMO and crafting a single-player experience from it is an interesting one. However, there are a lot of potential pitfalls that a studio will need to be aware of. With that in mind, the question is whether Pearl Abyss’s long-awaited Crimson Desert has found the perfect oasis, or if it’s just a pleasant mirage. 

Crimson Desert follows the story of Kliff, one of the few survivors of the illustrious Greymane Clan. However, after a brutal attack, he has been left for dead and his clan scattered. It is up to the player to rebuild the Greymanes, protect the innocent while uncovering the mystery of the Abyss that has granted Kliff a host of new powers. 

Crimson Desert has a really long story, so a lot of the plot takes a long time before you see a payoff. On the plus side, this gives you a reason to keep going, as some of the characters are interesting to meet. Unfortunately, this trait is not really shared by the majority of the Greymane clan, all of whom tend to be a bit generic. The same is true of Kliff, who spends much of the game being a stoic northerner with little ability for the player to influence his actions or opinions. 

Now, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and there are some moments of interesting character interaction between the Greymane members, but the problem is that Kliff is rarely fazed by anything. He gets transported to a city floating in the sky, but reacts in the same manner as someone who just got on the wrong train. That isn’t to say that he doesn’t have his badass or even emotional moments, but the stoic voice does get a bit meh at times. 

When it comes to gameplay, Crimson Desert takes a lot of cues from other titles like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild. You’ll find yourself in a massive open world, with free rein to really do whatever you want, but like The Witcher, you’ll spend a lot of your time talking to people or doing quests. One novel part of this is that the game actually prioritises doing as many as you can, as the more people you help, the more inventory space you have. Meanwhile, from Breath of the Wild, you get a stamina bar, the ability to climb everything, food preparation, and even gliding. If you see something on the map, then you can reach it. 

Combat in Crimson Desert is, at its core, simple. You can quickly strike with your weapon or use a heavier or special attack to do more damage. Alternatively, you can use your bow, but it doesn’t do enough damage to be relevant much beyond hunting. However, Kliff is no ordinary human, as you slowly unlock new abilities that make use of spirit to unleash powerful new attacks and abilities. 

You’ll also upgrade your skills, gaining materials that you use to level up Kliff and his companions. However, many skills need to actually be learnt through exploration or combat before you can progress them. Thankfully, learning new skills often only involves experiencing them being used against you a couple of times, although there is a bit of an RNG issue, as some enemies might not use the relevant skills enough. On top of that, some puzzles require a bit of thought or traversal, while using all of Kliff’s powers to complete them. This includes using the light from your sword or lifting things with the power of nature.

You might notice that I mentioned Kliff’s companions, and that wasn’t an accident, as you unlock new playable characters throughout the stories. While these guys don’t have quite as many skills as the main character, they all have different playstyles that help to mix up the gameplay. 

Cooking and hunting are both included, but the meals you make take the place of health and spirit potions. Now, I want to mention one of the biggest issues I have had with the game here. See, the problem with Crimson Desert is that you usually end up fighting more enemies than you would think. For instance, when running to meet one boss, you have to fight through around 20—30 enemies. This isn’t impossible, and the combat is fun enough that you don’t always mind too much. However, when you die, you have two options on what to do: you can either use a limited item to come back to life or go back to a checkpoint. 

The issue is that if you go back to the checkpoint, then you will still lose every item you used up until that point, while the enemies can respawn. So, suddenly you have no healing items, and will have to go to gather more before trying again. Strangely, when you enter a boss fight and die, you can retry the actual fight from the start with all your items. It’s an odd choice that makes protracted combat sections more of a pain than they need to be. 

There’s also a bit of an issue when it comes to travelling. Primarily, the world of Crimson Desert is beautiful to look at and listen to, even on slightly older machines. The world is multi-coloured, and the number of characters on screen at any one time is really staggering. So, it is fun to travel across the map, but sometimes you’re in a bit of a rush, so you want to fast travel. The issue is that, to unlock fast travel points, you need to find them, then use your abilities to unlock them. You will usually find some, but it’s still a bit of a pain when you could just make campsites or bonfires serve the same purpose.

However, these issues are pretty minimal thanks to the amount of content, beautiful vistas, and the quality of the voice acting that are available here. I started this review stating that it was always a challenge moving to an entirely fresh style of game, and Crimson Desert has certainly delivered on that. If you want a new adventure in a fantastical world filled with combat, then this is certainly a title that you should try.