With one of the most popular MMOs in the gaming industry, Black desert online, Under its belt, developer Pearl Abyss is shifting to a single-player open-world action game with Crimson Desert. As someone who ventured into Black desert but I lacked the dedication to follow through with it, I've been looking forward to it. Crimson DesertThe individual approach of 's and I eagerly embarked on a hands-on part of the game during Gamescom. However, while Crimson Desert Filled with mythical and dangerous threats, my fiercest opponent reared its head at the systems level.
Crimson Desert It takes place on the vast continent of Pywel and puts players in the blood-soaked shoes of the sinister mercenary Kliff. A band of fellow swordsmen-for-hire accompany Kilff on his quest to save this beleaguered land, though I didn't see much of that in the Gamescom demo, which focused on melee action across four selectable boss fights.
Although Crimson DesertThe vibe evokes the raw fantasy of game of Thrones (and Kliff looks a lot like Jon Snow with his face painted on), the gameplay is just that much more fun. Imagine combining fast-paced hack-n-slash action with WWE 2K-style wrestling and a dash of monster climbing à la Dragon's Dogma or Monster Hunter. Kliff can tear through enemies by chaining together melee combos with his sword or weapons dropped by enemies. Interestingly, he can also perform a variety of pro wrestling moves, from a running dropkick to a giant slam and even a straight-up RKO.
Kliff also boasts maneuverability thanks to his Raven Wing, which is basically a glider that helps him get around. A precision focus ability slows down time, allowing him to carefully pick out targets with his bow. He can climb over larger adversaries and stab at weak points to bring beasts to their knees. Pearl Abyss has gone to great lengths to make every slash, cut, and impale look cool, as nearly every large attack produces a shower of colorful particle effects.
Each of the four boss battles in the Gamescom demo offered a different challenge. First up I faced Staglord, a sword-and-shield wielding lord who offered a relatively easy and straightforward challenge. The second boss, a speedy, scarecrow-like, masked menace called the Reed Devil, proved to be the most maddening foe. His ability to move quickly across a wheat field and shoot from afar made not being able to see him disorienting. When I did get him in my sights, he would often strike first or change position. The windows of opportunity to counterattack seemed small, and since most attacks caused Kliff to stand up, simply recovering meant losing the chance to counterattack.
The battle against White Horn, a yeti-like beast with enormous horns, was similar to facing the Great Ape in SekiroThis monster lunged at me with a wild and unpredictable melee attack. It also unleashed ice storms that froze Kliff in place, leaving me vulnerable to attack. I was successful with a quicker defense to stay out of its reach for as long as possible. The final enemy, the Queen Stoneback Crab, was a giant crab made of rock. This battle channels The shadow of the colossuswhich requires players to scale a crystal-laden shell to attack weak points that will presumably bring it to its knees. I say “presumably” because, sadly, my hour-long session concluded before I could see this fight through to its conclusion.
Each boss has a more powerful second phase, although Kliff can hold out thanks to a Sekiro-as a second chance to respawn and resume battle. I made liberal use of this mechanic because every battle presented an enormous challenge. But the most irritating obstacle was often not the White Horn’s debilitating blizzards or the Reed Devil’s breakneck speed. Instead, my most difficult test was trying to keep my targets on screen.
My biggest criticism of Crimson DesertKliff’s Gamescom demo was that the lack of a lock-on system (or the kinds of adjustments necessary without one) led to issues that hampered the fun. The game feels inspired by Monster Hunter in this regard, but enemies often outmaneuvered Kliff that turned battles into an annoying exercise in turning the camera to keep opponents in sight. The overabundance of particle effects also cluttered the screen and made it difficult to analyze what was going on, making locking on to targets feel even more necessary. Lock-on was similarly tricky to nail down. I’d have Kliff’s defense set up only for attacks that got through it, apparently because I got a bit wrong about engaging the enemy correctly. I never found the ideal timing or positioning during my session, so defending often felt like a game of chance.
The camera also became a nuisance. Kliff’s movements have a ragdoll-like quality to them, especially when he’s thrown into the air, and many attacks sent him hurtling into walls, off cliffs, or straight into the camera as if he’d been plucked from a Super Smash Bros. arena. While this was fun, the camera tended to go haywire during these instances and failed to keep Kliff directly in view, resulting in zoomed-in shots of him knocked into a corner, with little to no view of surrounding threats. It didn’t help that when Kliff fell prone, he was susceptible to being ganged up on and stunned into oblivion. I suffered several frustrating deaths due to being stomped into the ground as I desperately tried to reorient the camera and get back to my feet.
Because of these issues, I came away from my session filled with cautious optimism. Crimson DesertPearl Abyss’ combat showed glimpses of fun, but in the demo it became too chaotic for its own good, occasionally devolving into a complete mess. I hope these issues are resolved because there’s significant potential beneath those weak points. Whether the open-world exploration portion of the game holds up its end of the bargain remains to be seen, but I hope Pearl Abyss fine-tunes the action before it’s resolved. Crimson Desert is being released next year.
