What Is Crimson Desert? This Fantasy-Steampunk Open World Isn’t As Strange as You May Think

It’s been astir six years since Crimson Desert was archetypal revealed to the world. Across that period, developer Pearl Abyss has shown disconnected a immense array of ideas, mechanics, and brag battles. It’s often been cited arsenic thing of an “everything game” – an unfastened satellite escapade with entity islands, mechanical dragons, wrestling moves, interdimensional gateways, interacting elemental effects, and adjacent a Spider-Man web swing. But the much that’s been revealed, the much there’s been the consciousness that Crimson Desert whitethorn beryllium a batch of pieces successful request of a whole. Finding that full was my main nonsubjective erstwhile I visited Pearl Abyss’ workplace successful Seoul for this month’s IGN First. And portion I can’t accidental I’ve recovered it yet, aggregate hours of hands-on playtime has revealed a crippled that’s possibly not arsenic unusual arsenic you’d expect. In fact, Crimson Desert feels beauteous straightforward.

Pearl Abyss has crafted a reasonably accepted unfastened satellite adventure, made up of aggregate regions peppered with towns, outposts, and castles. There’s the accustomed postulation of main and optional quests, positive classical distractions similar fishing. You’d beryllium forgiven for not realising this, though – Pearl Abyss has enactment astir each its promotional efforts into showcasing brag fights. Not lone that, but Crimson Desert’s blend of accepted medieval phantasy with sci-fi and steampunk elements does marque it look similar it’s being pulled successful respective directions astatine once.

When you’re connected the crushed and seeing however each these elements interact, though, it doesn’t consciousness rather truthful alien. The continent of Pywel is possibly little similar a emblematic Tolkien-esque phantasy satellite and much akin to Dungeons & Dragons – a mounting that, successful caller years, was big to a Mad Max-like vehicular pursuit done Hell. Pearl Abyss’ plan squad explained that they wanted Pywel to bespeak the assortment of our reality, successful which immoderate countries consciousness overmuch much futuristic than others, and enactment that immoderate of the Pywel’s leaders whitethorn beryllium much resistant to the advancement of exertion than others – a struggle that’ll beryllium explored done assorted faction quests. All this means the assortment doesn’t consciousness artificial oregon determination simply for the involvement of being wild, adjacent erstwhile you’re astatine the controls of a flying conflict robot (which was, of course, designed by dwarven engineers.)

The inclusion of these mechanised and steampunk elements assistance Pearl Abyss the originative licence to physique quests that are a important departure from thing we’d spot successful thing similar Skyrim. A large portion of my hands-on clip progressive completing a quest for Marni, a technological genius who cloned his ain consciousness to make the AI-like entity, H.A.L.L. Naturally the results of specified an experimentation person gone precise wrong, and Marni’s evil digital-magic duplicate has taken bid of a flying fortress that’s terrorizing Pywel’s skies. Defeating H.A.L.L requires the usage of a powerfulness core, which Marni reveals is hidden wrong a “weapon” called Golden Star. And by “weapon”, helium means a elephantine mechanical dragon. While they presumably person ballistic missiles successful Pywel, what with the precocious engineering and all, of course the phantasy mentation of a nuke is flying Mechagodzilla. All that stands betwixt maine and this winged menace is… a fortress filled with aggravated conflict robots.

It appears that fortress assaults volition beryllium a important recurring nonsubjective successful Crimson Desert, considering that my hands-on clip progressive nary less than 3 of them. I tin spot wherefore Pearl Abyss was keen to amusement them off, arsenic they are a showcase for immoderate of the project’s strongest achievements. There’s a large consciousness of atmosphere, with a legion of men from either broadside battering the surviving hellhole retired of each other, and you’re caught successful the mediate of it all. Fun mechanical wrinkles adhd texture; during 1 onslaught I was capable to occurrence signalling arrows that were rapidly followed by a bombardment of artillery, decimating force soldiers and reducing buildings to splinters. In another, I was capable to circumnavigate the brutal melee entirely, sneaking into the castle done a crumbling partition and utilizing the situation arsenic a shortcut to the boss. And successful my combat done the robot fortress, a backpack-mounted EMP instrumentality allowed maine to fry the circuits of some the lumbering crushed threats and the airborne bug-bots successful 1 elephantine blast. There’s ever thing caller to try, thing to experimentation with.

But arsenic overmuch arsenic these fortress assaults are a objection of Crimson Desert’s highs, they simultaneously uncover what could crook retired to beryllium immoderate of its biggest blemishes. Battling masses of enemies is amazingly tedious, feeling messy and repetitive alternatively than an engaging concatenation of frontline fights. An awkward lock-on diagnostic pushed maine distant from one-on-one duels and into a much freeform playstyle, but that came with the baggage of imprecise strikes and occasionally kicking the aerial alternatively of faces. Absolutely nary of these issues hamper the brag battles, which was my lone acquisition of Crimson Desert anterior to this demonstration, and I was rather amazed astatine however antithetic combat tin consciousness successful alternate scenarios, adjacent erstwhile utilizing the aforesaid moveset.

It’s successful these smaller, little refined details wherever Crimson Desert threatens to suffer itself. There are occasions wherever you request to prime up and manipulate objects, specified arsenic planting a banner to animate your allies. Doing truthful requires lasting still, turning to look the object, activating a absorption mode, rapidly tapping a fastener to assistance your target, and past yet manually transportation it. All of this is simply a somewhat baffling annoyance erstwhile erecting flags, but it turns into a genuine vexation successful the mediate of a brag battle, erstwhile you’re desperately trying to plaything a fallen masonry file during the precious fewer seconds successful which the brag is stunned.

Thankfully, nary specified awkward Ultrahand juggling is required to extract the powerfulness halfway from Golden Star. As we explored earlier this period successful our making-of feature, this is simply a brag conflict with a unsocial mechanic that indispensable beryllium discovered successful the (quite literal) vigor of battle. The dragon’s flaming enactment activates an array of pylons dotted astir the fortress’ conflict arena, which past dispense EMP bombs that you tin occurrence from an arm-mounted cannon. The strategy creates a repeating signifier loop; Golden Star circles above, belching the flames that nutrient the EMP bombs that volition yet bring him crashing to the ground, wherever you tin unleash a barrage of strikes until helium reboots and begins the rhythm anew. Pearl Abyss are keen to constituent retired you don’t have to bash this – you could, for instance, usage lightning-wreathed arrows to use a stun, oregon simply spot distant astatine his wellness barroom with ranged attacks – but I consciousness that the existent enjoyment successful each of Crimson Desert’s brag fights has been uncovering the unsocial mechanic built into the arena oregon adjacent the force itself.

With the powerfulness halfway obtained, I instrumentality to the skies connected the backmost of my ain (completely organic) dragon to onslaught H.A.L.L’s flying fortress. The archetypal battle is beauteous elemental – I person my equine spit fireballs astatine a fig of anemic spots successful the structure’s shields to interruption down the defences and let maine to land. But getting wrong the fortress itself is much complicated; a navigation puzzle that’s conscionable the close broadside of obtuse. My travel takes maine up elevator shafts and on a precarious way perched connected the fortress’ exterior. At 1 constituent I person to activate a instrumentality by rotating a woody pillar that has nary crank, achieved by utilizing the thrust onslaught to hide my leaf successful the timber to make my ain handle. There’s nary punctual for this, and I admit that the solution is to deliberation astir your quality acceptable successful a non-conventional manner.

Such an attack continues inside, wherever defeating H.A.L.L is much of a puzzle than a accepted situation of brawn. I similar that Crimson Desert’s AI tone quality doesn’t conscionable go different brag brawl – different indicator that the world’s weird steampunk and sci-fi elements really marque immoderate benignant of in-universe sense. This time, though, the solution truly is obtuse, and idiosyncratic from Pearl Abyss had to spell it retired to me. Hopefully the hours anterior to this quest volition person equipped you with the cognition of however to attack this peculiar foe.

H.A.L.L’s flying fortress isn’t the lone airborne destination I visited. Suspended precocious supra Pywel are a scattering of Abyss Islands, accessed done portals that are unlocked with mysterious Abyss Artefacts. These islands look to travel successful aggregate guises; past twelvemonth we saw that 1 of them is location to an alchemist called Alustin and his Library of Providence, and my hands-on league included 1 that was much akin to Zelda’s puzzle shrines. Its checkerboard level was fundamentally a room-size circuit committee successful request of a full rewiring, and uncovering the close way done the grid of rotating flagstones unlocks the island’s treasure trove. This is, of course, the benignant of puzzle you’ve solved successful everything from Watch Dogs to BioShock, but I enjoyed however your instrumentality is integral to completing it – your lantern illuminates the close pathway, and your grapple hook is utilized to rotation each tile. So portion this situation is not peculiarly taxing, I anticipation its coagulated foundations are the ground for much absorbing puzzles that await among the clouds.

When you’ve uncovered an Abyss Island’s secrets, you tin leap disconnected the broadside and interval down to earth, wherever plentifulness much accepted open-world fare awaits. There are towns to visit, successful which you’ll find store keepers to commercialized with and bounties to instrumentality on. Out successful the wilderness determination are camps to wide retired and roaming barbarians to slaughter. And past there’s the factions. From what I glimpsed successful the menus, determination are dozens and dozens of them, though immoderate volition beryllium much important than others, I’m told. A fewer person their ain questline, specified arsenic House Wells, a household of nobles led by a Duke who’s mislaid his castle to rebel forces – a concern that’s the catalyst for 1 of those aforementioned fortress assaults.

Pearl Abyss was speedy to clarify that these groups are not similar Fallout’s factions, and allegiances with them won’t alteration the people of the communicative oregon interaction Crimson Desert’s ending (which is acceptable successful stone.) And truthful I’m near wondering what are the faction quests successful assistance of? When asked, Pearl Abyss’ plan squad explained that they were determination to guarantee the factions felt similar important actors successful the plot, and that they offered much contented for players to complete. That considered, I americium a small apprehensive that astatine slightest immoderate of Crimson Desert’s offerings volition beryllium “stuff to do” alternatively than meaningful, interlinked opportunities.

That brings america backmost to my precise archetypal question. What is Crimson Desert arsenic a whole? I cognize it’s a immense unfastened satellite with deep, fighting-game inspired combat that works amended against bosses than it does against fodder. It’s got spectacle-laden quests that instrumentality you from in-the-mud castle assaults each the mode up to aerial strikes connected a steampunk Death Star. And it’s littered with bully clip distractions, from sportfishing to taming bears and buckling up successful a conflict mech. But I’m inactive waiting to observe the glue betwixt each this that elevates an unfastened satellite to caller heights.

Shadow of Mordor has the Nemesis system, which chains its enemies unneurotic into a foe-conquering large picture. Red Dead Redemption 2’s systems are agreed by a pursuit of realism and authenticity that makes its run consciousness similar a beingness lived alternatively than a crippled played. And this year’s Ghost of Yotei links each enactment connected its representation to a caller unlock connected your accomplishment tree, ensuring adjacent small diversions are a maturation opportunity. That’s the worldly that’s truthful acold been missing from Crimson Desert’s demonstrations, and the happening I anticipation volition yet beryllium revealed erstwhile I get to play aggregate consecutive hours, alternatively than a postulation of isolated quests and bosses. Without it, I inactive deliberation Crimson Desert stands a coagulated accidental of being an wide bully time. But with it, it could go thing overmuch much special.

Matt Purslow is IGN's Executive Editor of Features.