What exactly is Crimson Desert? This incoming open-world action adventure has morphed more than once while battling through the development dungeons, but Gamescom 2024 finally allowed MMORPG.com to find out exactly what’s in store. Published by Pearl Abyss and making its presence known, Crimson Desert brought plenty of hype with it. Queues to get in and play were a customary quest of endurance, so it was with shame, relief, and a little trepidation that I slipped in the side entrance and got an in-person look at what is coming.
Initially positioned as a sequel to Black Desert Online and finally finding its own feet in this form, Crimson Desert is now a stunning action title with RPG elements tied to it. Mixing fantasy elements with a visceral combat system, this stunning-looking demo ushered us through a sample set of encounters that showcase the combat systems in all their unrelenting glory.
Gloriously Rendered Pain
Swapping the hordes of the Gamescom consumer hall for whatever this battle throws at us, it’s clear why this exhibition's lines were so long. Take one look at the player character stomping through fields or hacking up enemy soldiers, and you’re mesmerized. Pearl Abyss has always put out good-looking games. Black Desert is utterly beautiful. This is no different. Here, animation tends towards realism.
Taking a lead from the likes of New World or even Shadow Arena, there’s a grounded set of characters and scenarios that all benefit from the proprietary BlackSpace Engine. Whether that’s staggering back from an abdominal challenge straight out of Nordic legend or gutting a colonial mercenary. There’s a visceral realism to the world that is more than foul language and gore.
After I find myself enamored at the developer’s bravery in putting a sweary Scottish protagonist at the heart of the cut scenes, it’s time to leap in and try out combat. From our first look, Crimson Desert has a feel of something instantly comparable to the formidable Eleden Ring, but the traditional sword and board throw in a dropkick and neckbreaker to drag it back into the action genre. We’re not going to duke it out in this arena, but Crimson Desert somehow manages to straddle a line between the brutal and the ridiculous, as I found out.
The White Horn
Before taking on the White Horn, I was forged by a brutal tutorial. Left to fend off hordes of enemy mercenaries, this was a hard-taught lesson that I expected to be full of Dark Souls death. Actually, it was just mostly dark. Weaving in between an incinerated village and a troublesome forest, basic controls aren’t a challenge themselves. It’s easy to access a light and heavy attack, a block, a quick kick, knock back, and a dodge. Stamina is limited and there didn’t seem to be any additional invincibility frames on offer to save your skin, but these basic forms are the building blocks of some impressive encounters.
Movement is intuitive but still firmly rooted in the physics of this world. Even if you’ll end up choke-slamming an opponent or building your own combo attacks, don’t expect these to turn your adventurer into Dante any time soon. While Elden Ring, Devil May Cry, and Crimson Desert all bring bis boss battles to the screen, they all have their own slant on these sorts of systems. While soulslikes are all roll to win, this demo mixed in a mindful mix of knock backs, stuns, dodges, and blocks. Some will work when you need to fend off an attack, sometimes it's just about knowing when to step back.
This is especially obvious when taking on the White Horn boss. This massive snowbound behemoth is an impressive visual feat that thrashes and rampages across the screen with easily telegraphed attacks. You’ll learn when to nip in and slash, and when a backhanded swipe is due to come crashing around to catch you off guard. Getting caught up against a cliff face didn’t end well, and buried me in an unyielding avalanche. While death can come quickly, it’s not as unforgiving as a hard nosed souls title, giving players an opportunity to survive, back off, and heal up from their inventory of weapons and consumables. Boss encounters lean even further into the action RPG genre when little flashes of color reveal themselves and unexpected mechanics appear. This might mean mounting a huge beast to stab it in the back, or flying up and around a huge Ghibli-esque stone crab using a current of air.
Joy, Pain, Joy
The variety of encounters, outlandish mechanics, and sheer joy of seeing Crimson Desert’s world arrive on screen is an unexpected pairing when you step into the shoes of a foul-mouthed, bloody brawler. Yet, somehow it left me skipping out the booth to face the rest of my week at Gamescom. Keep an eye on Crimson Desert and find out more on the official website now.
