Of all the games I’m looking forward to playing at Gamescom this year, Crimson Desert is probably the one I’m most looking forward to. It’s a stylish action game from Pearl Abyss that takes the bones and core of the hit multiplayer online game Black Desert Online and adds particle effects. From the trailer, the game looks like a feast for the eyes and the heart, but after actually playing it, I’m still not sure. What’s really surprising is that I don’t even think it’s the game’s fault.
You see, one of Crimson Desert’s most appealing features is its combo system. By pressing two buttons at the same time, a variety of special attacks can be unleashed. Pressing light and heavy attacks can deliver huge slashes, but face button combos can result in stabs, kicks, and even wrestling-style brain-destroying blows. The result of all of this is an amazingly cathartic brawl that sees you zipping between typical fantasy battles and often hilariously cool action sequences. It helps that the Pearl Abyss team also designed the melee combat to be ruthless and powerful – heavy attacks have a weight to them that really makes the player feel powerful.
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But, and it’s a big but, this system only works best when fighting other humanoids. All of these skills can be put to great use when fighting bandits. The parts of the Gamescom demo where you face these enemies were fantastic – the quality level even exceeded my expectations. But the vast majority of the demo was spent fighting bosses, where these skills don’t affect them for the most part. Combat devolves into dashing (and blocking/recoiling against Reed Devil and Staglord), where the most effective way to fight is to slowly and patiently use one or two charged slashes or stabs when an opening appears.
Why they would sit down the press and influencers to introduce these wonderful aspects of the combat, only to throw them into scenes where these aspects have no use, is baffling. It encourages you to play a Souls-style hit-and-run game, and the game is at its best when you’re stuck in it, reveling in the raw, frustrating beating. Yes, the game still feels good, but after beating three bosses, I just wanted to restart the demo and try the tutorial again as it throws about 20 generic goons at you.
Let me explain why this is so. While the bosses are decent, they’re one-on-one fights. They’ll charge at you and unleash all sorts of powerful attacks, which you can deal with in typical boss-fight fashion. Group fights, where you’re ramming headfirst into five people, are a whole other ballgame. Forget the patient waiting you’ve experienced in other action games – the regular enemies in this game will come in groups and beat the shit out of you like you’re in a World Star street-fighting video. One guy will chop you twice with a sword, but his brother will kick you in the back, and Steve to your right will be slashing at you with an axe. It’s awesome! I haven’t felt anything like this since I was beaten by an Absolver player.
But hey, it’s worth mentioning that there’s more to Crimson Desert than just combat. The game looks gorgeous, there’s no doubt about that. Pearl Abyss went into a lab and, by playing some shenanigans with test tubes and flasks, managed to make a game that looks better than anything they’ve ever made, and really can be considered one of the best looking games currently in development. Everything looks good in motion, and the particle effects I mentioned earlier are rich to the point of being almost ridiculous. A boss swings his sword at you with a power-up move that’s likely to send out more sparks than a welder’s torch.
When you’re thrown against a brick wall or off a cliff, stones shatter. When you chop reeds, they scatter around you. Ground slams crack and break the floor, and bosses glow and radiate bright colors, pushing this game’s graphical prowess to another level. Even though I was disappointed by the preview demo, it was clear that this was a great game. This is the game you and I saw in the gameplay trailer, with horses drifting around corners and arm wrestling matches in taverns. I finished Crimson Desert a little frustrated, but eager to try more.
With the game set to release in 2025, there’s plenty of time to do just that, whether through future previews or eventual reviews. I can now say with certainty that the core of the game – its combat and its looks – is excellent. I just wish my first real exposure to the game was in a format that best highlights the game’s strengths.
Crimson Desert is expected to be released in the second quarter of 2025.
