Crimson Desert

[phil bottle 10,299]

This has been in development a good while and finally getting released in March. Could be a good 'un but time will tell, hopefully its as good as it looks...

 

 

[Luseth 2,215]

So I played the MMO they released some time ago and had a lot fun, in fact my wife played it as well and she's not big into gaming so I can say the studio definately has some talent. This does seem a bit over ambitious for their size though so I will wait and see on initial reviews but it is one all being well I may well be picking up.

[phil bottle 10,299]

On 1/30/2026 at 1:21 PM, Luseth said:

So I played the MMO they released some time ago and had a lot fun, in fact my wife played it as well and she's not big into gaming so I can say the studio definately has some talent. This does seem a bit over ambitious for their size though so I will wait and see on initial reviews but it is one all being well I may well be picking up.

 

This was supposed to be an MMO as well but they've dialled it back and it's single player only. But yep agree, let's see how it reviews...

[MrBiron 1,524]

This is either going to be amazing or it's going to be utterly shite 🤣

[Luseth 2,215]

46 minutes ago, MrBiron said:

This is either going to be amazing or it's going to be utterly shite 🤣

 

Yup, it's exactly why I am waiting for initial reviews and gameplay footage etc. I am concerned it's over ambitious and that can often see a game really struggle as nothing ends up being 'good'.

[phil bottle 10,299]

Latest info on this, i'm still quietly hopeful it's going to be decent...

 

 

[phil bottle 10,299]

I wonder if this is the game that will finally get me off my Tarkov addiction, this looks pretty incredible imo

 

 

 

[Luseth 2,215]

I have it on order so will let you know how I get on with it, I am still playing Avowed but will jump on and test it out so I can give initial thoughts.

[GazzaGarratt 11,318]

Looks fantastic tbh. The puzzles, albeit seem very hard, will keep the game fresh and wanting you to discover more and more of the world. I think I may have to add it on my list too. £50 for PS5 is extremely good price online right now for a large open world game.

[phil bottle 10,299]

I've seen the PC version for £35 via G2A and I'm struggling to stop myself from going for it 🙈😅

[Luseth 2,215]

£35 sounds a great price when you consider the size of the game. My only real concern is that it could be too big, in saying that I mean there is in my eyes potential for repetition and players getting a bit bored of the same world but obviously this can easily be designed away so we will see.

[MrBiron 1,524]

This game is mid to good reviews. I watched a review that said it's a good game but, at the moment, it has some game breaking bugs so it's best to wait until it's had a few patches before buying it.

[Sennex 2,144]

Is it out?

 

I have it wishlisted on steam, and didn't even notice yet

[phil bottle 10,299]

40 minutes ago, Sennex said:

Is it out?

 

I have it wishlisted on steam, and didn't even notice yet

Goes live today at some point, but a lot of reviews started coming out already.

[Luseth 2,215]

It has been a mixed bag with the reviews, then just looking at steam reviews it sit's at 67%. Metacritic sit's at 78% which is a decent score in my eyes from a studio that produced an MMO most recently.

 

That said, what is interesting is when you filter the playtime:-

Players with 3+ hours and it comes out mostly positive

Players with 1-3 hours and it suddenly becomes quite a mixed bag

 

I know people generally consume quite quickly in today's world but for a game of this magnitude I can't imagine an hour is enough to judge it on?

 

I think most of the common issues I have seen-

- Game has quite a few bugs, this doesn't really surprise me with how big it is, Skyrim was exactly the same when it first came out, Fallout

- Some of the games elements are not clear i.e. puzzles are too challenging, bosses can be difficult - I feel like this is a common issue with modern games. Games like Elden ring get praised for not handholding you as you go but then others don't get the same sort of response.

- Some of the quests feel like an MMO, not really surprising considering the studio and where it has come from.

 

I think the hype may have done some damage to this game in terms of how well it does, everyone saw the videos, clips etc and expected a game akin to the Witcher 3, not surprising, I think they have marketed the game well but then that will lead to disappointment for many.

 

I think if you played Black desert you are probably more aware of what you are going to get here and won't be disappointed. If you want a world you can get lost in rather than expecting a story akin to the witcher level of quality then you will get quite a bit of enjoyment here I think from everything that is being reported.

 

I have yet to install it but will put it on over the weekend I imagine.

[ChaosGladiator 849]

I did see one review saying the game is very dull up until your about 8+ hours in and then it gets a lot better

[phil bottle 10,299]

3 hours ago, ChaosGladiator said:

I did see one review saying the game is very dull up until your about 8+ hours in and then it gets a lot better

I've heard the same. I'm going to hold off on it until I hear back from @Luseth when he tries it out.

[ChaosGladiator 849]

I also see IGN gave it a 6/10 and they also gave Concord and the likes a 7/10 so I’m taking these reviews with a truckload of salt 😂

[Luseth 2,215]

So I have had a couple of hours on it now so I will give you a rundown of the key areas of a game for me:-

 

Visually it looks great for the most part, there are elements where the textures appear quite rough though, I am sure you will have seen the waterfalls online as one example.

 

Story I think is ok so far though it's a little what the hell is going on at the start but it is slow going, I have read like above that the first few hours it takes a bit to get going and I am seeing that.

 

Gameplay I think is somewhat weak, not for the fact there isn't much there but I think there is too much and it throws everything at you quite quickly, the number of controls / button presses I have been given in the first couple of hours is mad. I do think this would be better on PC rather than PS5 where you can much more easily customise your controls I imagine. I think you can see where the MMO rubs off from their previous game, there are elements like the knowledge that I am fairly sure comes from Black Desert from memory. I don't think it explains stuff particularly great, it tries to but sometimes I still don't feel like I fully understand how to do something, it would be good if there was someway to go back and review a tutorial item or something.

 

World building from what I have seen so far is great, it's huge, there's not too much hand holding but enough some people won't moan. I don't know yet how invested I will get in places. There seems to be a wealth of things to do with mini games and such

 

Then as far as a game goes I think it's actually quite fun, when I said there was a lot in it before, there are things in this game that you would not typically put in a medieval setting. The dev's have not forgotten this is a game, that they can do whatever they want and don't have to follow a formula or I don't know, this is a medieval game so everyone must follow a certain style. I think of Witcher and every character was the same, the combat is what you would expect of it but with this I have no idea what is going to be given to me or thrown at me next. 

 

It is not polished, it does not feel like a Rockstar game or a Nintendo Zelda but I am having fun with it so far especially now the game's opening up a bit and there is a bit more direction with quests that need completing and such.

 

Oh the arm wrestling mini game will ache your thumb it's horrible 😄 

 

I have yet to come across any bugs on the PS5 and I had heard there were a few issues.

[phil bottle 10,299]

The game seems a bit marmite for some folks out there. 

 

However, I finally got around to trying out Dragons Dogma 2 yesterday and wasn't impressed so I've taken the plunge and bought Crimson Desert on Steam. I'll give it a go this evening to see if my geriatric 1080ti can handle it.