Topic: Crimson Desert

Crimson Desert Launch Trailer:

Digital Foundry PS5 Pro Analysis

Well, Push Squarians, it is time! This game is so hotly anticipated that it really needs its own thread. We are only one week away from release, after all 🤞

So, what are your hopes and expectations for this one? And will you be taking a chance and diving into Crimson Desert on day one? I know that they insist that this game is not an RPG in terms of story and dialogue choices, but I do hope that my fellow RPG Brethren and Sistren will join me on a fresh gaming journey into Pywel, regardless!

Review Aggregates for those interested:

So, what are your hopes and expectations for this one?

• They aren't all that specific. I just want to play something current, be involved with that current discussion and experience something current (I said current a lot) than remain a decade or so behind. I'm not sure what to think about when they are insisting that the game isn't an RPG and is instead an open-world adventure? However most RPGs are open-world adventures to me because I tend to not get the narrative. When I do think back on the experience I remember the game-play not the story, it seems like Crimson Desert is already half way there for me. I'm not worried about leaks, I technically could get the game early but my experience with broken street dates is that it cheapens the experience especially if I'm waiting for a patch, either way I'd rather go in day one like everyone else. I'm not sure what to expect from the game, all I want is a bow, a large map and a lot of loot. It feels like there has been a lack of such games, I guess we'll see what happens. Thanks for making the topic. There's been a lot of odd uneasy nay-saying about the game, but many are drive-by accounts, it will be good to (hopefully) hear some positivity about the game.

I'd hope they have a good dedicated photo-mode too, I'm all for hearing about peoples adventures but I'd like to see them too.

For me a lot of my early enthusiasm as dampened the more I have seen of it. Firstly, the combat doesn't (at least from watching) seem like my sort of thing. All the zipping around power moves reminds me of AC Valhalla and I wasn't a fan of that. Plus I'm not big on lots of lengthy boss fights which this has emphasised.
My main issue is that it seems to be several genres mashed together. It started looking like medieval style fantasy but then they started showing guns and mech suits and now this latest trailer showing trains and a jet pack. It just doesn't seem like a believable cohesive world to me.

Still, I love big open worlds to get lost in and I'm willing to be won over. I just need a lot more convincing at this stage.

@BearsEatBeets I have similar thoughts on this. It looks like a mix of a whole host of games just meshed together but I'm interested to see how it all fits together. I do think it looks interesting but I'm going to hold off on buying it for now.

I’m still pretty excited about it… but for the same reasons that @BearsEatBeets isn’t feeling it funnily enough. I love the open world AC games (Origins, Odyssey… I haven’t played Valhalla yet in fairness) and this does look fairly similar to those albeit with a bit more going on by the looks. Still want to see how it performs on PS5 and PS5 Pro… but yeah I’m pretty sure I’ll be picking it up.

@psmr Valhalla can be a good time, or rather it was a good time before they kept expanding it. I did buy the season pass and only played one DLC. It got too big even for me and I love side-content and new additions. The game itself took a while to get going and I think the traversal could have been better. The combat was more of a subjective experience, it did offer some fun play-styles. The story is completely forgettable, I remember nothing about it other than one side mission that was obviously a tribute to Keith Flint (The Prodigy) I have to give it to them for doing that, it was wholesome and heavy. Origins was and is my favorite of the franchise, but I'm biased, I love Egyptology. Odyssey felt more like a fun little playground, I enjoyed it for it was, Origins felt a lot more serious and grown-up.

@psmr To be fair I played and finished all 3 of those so did get some enjoyment from them. However I found the formula got more and more stale and content bloated as they went. Is was when I finished Valhalla that I grew tired of it and haven't played an AC game since when I played most of them up to that point.

Back on Crimson Desert, it would be handy if they do a demo at some point to truly tell for myself if it's my kind of thing.

@GirlVersusGame I actually preferred Odyssey over Origins but I rarely get that engaged by a games story, it’s always about the gameplay-loop for me… and island-hopping around the Aegean with ship combat was the highlight. I’d imagine that there’s some long-boat action in Valhalla, so it should hit that aspect for me. Also, I have a feeling that I’ll enjoy Viking-ruled England as a location… albeit a bloated one.

@BearsEatBeets yeah I get that, I played Odyssey and Origins within a year of each other and have long thought that it might’ve been the reason I didn’t enjoy Origins as much as most. I’ve given Valhalla a wide berth though (it’s been 6 years since I played Origins) so I’m hoping that will help to ward off the fatigue as much as possible.

@BearsEatBeets to me it feels like a lot of games all have similar combat these days, so i'm quite intrigued to learn a complex new system. I believe some of it is directional where you hit a move, so a combo at someone's back is different to a combo at their side. I've heard/read from multiple sources that it is a steep learning curve, but ultimately incredibly rewarding once it clicks as it has so many choices for your own combat style. And that really appeals to me as it means I get to shape how I play the game.

And I do also like games with big bosses: Elden Ring, Dragon's Dogma, stuff like that, to begin with.

I mean, the fact we can ride a dragon and torch stuff is almost worth the admission fee alone 😁

Yeah, the world looks like a medieval inspired base, but with steam punk elements, and of course magic. And if there is magic, I can definitely believe someone invented a vehicle that runs on tracks or a jet pack or electricity etc. Whether I choose to use a jetpack or not i'd hope is left up to me for the most part, which would go a long way for player freedom in the sandbox.

So yeah, a sandbox where I can just have fun with the game systems, explore and learn a new type of combat is my main draw to this. Anything else would just be a bonus.

It is wise to go in not expecting anything like the games people are comparing it to so far though, as that is mostly based on visuals.

@Ravix I can totally get why people are excited for it. It seems like a very large and comprehensive game. I'm just struggling to buy into the premise. I'm a sucker for an immersive game that feels alive and this feels like every idea they had in development they liked has been thrown in whether it makes sense or not.
Of course it might all work and end up being something I would love to play, I'm just not feeling it yet.

I will read/watch reviews with interest though. I'm curious at least to how it pans out.

Game is the epitome of "There is this girl and she is smart, funny and beatiful but there is no chemistry" for me.

I'm really looking forward to it, the game looks like a sandbox/adventure game that you could get lost in for hundreds of hours but I'm also cautiously optimistic as with any game.

My main problem is the general gaming problem, I have an absolutely massive backlog and a catalog of games to get through, and I'm very content at playing games well after release so I'm also in no rush

@Scottyy I had to go online today and do some digging on what you quoted, and I still don't know where you stand on the game. Do you mean it looks good/appears to play well but the game type isn't for you? Like I can say Marathon has a certain aesthetic that I can appreciate but I'm not touching it because it's not for me?

I probably won't be getting at launch, the gameplay just doesn't look very cohesive to me based on what's been shown so far. I think i'll need more than a few reviews and some time before deciding whether to jump in or not.

Most of my hype was lost when I realised just how much of the old bones of the MMO it started as seem to have remained here, whether they make sense for a single player game or not. I am pretty much at a stage in my life where I see the 'more content!' sales pitch as a net negative, and so if you like those big content for the sake of content games then this seems to be trying to deliver that as a primary focus, but it does mean this probably isn't gonna be for me unless it is truly exceptional. Thankfully I have MH Stories to keep me busy.

I think I expected this to be an 7 or 8/10 kind of game, so why is everyone losing their minds over it averaging 7-8/10 🤷‍♂️

If you look at metacritic there are a bunch of high scores, some middling, and yet PS have published an article that leads with the one negative review which is a 4.5/10 score...

I really don't get the site framing it as a Major Dissapointment. Clicks are clicks, I guess.

Anyway:

Crimson Desert is messy, but as you untangle its mechanics and compensate for its flaws, elements of genius and wonder make the experience worthwhile. Take time to leave the beaten path and find out which of its many facets appeals to you, and you'll discover a game that's far better as a sandbox than as a story.

This is basically exactly what I expected from the game, like we all saw the trailers and that, right? so i'll be more than happy to try it out for that alone. Plus, you know, riding a freaking Dragon. I don't need an interesting character or story to tell me I want to ride a dragon 😁

@Ravix I wondered when you were going to see. I came online an hour ago and that's one of the first things I saw. It's not the end of the world. On a personal level it's hard? good, it's big? great, there's no hand-holding? even better I prefer a challenge, which is why I'll jump on it tomorrow at some point, whenever it's up of course. Everything about what I'm hearing hits the spot but I think Folks may have been expecting too much? When I heard 'it's not an RPG, it's an open-world adventure' I thought, brilliant. I don't know if it's just me but I don't expect much from modern gaming and it's probably because I tend to avoid Triple-A games to begin with. I have simple gaming needs, I just want a world to explore, things to see, and to create some memories along the way. You can laugh at this but when I first started reading the feedback I questioned if I was a real gamer, I didn't feel like what I read was negative nor did I feel fired up or how you say, prone to react? So I questioned am I in the right hobby if I'm not feeling that something. It felt like a lack of passion, but also I'm not quick to react in general. It might also be a modern internet thing, I was thinking about earlier today too, and probably yesterday.

I think a game is as good or as bad as the player thinks, I could play one your games and think 'nope' and vice-versa. It comes down to who's reviewing it, what type of games they usually play and if they managed to balance their own expectations going in. Some people don't like harder games, some want that hand holding, it really is a case of waiting to play it for myself. I have to figure out when it unlocks here, I'd been planning to play it in England but I'll play it wherever really.

Is it because some people were looking forward to it so it had to be seen as a 10 to be good?

• Short answer, yes? I really do think people allowed themselves to get very hyped for the game and I haven't allowed myself to feel hype anymore. Civilization 7 was the last time. I buy games because I can and pre-order because I can, there's a projected feeling of 'don't pre-order games Folks' but it's my money so why does it matter? I just don't feel what I'm calling passion about these things. A game is a product, I'm a customer, I decide on what to play or not to play. If there are some politics there? I have my own and they aren't virtual, I can only see games as entertainment. I'm tired, if that came out wrong I'll re-edit after maybe some sleep.