Crimson Desert is a real game

[Old_Hunter_77]

No, really, it's real.

This is that game that appeared in one of the big shows, game awards or whatever, and it looked like an action RPG that also had Tears of the Kingdom style sky levels and physics based puzzle soloving but also dragons and mechs but also flashy combat but also but also but also... And it's a Korean studio that never made anything like this so this game was either too good to be true or about to be a big clusterf*** or not even real, depended on who you asked.


Ok so here's my impressions of these impressions: not crazy about the comparison to Dragon's Dogma in the end, a game that seemed tailor made for gaming nerds but I don't have patience for (I tried the first DD and got so bored and annoyed by it).

On the other hand I'm in between games and part of me wants to dive into some big game.

The puzzle stuff he describes kinda seems like hell. I get very impatience with futzing- where you have to deal with picky annoying little mechanics that is frustrating. That thing where you can see how to solve a puzzle but you just can't align the reticle to the target, or when you just didn't see the right shade of green to interact which part to interact with- you know just some b.s. that isn't the actual puzzle. And if that's the game, f*** that. But if it gets better than I could deal?

The combat is apparently more about "expression" and "skill ceiling" not parrying delayed attacks and difficulty so- yay!

The part that's interesting is how good it looks. It's their own engine apparently and now I want a world where writers and game directors like those that worked on Last of Us, AssCreed 2, and Witcher used this engine and graphics to make games for me.

 

[BrawlMan]

The combat is apparently more about "expression" and "skill ceiling" not parrying delayed attacks and difficulty so- yay!

BTW, there is no parrying in Romeo Is A Dead Man either. There is a dodge button, but it doesn't give you bullet time. There's a summon that you can craft later that slows down time for you. The best your dodge gets as an upgrade is an air dash and a dodge that can hurt enemies if they get near you. In case you're ever interested.

 

[PsychedelicDiamond]

I mean, I never doubted it was real. Yes, the scope of it seems a bit megalomaniacal, but it's made by a studio that owns, as I understand, a massive cash cow MMO so they basically have a bottomless well to draw from when it comes to budget and development time. In a lot of ways this looks like a bit of a vanity project.

The real question is, is it any good? The previews make it sound honestly better than I expected it to be. Like, ever since critics and influencers first got to play the demo they've been talking about finicky controls and complex, but messy, combat. These recent previews sounds like it all comes together somewhat decently. Now, it sounds like it has a bunch of weird quirks when it comes to things like puzzle design and environmental interactions but honestly, it seems kind of entertaining.

Like, all things considered it sounds like a game with a quirky, idiosyncratic approach to Triple A open world game design. I expect it to be a lot clunkier and messier than an Ubisoft title or a Horizon or a Ghost of... game but I feel like that might also be what sets it apart from other big open world action games.

 

[FakeSympathy]

Well, I think it had to be real. The developer, Pearl Abyss, is kind of in deep shit right now in terms of public reception, and they need to release something to save faces

I think Black Desert Online has been their biggest source of revenue, and the only game where servers have not shut down.

They have been known for making huge promises and amazing-looking gameplay trailers for their next game projects, but most of them having been stuck in development hell; those games being Crimson Desert, DokeV, and Plan 8.

there has been conspiracy rumors where supposedly this is all part of Pearl Abyss’s scheme, where they are doing this receive crap load of investments, bring their stock values up, but delay/prolong the releases as long as possible. All the while promising the investors the return will be a huge.

So I while I am excited for the game itself, I have little trust in the people behind them

 

[CriticalGaming]

I don't know guys. Everything about this game looks like an MMO without the online stuff.

Like you can do all these things, but all the previews say that the game is more of a sandbox than a story-based RPG leading you from place to place. I'm sure there are going to be people who just love the shit out of it, and I might even be one of them, but holy shit am I skeptical because I usually do poorly in games that have no point to them. Or barely a point because there is something of a story, it's just not a focus.

Also from everything I've heard the control scheme is bonkers on console.

 

[Agema]

No, really, it's real.

So, it's got a woad-painted, pale-skinned, northern European wearing furs in a lush, green forest... and it's called "Crimson Desert"?

O-k-a-y...

 

[FakeSympathy]

So, it's got a woad-painted, pale-skinned, northern European wearing furs in a lush, green forest... and it's called "Crimson Desert"?

O-k-a-y...

Well it does have multiple biomes, and the desert biome does seem to have rust-red aesthetic?

Black Desert Online also have desert area, but it's only a small part of the much bigger world

 

[Bob_McMillan]

So, it's got a woad-painted, pale-skinned, northern European wearing furs in a lush, green forest... and it's called "Crimson Desert"?

O-k-a-y...

I was really thrown that this was a Game of Thrones-esque world, or at least the characters are. Not at all what you'd expect from the visuals.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

I don't know guys. Everything about this game looks like an MMO without the online stuff.

Like you can do all these things, but all the previews say that the game is more of a sandbox than a story-based RPG leading you from place to place. I'm sure there are going to be people who just love the shit out of it, and I might even be one of them, but holy shit am I skeptical because I usually do poorly in games that have no point to them. Or barely a point because there is something of a story, it's just not a focus.

Also from everything I've heard the control scheme is bonkers on console.

Yeah I'm wondering if this will be more like Where Winds Meet, the last big eastern studio making a western-style-core RPG (even though that one is set in Japan), that has its fans but I tried it and quit after like 20 minutes because I felt I would be annoyed by the jank and the awkward pointlessness of it all. But I may go back to it 'cause it at least it's free.

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

It brings up an interesting contrast regarding story-driven vs gameplay-driven design. I myself am usually more aligned with the latter just because it keeps things more interactive, and as long as the gameplay loop is solid the rest is icing.

Now, there can be really riveting story-driven games but for me that’s much tougher to do. Most games try to straddle the line almost equally to varying degree of success. The last story-driven game that really had me hooked was A Wolf Among Us which, bloody hell, where’s the follow-up to that been hiding?

 

[PsychedelicDiamond]

Yeah I'm wondering if this will be more like Where Winds Meet, the last big eastern studio making a western-style-core RPG (even though that one is set in Japan),

China, actually.

 

[BrawlMan]

Now, there can be really riveting story-driven games but for me that’s much tougher to do. Most games try to straddle the line almost equally to varying degree of success. The last story-driven game that really had me hooked was A Wolf Among Us which, bloody hell, where’s the follow-up to that been hiding?

Telltale got closed down. A majority of the staff that got laid off found a better or better places to work, but they can't secure the IP rights. Since the game is based off an actual graphic novel.

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

Telltale got closed down. A majority of the staff that got laid off found a better or better places to work, but they can't secure the IP rights. Since the game is based off an actual graphic novel.

It’s Gamerant but any news is better than none -

Long-Awaited Telltale Sequel May Finally Be Getting a Release Date Announcement

A Telltale Games sequel long believed to be stuck in development hell gets a surprising update, potentially indicating an upcoming announcement.

gamerant.com

 

[Dreiko]

I posted about this a few weeks ago in the other thread. They made an in-house engine which is why the game looked like it couldn’t be real. We all were thinking with unreal 5 as our point of reference. And yeah this game wouldn’t run well at all on that engine. But they built an engine specifically for open world games from the ground up for this game so it gets to be real.

Something I didn’t know was that the puzzles are actually real puzzles and not like in GoW 5 where the NPCs will blurt out the solutions right away. There’s no yellow paint nor handholding and I kinda love that in a game like this.

I don't know guys. Everything about this game looks like an MMO without the online stuff.

Like you can do all these things, but all the previews say that the game is more of a sandbox than a story-based RPG leading you from place to place. I'm sure there are going to be people who just love the shit out of it, and I might even be one of them, but holy shit am I skeptical because I usually do poorly in games that have no point to them. Or barely a point because there is something of a story, it's just not a focus.

Also from everything I've heard the control scheme is bonkers on console.

The game is not an rpg at all. There’s no levels. You learn moves by exploring or fighting enemies and observing them. Think of it like an open world DMC game more than anything remotely story-driven. It’s all about the gameplay and exploration.

So, it's got a woad-painted, pale-skinned, northern European wearing furs in a lush, green forest... and it's called "Crimson Desert"?

O-k-a-y...

The game takes place in a continent twice the size of rdr2. One of the main regions is the eponymous desert. It’s not all just one environment.

 

[Brokencontroller]

The game takes place in a continent twice the size of rdr2. One of the main regions is the eponymous desert. It’s not all just one environment.

I expect a Crimson Desert, Cyan Desert, a Burgundy Desert, and a Charcol Desert.

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

I posted about this a few weeks ago in the other thread. They made an in-house engine which is why the game looked like it couldn’t be real. We all were thinking with unreal 5 as our point of reference. And yeah this game wouldn’t run well at all on that engine. But they built an engine specifically for open world games from the ground up for this game so it gets to be real.

Something I didn’t know was that the puzzles are actually real puzzles and not like in GoW 5 where the NPCs will blurt out the solutions right away. There’s no yellow paint nor handholding and I kinda love that in a game like this.



The game is not an rpg at all. There’s no levels. You learn moves by exploring or fighting enemies and observing them. Think of it like an open world DMC game more than anything remotely story-driven. It’s all about the gameplay and exploration.



The game takes place in a continent twice the size of rdr2. One of the main regions is the eponymous desert. It’s not all just one environment.

It may be that large, but remains to be seen whether or not they can fill it with unique and engaging content. Apparently it’s not AI-driven so that’s a good thing, but um, numbers don’t mean everything. Will people really want to find 3,000 “pieces of knowledge”?

If You Were Wondering How Big Crimson Desert Is, The Game Wants You To Find Almost 3,000 Pieces Of Knowledge Around The World

573 different territories, anybody?

www.thegamer.com

 

[CriticalGaming]

It may be that large, but remains to be seen whether or not they can fill it with unique and engaging content. Apparently it’s not AI-driven so that’s a good thing, but um, numbers don’t mean everything. Will people really want to find 3,000 “pieces of knowledge”?

If You Were Wondering How Big Crimson Desert Is, The Game Wants You To Find Almost 3,000 Pieces Of Knowledge Around The World

573 different territories, anybody?

www.thegamer.com

Yeah considering they've stressed how much of a "sandbox" the game is, I'm starting to think it's like a fantasy Just Cause game with the same huge size that really doesn't serve tight game design. The more I see the more it seems like they've just throw a bunch of combat and traversal systems into a huge map and let the player just kinda do whatever, which for me isn't great.

 

[Dreiko]

I expect a Crimson Desert, Cyan Desert, a Burgundy Desert, and a Charcol Desert.

Haha, that’s a cool idea but as it turns out the other areas are like nations with distinct culture and look to them. Like one is the forests of Kliff and his people, one nation has ancient dwarf tech and civilization influenced by magitec advances. One place is all about sailing etc. Very nautical themed.

It may be that large, but remains to be seen whether or not they can fill it with unique and engaging content. Apparently it’s not AI-driven so that’s a good thing, but um, numbers don’t mean everything. Will people really want to find 3,000 “pieces of knowledge”?

If You Were Wondering How Big Crimson Desert Is, The Game Wants You To Find Almost 3,000 Pieces Of Knowledge Around The World

573 different territories, anybody?

www.thegamer.com

You can pick up and read books to find recipes or lore. It’s kinda like the codex entries in dragon age or those Skyrim books. I always loved reading those. Also the traversal being so freeform right away (you get the raven wing flight early on) makes for an exciting time exploring. The idea is basically you don’t look at the map or at icons, you look at the game’s horizon and spot something that looks interesting and run/ride/fly/climb over there. That’s the feel they’re going for. More organic than anything.

 

[Agema]

The game takes place in a continent twice the size of rdr2. One of the main regions is the eponymous desert. It’s not all just one environment.

Sure, but . More like. Call a game "Crimson Desert", I expect some red fucking sand in the promotional materials.

 

[Dreiko]

Sure, but . More like. Call a game "Crimson Desert", I expect some red fucking sand in the promotional materials.

There’s been, it’s how I know about it. I didn’t get any sneak previews with the game.