CRIMSON DESERT: A HUGE WORLD WITH A ROUGH FIRST HOUR
8.0 of 10 bananas. Pearl Abyss built one of the biggest, prettiest open worlds of the generation, with combat critics rave about. The story is thin, and the launch build had clumsy controls and menus that patches have been fixing. Players liked it more than critics.
By the Alpha. Full review. Updated Nov 13 2026.
Honest note: This is not a fresh hands-on playtest. I built this verdict from critic reviews, player reviews, the store listing, and the official game pages linked below. If I put real hours in on stream, I will update the score and say so.
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC via Steam. Released March 19 2026, developed and published by Pearl Abyss. The Amazon button is the PS5 disc, Standard Edition. At my Nov 13 2026 check it was sold by Amazon.com at 61.99 dollars.
Get Crimson Desert for PS5 on AmazonStore check, Nov 13 2026: new copies sold and shipped by Amazon.com at 61.99 dollars. Prices and sellers change, so look before you pay.
Sit with me a moment. Some games greet you at the gate. Crimson Desert drops you in a cold river and lets you figure out how to swim. Critics who stayed in the water came out talking about the best open world exploration in years. The ones who climbed out early talked about the controls.
What It Wants To Be
You play Kliff, a mercenary whose Greymane band is ambushed and scattered by the rival Black Bears. The job is to find the survivors and rebuild the faction, across the continent of Pywel: plains, deserts, mountains, cities, ruins, and a strange sky realm called the Abyss. It is a single player action adventure from the studio behind the MMO Black Desert, and it tries to do everything: combat, puzzles, climbing, gliding, mounts, and side activities.
What Works
Critics who love it love it loudly. Metacritic shows 77 for PS5 at my check, with 15 of 23 critic reviews positive. PlayStation Universe called it incredibly ambitious and a beautiful package, and PSX Brasil called it one of the best open world experiences of this generation. PC Gamer and Beebom both praise the combat, Beebom calling it one of the best combat systems in gaming. Players are kinder than critics: 86 percent of 64,329 English Steam reviews are positive. Steam now sells it as Crimson Desert Enhanced and lists new cutscenes, story moments, and expanded voice-over added since launch.
What Breaks
The story is the weak bone. PC Gamer calls it stilted and disjointed, and NME lists an underdeveloped main story with dull characters. The launch build hurt too. Forbes says critics played the worst version: tiny inventory, few fast travel points, less responsive controls, and harsher bosses, much of it patched since. Beebom flags a fighting camera, unskippable cutscenes after boss deaths, and a slow first few hours. I have not confirmed which of the newer Enhanced additions are on the PS5 disc versus downloaded as updates.
Who Should Play
Play it if you love getting lost in a big world and you will forgive a weak plot for great fights. Patience in the first hours pays off. Skip it if story is why you play, or if clumsy menus and a stubborn camera ruin your night.
STRENGTHS
- Huge, gorgeous open world
- Combat critics rave about
- Patched a lot since launch
- Sold by Amazon.com at my check
HONEST COSTS
- Thin, disjointed story
- Slow, cluttered first hours
- Stubborn boss camera
- Critics split more than players
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