Raven's Review: Crimson Desert

For a game this damn massive, Crimson Desert somehow manages to stay pretty addictive instead of mad exhausting. Between the gorgeous open world, brutal boss fights, deep combat builds, and the endless amount of cool random shit to discover, Pearl Abyss created a game that constantly distracts you in the best possible way. One minute you’re hunting a legendary weapon, the next you’re fist fighting a monster off a cliff or riding a polar bear through the desert like a complete psychopathic G. This game is chaos, beauty, and violence mixed together — and somehow it works.

THE HELL YEAHS: (Things We Love)

While I can't say I'm ready to ditch the my existence of pickleball and desinger sneakers for the Greymane life, they do have a fair amount of cool shit working for them on the way to rebuild their society. Here’s the stuff that worked for me:

• The world is HUGE and packed with stuff to do without feeling empty. Every new area you enter is visually dazzling as hell. You'd almost wanna live there until you remember they dont have indoor plumbing or Taco Bell.

• Combat is Tengen Uzui level flashy, brutal, and insanely satisfying. Giving enemies the Tombstone Piledriver from out of the sky never gets old.

• 76 bosses with almost zero hand-holding. Some fights genuinely make you question Cliff’s life choices.

• Armor and weapon design is top tier. The customization and elemental effects look incredible and the detail is of a Targaryen King.

• Exploration feels rewarding. Brain-fucking puzzles, hidden gear behind nearly every waterfall, unique mounts, abyss challenges — there’s always something pulling you off the main quest. Perfect for Dora's just looking to explore.

• You can do tons of shit you'd probably suck at in real life, such as fish, craft, mine, bounty hunt, tame animals, ride dragons, and apparently commit crimes against nature by riding a polar bear through the desert. - it even comes in clutch during battle.

• Pearl Abyss deserves mad respect for the post-launch support. Multiple quality-of-life updates within weeks shows they actually give a damn about the game and the players.

THE HELL NOPES: (Things That Are Ass)

Now I'm not a known hater, perhaps an unknown one, but despite the triumphs Crimson Desert has achieved there's still a few things that almost made me smash a screen or two - well you know if them shits weren't so darn expensive.

• The launch was rough. Bugs, NPC issues, broken quests, frame drops, and screen tearing should’ve been fixed before release.

• Console controls are BOOTY. Some button mappings feel like they were designed by somebody actively trying to rain on all the parades.

• The story isn’t nearly as interesting as the gameplay. Props for trying to make refugees seem sexy, but no.

• Yann sucks. Serious its been a while since I've hated someone so damn much, fictional or otherwise. Every mission involving him feels like babysitting the multiverses dumbest man. Yeah fuck Yann dude.

• Legendary weapons look super cool, but most weapon types share the same movesets, which hurts build variety.

• Storage space at launch was painfully limited. Honestly if you're an item hoarder like me it's still not enough. Momma needs the big purse yo.

• At $90, the game absolutely had pressure to deliver on launch day — and parts of it clearly needed more time in the oven.

RAVEN'S RANK

Sure Crimson Desert isn’t perfect, but it’s one of the most enjoyable open-world RPGs in years. Pearl Abyss remembered something a lot of developers forgot: if the gameplay loop is fun enough, players will forgive a lot. The combat hits hard, exploration constantly rewards curiosity, and the world feels alive without dragging you around like a toddler on a leash the entire time.

If you want a nonlinear fantasy RPG packed with bosses, exploration, chaos, and enough content to consume your social life for the next few months, Crimson Desert is absolutely worth your time.

Just stay the fuck away from Yann.

Is Crimson Desert worth the 90 bones and the unbridled frustrations that is Yann or is this a pass for you?