Kodeations

Played about 7 hours of Crimson Desert so far, the best way I can explain this game it's like Dragon's Dogma got fused with an old school adventure game, like old school Zelda. It's very obtuse, weird at times. The mission structure is very odd, you complete missions by helping townsfolk for all kinds of things. I had to find cows that were taken, but I needed to use a special helmet to view the memory of the bad guys at the scene, but to use it, I had to put the helmet on, click it in a sub menu & then select a memory. There's a lot of really weird obtuse things like this in Crimson Desert, it is not a game I think most people will understand at first, but I can tell the more I play it's a game that is going to be very deep mechanically the more I put into it. It feels like old school Zelda to me in the way that nothing is holding my hand, things just happen, I just find things & stories unfold. The combat is pretty good so far, I like how the powers can be used. For example you can chop a tree down, pick it up with your nature power & use it as a pole to smash enemies to death. You can also drop kick dudes & leap off your horse in mid air & Hulk smash enemies. Again a very weird game, definitely not the standard AAA western gaming is used to which is evident. But I'm keen to keep peeling this onion, cause this game is rewarding, but it's definitely a weird one.

I’d have to disagree. I put about 4 hours into it last night and ended up refunding it. Not because it’s too hard, and not because I didn’t understand what to do… but because the game just feels rough and unpolished where it matters most. Performance-wise, it actually ran fine for me. I’m on a 4070 Ti and a Ryzen 9, and once I tweaked the settings I got it looking really good. So this isn’t a performance complaint. The issue is the feel of the game. Movement feels extremely heavy and sluggish, like there’s a constant drag on your character. The camera doesn’t help either, it sits off-center and feels like you’re fighting it more than controlling it at times. Even basic interactions like looting was frustrating, with inconsistent prompts, having to adjust the camera angle in various directions and having to hold inputs for things that should just be instant. Combat looks good at first, especially in the intro, but once that wears off it starts to feel pretty shallow. There’s no real sense of precision or control, more like reacting to prompts than actually mastering anything. And all of that stacks up fast. Small issues on their own, but together it just makes the game feel clunky and unintuitive. The frustrating part is that the world itself is actually really well done. The environments look great, the cities feel alive, and there’s clearly something solid underneath it all. But for me, if the core gameplay doesn’t feel good in the first few hours, it’s hard to justify pushing through hoping it gets better later. Curious if it clicks more after 10+ hours for people, but those first few hours were rough for me.

Crimson Desert first impressions: ✅️ Visuals - Stunning ✅️ world feels fully alive. Hustle and bustle in towns, everyone talking, everyone reacting - all very cool 😒 Combat - Fine, serviceable ❌️ Story & Characters - totally uninspiring and basic. Every conversation so far has been dull and emotionless, though I do enjoy how homo-erotic it all is 😂 ❌️ Controls - Messy. L1 + Square to jump? Guy runs like a mental patient. Radial menus not great, finicky. Nothing feels intuitive, like holding start and using d-pad to use quick menu ❌️ Learning things is a nice idea, just not a fan of standing still & staring at everything for 3 seconds to do so So far I'm feeling quite... meh, about it. I'll play more of course but I'm not excited to do so. I feel like the real enjoyment will kick in once the traversal options set in, like dragons and jetpacks. I'm only a few hours in, so hopefully it picks up soon, but it currently feels like a visually and mechanically impressive, but boring, updated Skyrim.

Crimson Desert has Launched! Over 200k players on steam, with reviews currently sitting at mixed. Journalist reviews were not great, but more importantly - how are you liking it?

Beneath Zamorak’s shadow, warm light drifts through maple groves. Quiet and undisturbed. Savor it now - you will need to gear up when the fortress awakens. Dowdun Reach is coming March 31.