Crimson Desertwas first announced in 2020 as a single-player game set inthe world ofBlack Desert Online. While plenty of screenshots, trailers, and general news have been revealed since then, the game has remained a bit of a mystery as to what it is exactly. In it, players take on the role of a mercenary named Kliff who deals with a painful past and a complicated present. That’s the gist.
Gameplay-wise,Crimson Desertis an open-world action-adventure game – seemingly geared toward those who want a more hardcore experience. During our time with its Gamescom 2024 demo, two things were clear: it plays a lot likeDragon’s Dogma 2without the Pawn systemand the MMO origins/underpinnings of the game still feel present.
Crimson Desert Combat Has Weight
Our demo saw us play through a tutorial where we faced off with a mob of barbarians led by a stronger mini-boss/leader. We then tackled two ofCrimson Desert’s bosses: the Reed Devil and the Stag Lord. Notably, each encounter played differently and saw us using new and developing skills to tackle them.
The tutorial did exactly what it should and introduced us to the core gameplay mechanics. Players can interchange light and heavy attack inputs to perform combos of various strengths, while parrying and/or dodging attacks. Some of the standard combos are extremely flashy, and other inputs could trigger special attacks like a fast, forward lunge. This tutorial fight saw us slowly picking off enemies one by one, dodging the mini-boss as it performed rolling attacks.
Up-close, the combat was visceral and weighty, but we found ourselves moving around a bit too much to fully enjoy it. Indeed, that weight is oddly transferred depending on actions taken by the player, how they approach mobs vs. individual enemies, how they make use of combos, and even how they tackle bosses. A good example of this is how heavy movement can feel except for when in combat itself, and as a whole, dodging feels a bit like afat roll in a Soulslike game. It doesn’t feel consistent, but when it clicks, it clicks.
Crimson Desert’s Stag Lord and Reed Devil Boss Fights
A good example of this is with the Stag Lord boss fight. Because it was a single target, we were able to execute more combos cleanly and remain engaged in the fight. It was trying, but it was consistent. It still had weight to the gameplay, but it wasn’t being dragged all over the map. This was a contest between two powerful beings, Kliff and the Stag Lord, and it realized that fantasy rather well.
On the other hand, we found ourselves at a disadvantage against the Reed Devil; the Reed Devil was very much a fast, get-in-and-get-out enemy. The first phase saw us doing a lot to hit him from a distance and then close that distance, but we’d end up chasing him around the map, dealing a little damage, and then chasing him again. This became more complicated in the second phase, as we had to destroy various totems to weaken him; however, he also became more aggressive. We found ourselves letting him come to us this time around, but the sheer weight of Kliff and the gameplay really made this boss fight very different from other encounters.
There’s something to be said about variety in gameplay, as each situation felt completely different, but each time did feel somewhat like a single-player game with anMMO-esque enemy design. This was also a demo, of course, meaning our weapons and build options were limited, so there could be something there. Overall,Crimson Desertfeels promising – even if it is in need of fine-tuning. With no set release date, that’s possibly already in the works, and a more streamlined game feel will no doubt go a long way in makingCrimson Desertspecial for Pearl Abyss fans.
Crimson Desert
WHERE TO PLAY
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