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Are you one of the 20 million or so people playing the MMORPG Black Desert? If so, the idea of a single player RPG set in the same universe will likely raise your eyebrows for all the right reasons. If you're not familiar with that game, fear not, as Crimson Desert is a self-contained adventure that doesn't require any prior knowledge of its world or systems. The team at Pearl Abyss tell us that they're doing everything they can to ensure "we deliver the highest quality gameplay to players without compromise".
You'll be stepping into the boots of Kliff Macduff, leader of the Greymanes. The continent of Pywell is in turmoil, and it's up to you and your band of mercenaries to save it from ruin. The vast open world, full of humans, non-humans (both friends and foes), and magic offers all the combat, secrets, and exploration opportunities that you'd expect. The MMORPG origins, however, will help prevent this from becoming predictable.
Big Macduff
Developer: Pearl Abyss
Publisher: Pearl Abyss
Platform(s): PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
Release date: Late 2025
Although a solo adventure, you won't always have to fight alone. You'll sometimes fight alongside your fellow mercenaries, allowing for new combat opportunities and a somewhat cinematic feel to fights. It's clear, in fact, that fights in Crimson Desert are being designed with spectacle in mind. Blood flies, visual effects can dazzle, the speed is fast, and some scripted encounters are punctuated with cutscenes. We've even seen that it's possible to kick an enemy off a cliff. This may not be Sparta, but it's close.
"Crimson Desert's demos have showcased combat and bosses thus far because we felt it best fit the limited time available in a demo setting," the devs explain. "In the full game, players can expect a well-rounded experience that balances exploration, combat against multiple foes, boss battles, puzzles, adventure, and faction/resource management". You'll be able to swap out gear for better and better equipment as you progress, and Kliff himself has a selection of stats to beef up - including stamina, attack speed, and critical chance - as you explore Pywel.
Although Pywel is a land full of fantastical creatures and various forms of magic, the Pearl Abyss team recognizes that there's still a need to balance realism with fun.
"While aiming to represent graphics and motion realistically, we prioritized providing players with satisfying control responses and feedback when it comes to the action and combat," they explain. "We focus on the immediacy of character movements and skill transitions upon control movement, ensuring that the movement distances accurately reflect the player's intentions. This approach is designed to allow players to feel immediate and intuitive responses to interactions within the game, thereby offering a more immersive gaming experience."
"Horses not quite doing it for you? Okay then, how about dragon riding?"
An open world demands some interesting ways to get around, and Crimson Desert delivers. Sure, you'll do a lot of running around, but at some point you'll acquire the crow wings ability, allowing you to fall from immense heights safely, and glide great distances like a fantasy Batman. On the ground, you'll get to enjoy some horse riding; and who doesn't enjoy that? Horses not quite doing it for you? Okay then, how about dragon riding? We've seen that we'll be given the opportunity to ride one of these mythical beasts through the air - complete with raining down fire from above - and we can't wait.
An epic journey through a land of fantasy means boss fights, and the ones we've seen so far offer promising variety. The beast known as White Horn towers over you while flailing its huge limbs about, for example, while the Reed Devil - while human shaped and human sized - demands quick thinking and quick reflexes in a different way, with fast and agile attacks and teleportation.
The team is using its experience with the hugely successful, long-running Black Desert to make Crimson Desert as good as it can be. "We have learned the importance of teamwork and efficient development processes. These lessons have enabled us to manage resources more efficiently. Our development team is now very adaptable, and well equipped to tackle various challenges during the development of Crimson Desert".
Crimson Desert feels like Dragon’s Dogma 2 combined with The Witcher 3’s lone hero action swagger
