Crimson Desert - 10 Hours In
After 10 hours in Crimson Desert, I've reached what most reviewers consider the 'turning point.' From here the game should lock me in and never let go. Being at this turning point, I can indeed see the light at the end of tutorial tunnel and wanted to share my thoughts on my experience so far. Specifically, what does this game feel like when you can only play and hour or two a day?
Asking Myself Why?
The biggest thought on my mind while playing the early hours of this game was 'Why?' Why can I not get close to the person I need to talk to? Why is Kliff hanging out with a mapmaker, wasn't I just in the Abyss? Why do these side quest cutscenes last so long? Why can't I pause sometimes? Why does the light on the trees flicker?
Evidently, there were a lot of small annoyances and nitpicks. I won't expound on the details for all of them here, but I want to make it clear that there are a lot of questions that are raised when this game begins. One example is that for the first couple of combat encounters the game would just fade to black in the middle of me fighting, even with plenty of enemies still around. It took me until the third combat when I realized the 'fade to black' meant I had cleared a percentage-based objective, but the abrupt transition killed the momentum of the combat. Why not just fill the area with the appropriate amount of combatants instead of fading to black in the middle of combat. This caused me to become a bit sad that the game made me quit fighting, cutting off the most fun I had experienced so far.
The first few hours (I'd say the first 3) really hold your hand as the game tries to introduce you to many of the systems in the game. Due to a busy schedule, I got through the first 3 hours in 30-40 minute chunks. At times it was pretty hard to convince myself to jump back in, but the reviews raving about the later game and the small bits of cut-off combat I had played thus far kept me going. However, at one point in chapter 2, you encounter and duel knight named Matthias. This is when I feel the gamed loosened its grip on me for the first time.
Glimpses of Light
The fight with Matthias begins to show where Crimson Desert shines. Kliff challenges a tough opponent to find a cheering crowd around him and epic combat music thrumming along to the swordplay. The game sets up a cinematic fight that ebbs and flows helping you stay on the edge of your seat. Defeating Matthias feels like a real triumph—Kliff defeats the honorable knight and you've gained a better grasp on the combat controls. This experience is only made better at the end of chapter 2 when you have another boss fight after rampaging through groups of enemies towards the center of their camp.
While many players have disliked the control scheme, for me it has been fairly simple to pick up with practice and no worse than learning how to play God of War 2018 or Elden Ring for the first time. There are still moments where I'll jump instead of pick something up, or I'll start flashing people mid-combat, but those are rare.
For the next 6 hours of the game, my experience has been focused on getting the Greymanes' camp established and locating the first few of my allies from across the neighboring region. While following the story here is still a good idea, you can definitely explore freely. This is where I finally felt comfortable putting in hour-long sessions at a time, and this is also when I wanted to keep playing. Earlier on I played through some of the monotony to try and find the light shining through; now I was able to open up the windows and get a good peek of more fun to come.
Story-wise, this is also the first time the game feels like it makes sense. A lot of the connecting threads still aren't there, but at least you're searching for your defeated allies in an attempt to restore your band to its former glory (instead of helping a very animated man find out where his cows went). It is still pretty choppy. Kliff will go find an ally, tell them to head to camp, and then head back to camp himself. There, your informant Marius will say "Great, here's where the next ally is!" Then you travel to the objective, fight some ne'er-do-wells, find the ally, tell them to go to camp, head back to camp yourself, and repeat a handful of more times.
While the main quest is pretty repetitious, I found fun in straying from my path. When I did I was rewarded with moments that tied into the small stories that were being told around each of your allies. For instance, I found a letter from a grieving mother wishing she could speak to her son that was now out of reach. Another shining moment in this part of the game was a boss fight (of course) with a mysterious devil figure. The fight itself was extremely cinematic, reminiscent of something seen in Ghosts of Tsushima.
Beyond the Turning Point
Despite many of the small annoyances and bugs I've run into, I want to keep playing. The fact that a game can have so many hurdles and yet still draw a player in is quite impressive. In both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, there is a moment early in the game where you get a chance to see how large the world is and get some hints of some of the fun you can experience. Crimson Desert has a difficult time showing you what it can be in a single succinct shot. However, if you are someone who doesn't mind putting in some time and dealing with some frustration then you'll learn what the game holds for you. Beyond this turning point of 8-10 hours, I can see hours upon hours of gripping combat and awe-filled exploration. I just wish that this vision of the game came sooner so more people could see what waits for them in Pywel.
