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~ Crimson Desert ~

I must admit, after a quick Google I'm surprised the developers recommend playing with a controller. My PC is under my TV in a media cabinet so K+M isn't really possible, so am tempted to get this game even though I've never really played this specific genre.

Closest I've got is Just Cause 3, where i loved just dicking about exploring the islands. I do love a good fantasy/sci-fi movie so am heavily considering this. I take the point that the story is meant to be light at best, but making your own mini stories via random exploration kind of sounds up my street
 
Tom said:
You sure about that? Better look again.
Click to expand...

@Tom mate, I also need to confess and be sincere. Me too, almost didn't played Witcher 3 to reach those minimum standards, I mean I have just 440hrs in it instead of 1000, and I'm missing 27 achievements :CRY:. Look, even in Elden Ring I'm missing 4 achievements. Please give me a last chance... :PRAY:

Screenshot 2026-03-19 201618.png
Screenshot 2026-03-19 201646.png
 


EDIT: Luke Stephens's video was on point and objective, but I also want to share another great review, that will be the last that I'll share before release...



This game will be available in less than 1 hour, so I wish to all who preordered it or thinking on experiencing it on release, that you'll enjoy a great experience!
 
Last edited:
etb10dmk said:
Click to expand...

Yes, Luke Stephens... Now, there's an independent reviewer that doesn't seem biased, nor a fanboy (I'm being totally sincere here, as in, not ironic). I've seen his video from a couple of weeks ago in which he played a preview of the game, and he just nails everything... Thing is, I still wanna wait for Angry Joe's review, and dang it, I still wanna (or have to) play Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 and Yotei before (King) Crimson Desert :PP

Not to mention that, before purchasing, I'd like to know if those particle effects (the abundance of fire sparkles and all those colored sword swing effects) can be toned down, or be turned off completely... Those are a big letdown for me, I admit (if you could inform me, I'd be very grateful)

And hey, patience is a virtue... Besides, I've stumbled upon a few wise words from some random internet fella today:

"At launch, a video game is the most expensive price it'll ever be in the worst condition it'll ever be in."

Couldn't be more accurate than that.
 


Andy from Kinda Funny just started livestreaming the game, playing from close to the start of it

Marathon stream continued:
 
Last edited:
Steam Reviews are mixed at 57% so seems like it isn't only journalists who don't see the game as the next big hit.

Like I said I think the Eurogamer review was fair. It is just a game that will divide people.

This is the review of someone with 36 hours in it:

I wish I liked this game. Truly I do. I love Breath of the Wild. I love fun open worlds. I love deep character action. But... this ain't it.

It's a jack of all trades, master of none. The story is bad, the characters are bland, moving the character around doesn't feel great, the puzzles are obtuse in a not-fun kind of way, the boss fights aren't great, the user interface is one of the worst I have ever seen in a AAA game, the inventory system is weirdly obtuse, and worst of all it is tedious. The cool stuff you see from the trailers is way deep into the game, so don't expect mechs or jetpacks anytime soon.

I think the combat is stylish as hell though. I love the different wrestling moves you can do. I love the look of the open world, and exploring it can be interesting.

I can see this game clicking for a lot of people, but it did not for me.
Click to expand...
 
Jay-Jay 10 said:
It's a jack of all trades, master of none. The story is bad, the characters are bland, moving the character around doesn't feel great, the puzzles are obtuse in a not-fun kind of way, the boss fights aren't great, the user interface is one of the worst I have ever seen in a AAA game, the inventory system is weirdly obtuse, and worst of all it is tedious.
Click to expand...

This is exact "Cherry on Top", while someone will be still trying to find something excellent and unique in game, that looks like a real "combination of different and already seen popular mechanics", but at same time with dull gameplay and missing whole working concept of game project.
 
My small review after 4 hours for what its worth (played on a PS5 Pro). I've reached the 2nd chapter.

- Graphics are good, Performance is OK (on a PS5 Pro). I had to turn off 120hz support to fix a lot of the blurriness in the game. I am kind of thinking that I possibly should have bought it for the PC instead but my wife said she wanted to play it too (on her own PS5), so I didnt.
- Story is subpar, standard revenge stuff
- Lore is plentiful which is nice. You can really get lost in its world. Actually quite incredible.
- Lots of loot to gather and manage and if you have played any MMO, Bethesda or "Survival" game, you will be OK with that
- Controls are BY FAR the worst I have dealt with since playing ArmA. It really does feel at times there has been 10 different teams working on the game at once and each of them got provided their own control set rules. So the end result is a mish mash of bad control systems that make no sense at all. HOWEVER, if you are not completely stupid, you remember the combinations and get used to it. As I have played many other complex control games in the past, I think my tolerance level is higher than most
- General movement and action gameplay is fine. Feels like I am playing RDR2 mixed with Assassins Creed / GoT mixed with standard Eastern game tech. As I enjoy a lot of JRPG & RPG games, this doesnt bother me as much as it would other people
- Sound is very good, as is pretty standard for Eastern games

TLDR; It is not for everybody and was over hyped far too much before release because people are so desperate for something new that can fill a void until something like GTA 6 comes along. If you want a game that holds your hand throughout a linear story, this isn't it. Its a 6/10 game but I think that could grow to an 7/10 or 8/10 if they streamline the controls a little and fix some performance problems.
 
I have played Crimson Desert for almost 15 hours and I enjoy every part of it because is exactly what I expected from the start. I'll not give final impressions yet, because could be a big disservice meaning how huge this game is, and I feel that I didn't touched even the smaller fraction of it. But what I can tell though, this could be the most divisive game that I experienced regarding both sides of the coin in terms of people's opinions (yet, both are right). There are those who expected some true and true RPG like a Witcher game deep in story to get hooked from the beginning via memorable characters, and exploring it with a smooth standardized control pattern. This isn't the game for that audience if they expected a great story as the main focus, to get guided, or to get puzzles solved by themselves because CD is filled with challenges (like in souls games there is no difficulty option to be changed, active popups or hints), so the game will not hold your hand at all when exploring. Then, there are others enjoying the content of this hybrid experience (including myself), because there are many interesting parts that makes Crimson Desert shine comparing to other titles:

- an Elden Ring/BOTW type of world filled with challenges, exploration and secrets, the most beautiful graphics ever seen (on higher cards) and plenty of activities to get involved into.
- some Witcher 3 design in scope regarding characters and NPCs doing naturally their daily chores, and players being actually rewarded with usable knowledge and info just by interacting with NPCs or parts of the world randomly. Besides that, the ambience and music actually makes you feel at home in a witcher-ish setting.
- a RDR map philosophy design and same type of mechanics when interacting with characters; there is a slower pace when the character is out of action regarding movement and animations, but at the same time way faster during combat. Missions have mostly the same RDR2 design philosophy. There are side quest boards exactly like in Witcher3/RDR2 where you can inspect and activate the side quest.
- there are some similarities AC style in climbing and parkouring mechanics that will be familiar for people wo enjoyed in the past those type of games, but also those could be combined with new mechanics.
- fast action based DMC/Ninja Gaiden Style combat, very different from traditional RPG games or western action games but also unique, where you'll need to read enemy patterns to fight effectively. It clicks especially when you're combining them with a multitude of unlocked abilities by learning their inputs over time.

Overall, this was just a generic view without spoiling anything, knowing that Crimson Desert started to expand for me just now after the first 10-12 hours, when gameplay and the world itself started to shine with rewarding experiences and being faster in pace. There are parts of controls that I also don't enjoy (inputs for the lantern as example) and also some minor parts that are feeling in some way "rushed" (but I like that you can examine items like in RDR2).

EDIT:
Regarding Steam reviews, this changed today. On the beginning was lots of "0.9h-1.5h" reviews and people changed their mind when they truly invested time in exploring this game. When CD will be more patched up, I think it will reach even a higher score. I know that eventually I'll invest 200-300h into this game or even more, but in the end this game will not be as the next Elden Ring, Witcher3, or RDR2 in terms of popularity. Pearl Abyss created a great game. I hope in the future they will enhance the controls and improve those flawed parts of the game. Now, going back in to explore more of the CD world... :SAL:

Screenshot 2026-03-21 141151.png
 
Last edited:
etb10dmk said:
I have played Crimson Desert for almost 15 hours and I enjoy every part of it because is exactly what I expected from the start. I'll not give final impressions yet, because could be a big disservice meaning how huge this game is, and I feel that I didn't touched even the smaller fraction of it. But what I can tell though, this could be the most divisive game that I experienced regarding both sides of the coin in terms of people's opinions (yet, both are right). There are those who expected some true and true RPG like a Witcher game deep in story to get hooked from the beginning via memorable characters, and exploring it with a smooth standardized control pattern. This isn't the game for that audience if they expected a great story as the main focus, to get guided, or to get puzzles solved by themselves because CD is filled with challenges (like in souls games there is no difficulty option to be changed, active popups or hints), so the game will not hold your hand at all when exploring. Then, there are others enjoying the content of this hybrid experience (including myself), because there are many interesting parts that makes Crimson Desert shine comparing to other titles:

- an Elden Ring/BOTW type of world filled with challenges, exploration and secrets, the most beautiful graphics ever seen (on higher cards) and plenty of activities to get involved into.
- some Witcher 3 design in scope regarding characters and NPCs doing naturally their daily chores, and players being actually rewarded with usable knowledge and info just by interacting with NPCs or parts of the world randomly. Besides that, the ambience and music actually makes you feel at home in a witcher-ish setting.
- a RDR map philosophy design and same type of mechanics when interacting with characters; there is a slower pace when the character is out of action regarding movement and animations, but at the same time way faster during combat. Missions have mostly the same RDR2 design philosophy. There are side quest boards exactly like in Witcher3/RDR2 where you can inspect and activate the side quest.
- there are some similarities AC style in climbing and parkouring mechanics that will be familiar for people wo enjoyed in the past those type of games, but also those could be combined with new mechanics.
- fast action based DMC/Ninja Gaiden Style combat, very different from traditional RPG games or western action games but also unique, where you'll need to read enemy patterns to fight effectively. It clicks especially when you're combining them with a multitude of unlocked abilities by learning their inputs over time.

Overall, this was just a generic view without spoiling anything, knowing that Crimson Desert started to expand for me just now after the first 10-12 hours, when gameplay and the world itself started to shine with rewarding experiences and being faster in pace. There are parts of controls that I also don't enjoy (inputs for the lantern as example) and also some minor parts that are feeling in some way "rushed" (but I like that you can examine items like in RDR2).

EDIT:
Regarding Steam reviews, this changed today. On the beginning was lots of "0.9h-1.5h" reviews and people changed their mind when they truly invested time in exploring this game. When CD will be more patched up, I think it will reach even a higher score. I know that eventually I'll invest 200-300h into this game or even more, but in the end this game will not be as the next Elden Ring, Witcher3, or RDR2 in terms of popularity. Pearl Abyss created a great game. I hope in the future they will enhance the controls and improve those flawed parts of the game. Now, going back in to explore more of the CD world... :SAL:

View attachment 410804
Click to expand...
Can not stop playing since release. So much I wanna say… but it has been said before. Your take on it reflects my view mostly.

I like to enjoy the game for what it delivers, not expecting certain things it can’t. Let’s iron out minor stuff via patches and lots of fun hours should await. 🥳

Today my new headset arrived. 🥳
Can’t wait to sink into the sofa and forget myself in Pywel.

IMG_8549.jpeg IMG_8550.jpeg
 
TBH with Steam review scores there really needs to be a limit of time played before you can write a review.
Some reviews of the game are showing only 30 mins played - Who has ever played a game for 30 minutes and made their mind up whether it is amazing or complete trash.. Unless it was completely unplayable.

For instance I bought Voyager into the Unknown and if I reviewed that after 30 minutes I would of said it seemed pretty decent and a thumbs up but after 5 hours of it and playing it more the game IMO is trash and too annoying on resources to even bother playing anymore, so a clear thumbs down.
But I do think that a game shouldn't be reviewed until they are at least 10-20% in - So in the instance of Crimson Desert at least 10 hours play.
 
its been a very long time since a game like is has made me think about it while im at work and hanging to get back to play, masterpiece, those reviewers that were complaining about inventory slots, clearly didnt explore as the game the way it was designed to be played, you do get rewarded with slots by completing certain quests or buy extra slots at vendors.
 
bsmaff said:
Some reviews of the game are showing only 30 mins played - Who has ever played a game for 30 minutes and made their mind up whether it is amazing or complete trash..

But I do think that a game shouldn't be reviewed until they are at least 10-20% in - So in the instance of Crimson Desert at least 10 hours play.
Click to expand...
But anyone who plays a game for 10hrs must at least enjoy it, so that would just bias it the opposite way, right? Who plays a game for 10hrs that they don't like? Who does anything for 10hrs they don't like? Except for work, and watching a Tranmere Rovers match (oh wait, that just feels like 10hrs).

At my age, with a full-time job and a partner who I want to spend time with and who doesn't want to watch me play single-player games all night, I'm lucky to put 10hrs into any game.

Maybe set an hour's minimum to weed out a few more toxic reviews, but then add a filter at the top for those who don't want to see reviews from people who've not put X hours in (or, just ignore the others)? But I don't think there's a much better system than what already exists.

The Xbox store reviews are unbelievably bad (I assume it's the same on PlayStation) - to the point I think they should scrap it entirely. It's just a sea of kids trying to be the edgiest edgelord in their "cutting" reviews, and it renders the whole rating system pointless. But you could argue the same for Steam when review bombing kicks off, with every angry nerd mobilised to administer mob justice.
 
Chris Davies said:
But anyone who plays a game for 10hrs must at least enjoy it, so that would just bias it the opposite way, right? Who plays a game for 10hrs that they don't like? Who does anything for 10hrs they don't like? Except for work, and watching a Tranmere Rovers match (oh wait, that just feels like 10hrs).

At my age, with a full-time job and a partner who I want to spend time with and who doesn't want to watch me play single-player games all night, I'm lucky to put 10hrs into any game.

Maybe set an hour's minimum to weed out a few more toxic reviews, but then add a filter at the top for those who don't want to see reviews from people who've not put X hours in (or, just ignore the others)? But I don't think there's a much better system than what already exists.

The Xbox store reviews are unbelievably bad (I assume it's the same on PlayStation) - to the point I think they should scrap it entirely. It's just a sea of kids trying to be the edgiest edgelord in their "cutting" reviews, and it renders the whole rating system pointless. But you could argue the same for Steam when review bombing kicks off, with every angry nerd mobilised to administer mob justice.
Click to expand...

The Steam review topic has been a hot one lately.

So many factor that play a role here…

I’m just saying, I sure spent more than 10 hours in some PES games, even when they weren’t that fun, but I wanted to know more and dove deeper.

Anyway, I’m an adult player: I can don my own opinion. I just glance at those reviews and previews those days…

I’m off to Pywel… 🥳

Edit: 003 steam update released this morning.
 
Chris Davies said:
But anyone who plays a game for 10hrs must at least enjoy it, so that would just bias it the opposite way, right? Who plays a game for 10hrs that they don't like? Who does anything for 10hrs they don't like? Except for work, and watching a Tranmere Rovers match (oh wait, that just feels like 10hrs).
Click to expand...

Maybe the answer (I'm assuming this isn't an option), is a filter for hours played and you can filter out those who've played less than one hour and more than 5 hours (for example) to see what they think about a game. Similar to Amazon reviews where you filter out the 5 star reviews because they're clearly bought and paid for by marketing whatsapp groups to get free stuff (I'm in one of those groups it's awesome! ;) )
 
bsmaff said:
Going to wait for more opinions on this.
Absolutely love RDR2 and never played Witcher 3.
Click to expand...

Think Ill skip this tbh, doesnt sound my cup of tea.

On Witcher 3, had not played any of the previous games and decided to give it a try, apart from RDR2 and 1, it is by a distance my top 3 game of all time, absolute amazing game when I had no real desire for it, but remmeber on here it getting mentioned and thought what the hell.

For the price of it now surely.


FD
 
Jimi_Zuko said:
its been a very long time since a game like is has made me think about it while im at work and hanging to get back to play, masterpiece, those reviewers that were complaining about inventory slots, clearly didnt explore as the game the way it was designed to be played, you do get rewarded with slots by completing certain quests or buy extra slots at vendors.
Click to expand...

Same feeling here. Every day I want to play more and can't stop; the more I progress and unlock stuff, the more I feel the urge to explore. One major factor is that the world feels very "alive" and is very well dynamically executed: just by walking or passing by, you can see people interacting with each other, some are chopping trees, others are cleaning, shepherding, others cultivating, reading, standing in different positions, groups of people walking together, peddlers, others bullying people, or even dancing in line together, drunkards talking gibberish, homeless people stealing or asking for money, folks on horses galloping or driving wagons, and so on. Not to mention that the fauna in CD is like in no other game I ever played, so beautiful and organic: multitude of mammals, birds moving on water, insects, fishes, domestic animals in towns, multitude of plants and trees, every single part amazes me how well is executed. Feels so vivid also during the night where greater contrasts takes over in darkness by seeing those lights on houses, street lights in cities, smoke, rain reflections, the reflection from the sky on water. Then there are those original and ambitious parts in game that none tried to implement: slingshot yourself or spinning from trees, drifting or sliding on horse, completing missions by having animals on your back or in your arms, substitute your horse with a bear or wild animals, call for your companions in adventure...

I don't want to go crazy with the content, because I played CD for 23 hours (that's 0,00001% of this game). I'll need at least 50-80 hours to complete the first town... :LMAO:
 
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/a...uded-in-crimson-desert-devs-say/1100-6538945/

"Crimson Desert developer Pearl Abyss recently addressed the game's underwhelming visuals on PlayStation 5 with an easy fix. Unfortunately, the graphics issues players are running into now aren't so easily fixed, as they're the result of generative AI, something Pearl Abyss confirmed in a recent apology posted to X."

😬

Pearl Abyss noted that "some of these assets were unintentionally included in the final release" of Crimson Desert, which certainly explains the prevalence of horses with too many limbs and humans with warped faces.

:LMAO:

Pearl Abyss also noted that it should have been more forthcoming about its AI use, especially given how vocal marketing director Will Powers has been about the studio's decision to only feature characters voiced by real humans.

I think the dude forgot to mention how many humans he employed as voice actors... Maybe a dozen, at most...?

Yikes, 2.

Seriously man... A.I. will be the fall of mankind. Should've pulled the plug on "skynet" a long time ago. Now it's too late... I mean, even the name of the director ("Will Powers"?!?) doesn't sound human at all... It seems The Simpsons have become the norm / reality.
 
crustcyb said:
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/a...uded-in-crimson-desert-devs-say/1100-6538945/

"Crimson Desert developer Pearl Abyss recently addressed the game's underwhelming visuals on PlayStation 5 with an easy fix. Unfortunately, the graphics issues players are running into now aren't so easily fixed, as they're the result of generative AI, something Pearl Abyss confirmed in a recent apology posted to X."

😬

Pearl Abyss noted that "some of these assets were unintentionally included in the final release" of Crimson Desert, which certainly explains the prevalence of horses with too many limbs and humans with warped faces.

:LMAO:

Pearl Abyss also noted that it should have been more forthcoming about its AI use, especially given how vocal marketing director Will Powers has been about the studio's decision to only feature characters voiced by real humans.

I think the dude forgot to mention how many humans he employed as voice actors... Maybe a dozen, at most...?

Yikes, 2.

Seriously man... A.I. will be the fall of mankind. Should've pulled the plug on "skynet" a long time ago. Now it's too late... I mean, even the name of the director ("Will Powers"?!?) doesn't sound human at all... It seems The Simpsons have become the norm / reality.
Click to expand...

They could have disclosed this information (like Embark ARC Raiders) & it would've had much less backlash.
But you just know that a suit wanted to maximise profits on launch, so they played the slimeball tactic.

I found some other disheartening thoughts from ex-devs, but I will let it be for now, for those who enjoy it..
Because much like Black Desert, there is a VERY good game in there, if the suits would just let it be!

I read the first patch fixed alot of stand-out bugs & problems.
Again, big respect to the actual game dev's. If the suits let them cook, they could bake a masterpiece.
 
Joga said:
They could have disclosed this information (like Embark ARC Raiders) & it would've had much less backlash.
But you just know that a suit wanted to maximise profits on launch, so they played the slimeball tactic.

I found some other disheartening thoughts from ex-devs, but I will let it be for now, for those who enjoy it..
Because much like Black Desert, there is a VERY good game in there, if the suits would just let it be!

I read the first patch fixed alot of stand-out bugs & problems.
Again, big respect to the actual game dev's. If the suits let them cook, they could bake a masterpiece.
Click to expand...

I saw your post sometime ago regarding AI in another thread and totally agree with it knowing that could escalate and could destroy everything regarding creativity, art and entertainment (besides that, also future real interactions and online experiences). One particular part with this game that could be excusable though, is that as Pearl Abyss stated: the world being that huge they first used AI as a tool to generate paintings as some backbone structure and then replaced them with hand drawn artistic creations. Because the world is so huge and knowing some gamers will always be inclined to "discovery", then they get caught by forgetting some AI pictures in the game (in my opinion unintentionally because of the deadline). I think there is no way they were aware of that was a 5 legs horse picture generated and they'll not change it, especially knowing that the world they created is focused on attention to detail, most of it very well executed. One positive aspect of this occurrence is that they'll work in the future to remove completely all the AI left, swaping those images with real artistic hand drawn work...
...
Now, regarding another positive side note for players, this game turned from 55% "mixed" reviews on steam to "mostly positive" a few days ago and now have a "very positive" status in less than a week (crazy :APPLAUD:). This was one of the fastest and greatest turnarounds that I saw from a game on steam that concludes a lot. They patched lots of issues straight away and they'll continue to do so. Very happy that I chose to have faith in Pearl Abyss, because Crimson Desert is awesome!

Screenshot 2026-03-24 174317.png


EDIT:

Major Updates

In this patch, we've adjusted some gamepad and keyboard/mouse controls, increased Health restored from food and items, and added new item storage in the Howling Hill Camp.

Fellow Greymanes
Thank you to those who have been playing Crimson Desert and sharing your feedback with us.

As we mentioned in a previous notice, we have been paying close attention to your experiences across issue reports, videos, livestreams, and community discussions. Your feedback has been invaluable to us, and we appreciate the time and care you have taken to share it with us. This patch includes some of the improvements and fixes we were able to prepare first, including changes based on player feedback, like the addition of a Storage at Howling Hill Camp for storing your Inventory items and some improvements related to keyboard and mouse controls. However, this is not the end to our control improvements; we will continue to improve both controller and keyboard/mouse controls moving forward.

We are currently reviewing various gameplay elements based on your feedback and will roll out further improvements and fixes in subsequent updates. We remain committed to improving Crimson Desert and your experience in Pywel. Thank you once again for your continued support.
Details regarding the patch schedule, fixes, and improvements can be found below.


Update Schedule
Patch 1.00.03 will become available on Xbox, Epic Games Store, and Mac App Store at a later time.
Please check back to this notice and we'll provide updates on when all the patches for each platform become available.


Patch Notes Version 1.00.03
Quests
  • Fixed an issue in the Chapter 2 quest "Reunion" where the cat would sometimes stop leading the way.
  • Improved the Chapter 4 quest "Mysterious Pot" by making the symbol stop briefly when it reaches the correct position while repairing the ancient generator.
  • Fixed an issue in "Turnali's Request" where the quest would not complete if a Bekker Shield that had already been refined was refined again.
  • Improved the notification to appear when crime status prohibit the quest from progressing.

Content
  • Added more Abyss Nexuses across the continent of Pywel to improve fast travel via teleportation.
  • Added the Private Storage that can be used to store items from your Inventory.
    • The Private Storage is located at the initial temporary lodgings in Hernand and at the Howling Hill Camp.
  • Reduced the time required to acquire knowledge.
  • Changed skill observation to be only required once to learn before being able to use it.
  • Adjusted when Force Palm is learned to allow players to use it much earlier in the game.
  • Reduced the number of hits required to log trees.
  • Changed logging so that trees are chopped with basic swings without aiming first.
  • Decreased the QTE difficulty in the Arm Wrestling minigame and when pinned by an opponent (Mount).
  • Improved the visibility of items that can provide knowledge by adding icons and tooltips that show the total number of knowledge acquired.
  • Changed ore veins and collectibles to be discovered automatically when you are within a certain proximity.
    • Regular Ores: 8m
    • Tools: 2m
      • Bonfire, Special Cooking Tool, Grindstone
  • Improved Skybridge Alignment Devices in the Abyss to trigger immediately when placed in the correct activation point.
  • Improved the visibility of Skybridge Alignment Devices within the Abyss to make them easier to locate.
  • Improved the visibility of the circuit board attached to Axiom Force to show its lines while being moved.
  • Improved camera movement when aiming a bow at a brazier and adjusted the range for lighting arrows accordingly.
  • Added an indestructible brazier in front of the Lioncrest Watchtower.
  • Improved the Trading Post UI to display Damiane, Oongka, and Kliff's horses' Inventory.
  • Added effects for destroying facilities at enemy strongholds. The effects of facility destruction are as follows:
    • Infirmary: Wounded enemies no longer return to the fight.
    • Storage Facilities: Enemy Max Health -10%.
    • Barracks Facilities: Enemy Attack -5.
  • Improved the visuals of certain puzzles for clarity.
  • Increased the Health restored by ingredients and food items, and added new food to the Hernand Tavern.
  • Increased the Lantern's range for detecting clues.
  • Reduced Stamina consumption for Nature’s Grasp.
  • Fixed an issue where pets would fail to loot items under certain conditions.
  • Changed certain items in the Witches' shop to reset daily.
  • Changed the properties of bismuth ore and how it is gathered.
    • Petrification is now applied by default when you approach bismuth ore.
    • Bismuth ore can now be mined using regular methods like a pickaxe, rather than requiring Lightning damage attacks.
  • Lowered the difficulty of the Marksmanship and Archery Contest minigames.
  • Fixed an issue where the Abyss cell's electric field would not disappear.
  • Improved the visibility of the part that needs to be grabbed with Axiom Force on the Skybridge Alignment Device.
  • Changed Visione to be automatically equipped and play after reading memory fragments with the Lantern.
  • Fixed an issue in the Ethereal Pathway Abyss where players could not observe Force Palm if they did not step on the Abyss Nexus.
  • Fixed an issue where Stamina was not consumed after a certain quest cutscene.

Controls
  • [General] Improved the response speed of the interaction UI.
  • [General] Improved the responsiveness of jump inputs.
  • [General] Fixed aiming to target the center of the screen when using a Lantern or while unarmed.
  • [General] Improved the Equipment Quick Slot so that re-selecting your current equipment will stow it.
  • [General] Improved the responsiveness of the Main Menu UI.
  • [General] Fixed an intermittent issue where the Main Menu would not open.
  • [Keyboard/Mouse] Improved the responsiveness of character movement controls.
  • [Keyboard/Mouse] Added the following shortcuts to open and close certain menus:
    • Inventory:
      [*]Skills: [K]
      [*]Journal: [J]
      [*]Map: [M]

    • [Keyboard/Mouse] Fixed an issue where the key guide at the bottom right of the screen would not update when using Guard or Aim.
    • [Keyboard/Mouse] Added default control options for Guard/Aim (Side Button 1) and Evade (Side Button 2).
    • [Keyboard/Mouse] Changed controls to maintain movement input when using Axiom Force.
    • [Keyboard/Mouse] Fixed an issue where duplicate keys could be assigned in Shortcuts and Input Settings.
    • [Keyboard/Mouse] Fixed an issue where certain inputs did not function correctly after changing the Shortcuts and Input Settings.


Boss Fights & Combat
  • Reduced the Health and Attack of specific enemies and bosses. > Clarification: Reduced the Health of certain early game enemies and certain main quest bosses. (Edited: 2026/03/24 11:30 UTC)
  • The attack and health of boss 'T'rukan the Ascended' have been adjusted to an appropriate level. (Added: 2026/03/24 11:30 UTC)
  • Reduced Stamina consumption for blocking attacks.
  • Lowered the difficulty of the ambush encounters triggered while heading toward the Reed Devil boss stage.
  • Adjusted certain attack patterns for Kearush the Slayer.
  • Increased the accumulation of the stun gauge on bosses upon a successful parry.
  • Changed boss weakness effects to display even if the player has not acquired the specific knowledge.
  • Fixed an issue where comrades remained when entering a boss fight.
  • Fixed an issue where fire arrows failed to ignite enemies on hit.
  • Fixed an issue where certain bosses fell unnaturally in specific situations.
  • Fixed an issue where certain bosses ran away too frequently when hit under specific circumstances.
  • Fixed an issue where the Blinding Flash weakness was not being properly applied to certain enemies.

NPC & NPC Dialogue
  • Fixed an issue where some English audio lines were not playing.
  • Reduced the price of restorative items sold by Carl at Howling Hill Camp from 10 Silver to 1 Silver.
  • Improved animal behavior to appear more natural when near the player.
  • Fixed abnormal behavior and placement positions for certain NPCs.
  • Fixed an issue where NPCs would catch each other cheating during the minigame Duo.

UI Fixes & Improvements
  • Improved food items to automatically register to a quick slot upon first acquisition.
  • Improved the display positioning for the Homing Pigeon letter UI.
  • Improved the camera movement when observing skills.
  • Fixed an intermittent issue where the UI failed to remove the destination on the Map menu.
  • Fixed an intermittent issue where the cursor did not display correctly when navigating the Shop menu.
  • Moved the Knowledge and Notifications menu from the Others tab to the Journal tab and adjusted the order.

Graphics & Settings
  • [PlayStation 5, Xbox] 120Hz output has been separated into an optional setting and can now only be enabled when using a 120Hz-capable display in an environment that supports sufficient bandwidth such as HDMI 2.1. To ensure stable image quality, the default refresh rate has been changed to 60Hz. (Added: 2026/03/24 03:00 UTC)
  • [PlayStation 5, Xbox] In Balanced Mode, enabling V-Sync may cause the frame rate to lock at 30 FPS when it fluctuates between 30 and 40 FPS. For smoother gameplay above 40 FPS, we recommend enabling the 120Hz option if your display supports it, or turning off V-Sync in a VRR-supported environment. (Added: 2026/03/24 03:00 UTC)
  • Fixed an issue where settings were not saving correctly after using the Default option in the Settings menu.
  • Fixed an issue where resolution and upscaling settings were not retained when restarting the game.
  • Fixed an issue where character equipment and cats were invisible on the minimum performance quality setting.
  • Fixed an issue where screen quality appeared abnormal when activating FSR Ray Regeneration or DLSS Ray Reconstruction.
  • Fixed an issue where monitor size was incorrectly detected at certain resolutionsm causing abnormal display output.
  • Fixed an issue where the game screen appeared cut off or misaligned in Fullscreen, Windowed, and Borderless Window modes.
  • [Mac] Fixed an issue where default graphics settings were incorrectly set to Cinematic on certain MacBook models.
  • [Mac] Fixed an issue where the game would occasionally crash under specific graphics settings.
  • (Mac) Fixed an issue where the game would occasionally freeze when Frame Generation was disabled.
  • (Mac) Fixed a letterbox rendering issue in cutscenes when Frame Generation was enabled.
  • Fixed an issue where the Abyss remained visible in specific situations while on the ground.
  • Improved and fixed various visual effects triggered during specific NPC animations.
  • Improved the appearance of the waterfall in the Abyss tutorial.
  • Fixed awkward animations that occurred when a character collided with a wagon.
  • Fixed an issue where letterboxing failed to deactivate after certain cutscenes.

Performance, Stability, Gameplay
  • [PlayStation 5] Fixed an issue where the game would occasionally crash when opening the Map menu.
  • Fixed an issue where the game would not launch because dedicated graphics cards were not recognized in environments using both integrated and dedicated graphics cards.
  • Fixed an issue where graphics cards were not correctly recognized on versions below a specific build of Windows 10 (Improved detection for graphics card versions that could not be found).
  • Fixed several stability, performance optimization, and crash issues across PC and console platforms.
  • [Xbox] Fixed an issue where gameplay was unavailable while offline.

Localization
  • Fixed various localization errors and improved localization quality across all languages.

Others
  • Fixed an issue where the death and loading sequences were delayed.
  • Improved horse behavior to approach the player after being called.
  • Fixed an issue where the character would be pushed sideways when using Force Palm or Stab while against a wall.
  • Fixed an issue where DualSense Controller vibration failed to function in specific Windows environments.

Known Issues
 
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etb10dmk said:
Same feeling here. Every day I want to play more and can't stop; the more I progress and unlock stuff, the more I feel the urge to explore. One major factor is that the world feels very "alive" and is very well dynamically executed: just by walking or passing by, you can see people interacting with each other, some are chopping trees, others are cleaning, shepherding, others cultivating, reading, standing in different positions, groups of people walking together, peddlers, others bullying people, or even dancing in line together, drunkards talking gibberish, homeless people stealing or asking for money, folks on horses galloping or driving wagons, and so on. Not to mention that the fauna in CD is like in no other game I ever played, so beautiful and organic: multitude of mammals, birds moving on water, insects, fishes, domestic animals in towns, multitude of plants and trees, every single part amazes me how well is executed. Feels so vivid also during the night where greater contrasts takes over in darkness by seeing those lights on houses, street lights in cities, smoke, rain reflections, the reflection from the sky on water. Then there are those original and ambitious parts in game that none tried to implement: slingshot yourself or spinning from trees, drifting or sliding on horse, completing missions by having animals on your back or in your arms, substitute your horse with a bear or wild animals, call for your companions in adventure...

I don't want to go crazy with the content, because I played CD for 23 hours (that's 0,00001% of this game). I'll need at least 50-80 hours to complete the first town... :LMAO:
Click to expand...
Also. Can’t. Stop. Playing 😍

Also I’d like that canvas of the 5 legged horse to hang in my house! 😂 🥳
 
etb10dmk said:
They patched lots of issues straight away and they'll continue to do so.
Click to expand...
This. I mean, they're taking feedback very seriously, and they seemed to be fast with a couple of hotfixes they already released... This is really positive. If they fix some rough edges and most of the bugs, the big media outlets will have to re-review the final scores, pretty much how they had to do with Cyberpunk ... which is just an example, let me be clear! I'm in no way comparing the disastrous release of Cyberpunk with Crimson Desert. Crimson Desert is MORE than fine, release-wise, when compared to Cyberpunk.

The draw distance in this game just make my jaw hit the floor... omfg, it looks absolutely incredible! :SHOCK:

I'm hoping the game succeeds (even more) and I'll definitely get it, either when it's more stable ("bug-wise") or when the price drops a little... Which will probably take MUCH longer (price drop) than the time it takes them to squash most of the bugs, for sure.
 
Placebo said:
How's the pop-in? Been seeing people complain about that, it's one of my biggest pet-peeves!
Click to expand...
Most noticeable when moving fast (like riding). If you are sensitive to this… you will probably not like it.
I think DF and others me mentioned it in early/release day videos.
I don’t mind it to much… also I’m positive they may tweak it for the better.
 
Placebo said:
How's the pop-in? Been seeing people complain about that, it's one of my biggest pet-peeves!
Click to expand...
I don't have the game bruh : ) I was sayin' it based on all the videos I saw ; )

But as @PRO_TOO said, I believe those can be fixed / tweaked by the devs sooner rather than later, so... One of the reasons I'll wait (quite) a bit before getting it.

That PLUS the fact that I have a few games I still want to play before diving into that one. I'm currently playing Black Myth Wukong (LOVIN' it so far), but then I'll have to play KCD2 first... then Yotei (whenever those Sony bastards lower the price on the digital version)... So no rush at all. I might even play Dragon's Dogma 2 before, also (since I got it on a sale, just like Wukong)...
 
I don't have 80 hours of playtime (due to my line of work) but I have almost 50. This game offers the best experience since Elden Ring and Baldur's Gate III. Every time I'm exploring this world, I feel amazed asking myself how was possible so much content with such great attention to detail combined with many mechanics...

This game proves a lesson to be learned to not trust at all mainstream games urinalists like IGN, Eurogamer, etc. They didn't even analyzed the game as it was supposed to (the most baffling part was stating that the game is so huge but "empty", knowing its exactly the opposite of what this game offers). If something doesn't feels aligned to their particular low standards and views then they're trying to do passive journalism damage. The same lesson applies to early Steam reviews at launch, lots of whiners crying about technical performance, controls and so on, giving a thumbs down not because the game was bad, but exaggerating knowing their experience at launch wasn't on par to what they imagined to be. Now Steam reviews are very positive, and the shares are going back up again.

This is what Pearl Abyss shared on their last shareholder meeting. I'm very pleased that in the future will get free content updates instead of multiplayer and dlcs:

"Summary of Pearl Abyss Shareholder Meeting: Crimson Desert Updates (DLC, Story, Mods, and more)​


1. Continuous Patches & Improvements​

CEO Huh Jin-young stated that the team will continue to upgrade the game post-launch through consistent patches. Based on user feedback, they are specifically looking into further refining the control schemes and overall gameplay mechanics.

2. Storytelling Concerns​

Regarding criticisms about the game's storyline, the CEO admitted, "I sympathize with the regrets some users feel regarding the story." He explained that while the production team tried to address these concerns, they ultimately decided to prioritize strengthening the core gameplay experience—areas where they felt most confident—given the development timeline.

3. DLC and Monetization Strategy​

There are currently no confirmed plans for paid DLC. For the time being, the strategy is to focus on free patches and updates. CEO Huh noted that while expansion packs are a viable model, the current priority is to maximize sales of the "main book" (base game) by expanding content through free updates.

4. Mod Support​

The CEO acknowledged the potential of a modding community, especially given the game's sandbox structure. However, he noted that supporting mods requires opening up a significant portion of the proprietary engine. While the development team views the idea positively, there are no specific plans to implement it yet.

5. Multiplayer​

When asked about multiplayer, the CEO revealed that the team has experimented with it internally. However, he stated that maintaining the current graphical fidelity in a multiplayer environment is difficult on existing hardware. As a result, there are no immediate plans to implement multiplayer features."

(Source: https://n.news.naver.com/article/001/0015985300?sid=105)


(EDIT: This is a very interesting video describing how unfair CD was treated during release by those "gaming" websites that wanted so hard to see this game fall)

 
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