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My first impression so far... Crimson Desert is a VASTLY complex game that is a deep dive... a true single-player sandbox game that most modern players are not used to. So far, the main issue many people have with Crimson Desert is that it doesn't include the typical "hand-holding" common in most Western AAA games. It has barely any tutorials and no spoon-fed mechanics, leading to the overwhelming, confusing, and obtuse complaints coming from many players. For most things, you are left to "figure it out on your own", and for many players like me who love the complexity, that's the beauty of it. For me, I HATE tutorials. I hate game "onboarding". I want to just dive in and explore the world and figure out the mechanics as I go along. The other issue is the story. The story is mid, but for the game, the story is just there as a backdrop, not as the main focus of the game. The real "plot" is whatever adventure you, as a player, go on... not some linear track story common with pretty much every other western AAA game. For me so far... the beauty is in the discovery, the “oh shit, that’s how it works” moments, hours of exploration and experimentation. That is where the friction is so far. Complex controls, complex combos, Inventory where you can't loot everything you want, convoluted crafting system, a quest line that doesn't hand-hold, no theme park, no linear narrative epic, and a world where a rabbit hole deep dive is the point. This isn't a game like Elden Ring where its hard but simple, or other open-world games where mechanics are spelled out for you. It really feels like an old-school sandbox with a 2026 open-world glowup.

For anyone that couldn't figure out how to put your arrow on fire, I have no idea why I have to be at certain angle to lit the arrow... The more I play this game the more I am getting frustrated