South Korean developer Pearl Abyss invites players to the medieval fantasy land of Pywel with the open-world role-playing game Crimson Desert.

I’ve not been following the development of Crimson Desert. A few screenshots caught my eye, but my passing familiarity with Pearl Abyss’ decade?old Black Desert Online left me hesitant. Then I started hearing rumblings. Beyond the growing controversy surrounding the game’s launch, there were aspects of Crimson Desert that genuinely intrigued me. So, I decided to take a look, and I’m glad I did.

Crimson Desert is a game I’ve obsessed over more than any other in recent years. Its massive, captivating world offers no hand?holding, instead rewarding players who fully explore it rather than simply playing to win. I started my review late, which meant I avoided some of the game’s early issues. The version I played was far more refined than what some early reviewers encountered.

For the most part, players assume the role of Kliff, a Greymane who, early in the game, is defeated, along with his band of warriors, by Myurdin, leader of the Black Bears. The core plot is straightforward: regroup the Greymanes and defeat the Black Bears. To do so, players are given the vast continent of Pywel to explore. There is, however, another layer to the narrative, a more mystical thread, reminiscent of the precursor race found in the Assassin’s Creed games.

The game world hits with the same impact as The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It’s a massive open?world fantasy experience, but one that feels densely packed with life. That’s not to say The Witcher 3 feels empty, but Crimson Desert leans more heavily into sandbox design than rigid, mission?based progression. In many ways, it reminds me of Skyrim or Red Dead Redemption 2, where there’s little pressure to follow the main story. It’s a world where you can simply exist, living a second life. Each session becomes its own self?contained story, shaped by whatever discovery catches your attention.\

There’s more than a hint of Kingdom Come: Deliverance here as well. The buildings and settlements feature a similar level of meticulous detail, and the user interface can be just as unwieldy. Throw in moments that echo Dynasty Warriors, particularly when swarmed by enemies attacking from all sides, and you begin to see how broadly Crimson Desert draws from the genre.

The game is packed with systems that continue unlocking well into the experience. Alongside familiar mechanics like gear upgrades, crafting, and trading, there’s also mining, fishing, logging, farming, and even building.

There is, quite frankly, an absurd amount to do. Beyond pure exploration, players will find faction quests, regional storylines, bounty hunting, and the main narrative missions. As with most games of this scale, the quality of missions varies, but on the whole, they meaningfully contribute to the experience.

In creating such a detailed world, there’s plenty of storytelling hidden in the environments. The locations that you visit will often have optional puzzles with extra rewards for those with a keen eye.

These puzzles aren’t limited to the landmass of Pywel. High above the continent lies another realm, The Abyss. This area gives players access to ancient technologies such as fast?travel portals and provides context for Kliff’s Axiom powers. Navigating The Abyss involves solving light puzzle challenges, rarely difficult, but sometimes gated by prerequisite Axiom abilities unlocked through the skill tree or by observing others who possess them. As in Assassin’s Creed, distinctive architectural motifs serve as visual shorthand for these ancient systems

Most of the launch?day complaints have been addressed through a steady stream of patches. Movement mechanics like flight and sprinting have been tuned, additional fast?travel options added, and the manual save system adjusted to prevent accidentally loading older saves. While a handful of issues remain, none proved to be deal?breakers in my experience.

The user interface is still something of a handful, though no worse than a typical Dark Souls title. New storage chests have reduced the burden of inventory management, but the game’s menus remain overly complex, a recurring design trait throughout Crimson Desert. That said, Pearl Abyss appears to be actively addressing these concerns and steadily smoothing out the game’s rough edges.

The combat is a mix of button-mashing and timed parries with enough unlockable combos to make your fingers cramp. The game offers the mechanics of a tactical turn-based RPG but expects players to work in real time. This doesn’t always land, especially if, like me, your memory isn’t what it used to be. Fortunately, you can summon a secondary character for assistance when things get overwhelming. Boss encounters, however, are another matter.

I’m generally not a fan of boss fights, and Crimson Desert features plenty of them, with wildly inconsistent difficulty. I found it essential to stockpile pre?cooked meals to snack on mid?battle. These encounters often act as gatekeepers for players trying to rush through the game without engaging in side quests. Some bosses simply need to wait until you’re strong enough.

There’s a fair amount of gore, enough to say that this isn’t a game for kids. Some of the dialogue is also very adult-oriented. I swear like a trooper, but even I was taken aback by the colourful language. It’s a bit over the top. Even accidentally bumping into someone is often met with a tirade that turns the air blue.

The game uses Pearl Abyss’s proprietary BlackSpace Engine, an upgraded version of the same game engine used in Black Desert Online. The visuals, on the whole, look great. On PC, I could use DLSS 4.5 to produce buttery smooth performance, showing off the detailed vistas that go on all the way to the horizon. The various locations are meticulously modelled with a lot of destructible environments, so you can find yourself smashing your way through fences and other structures.

The continent of Pywel is the true star. From European?style castles to the ethereal floating platforms of The Abyss, and across biomes ranging from lush forests and rainforests to snowy tundra and scorching deserts, Crimson Desert is frequently breathtaking. Its inhabitants, peculiarly sporting regional British accents, bring the land to life.

It may be derivative, with dwarven steampunk contraptions, mysterious witches, fairy?like Shai, and the goblins of the Goldleaf Merchants Guild, but these familiar tropes help ground the game in a recognisable fantasy world.

And the world is enormous, which I consider a strength, even if some reviewers seem to insist that six hours is the ideal game length. Crimson Desert is designed to be lived in for the long haul, offering excellent value for money. It’s a game so large and varied that burnout is more likely than completion. This is the kind of world you’ll return to for years, simply to wander and soak it all in.

Crimson Desert is the sort of role?playing game that only comes along once in a while. It invites players to live another life in a vast, adventurous world. Pearl Abyss has addressed many of the game’s early stumbles and continues to refine the experience. It’s the best game I’ve played all year and a strong contender for game of the year.

Rating: Great

The publisher provided a copy of Crimson Desert for this review.