Crimson Desert's review scores are perfectly fine. They're pretty good, in fact. But the new open-world RPG isn't the best game ever made, as some people hoped it would be, prompting developer Pearl Abyss' share price to sink almost 30%.
Crimson Desert was previously best known as the game that looked almost too good to be true in all of its maximalist trailers. Glimpses at its dragon riding, jetpacks, grapples, a huge fantasy world, quick cuts of too many weapon types to keep track of, and some absolutely massive boss battles made it one of Steam's most-wishlisted games.
But the reviews that dropped yesterday, on March 18, made Pearl Abyss's RPG sound more like a very good, fun time rather than a genre-shaking GOTY contender, a cardinal sin for shareholders. On the aggregate review site Metacritic, Crimson Desert's average critic score ist a respectable 78.
GamesRadar+'s Crimson Desert review called it a slightly messy experience that worked better as an entertaining sandbox than a well-tuned story with "elements of genius and wonder [that] make the experience worthwhile."
Seoul Economic Daily reports that Pearl Abyss share price fell 29% to 46,000 won, down 19,000 right around the time that Crimson Desert's critic reviews started dropping. The stock market is a fickle thing, and should Crimson Desert be a success anyway, you bet those numbers will just shoot right back up. But, for now, Pearl Abyss is getting a slap on the wrist because being good is apparently not quite good enough.
Crimson Desert launches in full later today (March 19) on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5.
Crimson Desert dev says not to worry about Denuvo, because the impressive PC preview builds they've shown already had the DRM and are "representative of the final consumer's experience."
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