Crimson Desert is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated games of the year. The game looks ambitious and looks to be top quality so far, with some gamers thinking it almost looks too good to be true and hopes it can live up to it’s lofty ambitions.
Over the past 2 weeks, Pearl Abyss has released 3 different videos ahead of the game’s launch next month. These videos greatly detail different aspects of the gameplay from combat, exploration and what you do when you’re at home base.
We covered the first video a couple weeks back which went over the protagonist Kliff and what his journey will be about, as well as the continent of Pywell which is the game’s open world setting.
Combat Overview
The second video however goes more into the games combat and progression. Combat in Crimson Desert looks to be quite varied. The games combat mixes weapon fighting with grappling and a multitude of ranged weapons as well and everything is designed to be a seamless transition between all as we see Kliff go from hacking some one up with his sword to performing and izuna drop or pulling off moves straight from the WWE. Then we see Kliff switch to multiple ranged weapons which sees him calling down lightning strikes then finishing enemies off with a rifle.
Combat also looks to be very mobile as Kliff can use a grappling hook to swing around like Spider-Man. This allows him to perform moves such as slamming into the ground from high places, as well as being able to slide and roll around to create more openings. There’s also elemental augmentations including electric, fire and ice.
The game’s progression, which involves upgrading through various artifacts found throughout the world looks to be being designed in a way that caters to how you want to play. This includes upgrading stamina to be able to use gliders longer or specializing in to being an unstoppable beast in combat. Briefly shown off were also animal mounts and battle mechs as well as extra abilities gained from fighting bosses.
A deeper look into the combat and progression can be viewed below.
Life In Pywell
While the second video went over combat, the last video dives deep into life in Pywell and the camp of the greymanes, Kliff’s tribe and it looks to be a detailed life sim that almost looks like it could be a separate harvest moon style game on its own. The video shows you using the resources you find throughout the world to rebuild the greymanes but also being able to farm the resources within the camp itself. As things go on, the camp expands as other greymanes hear about the progress of the camp. You can then send these greymanes on missions of their own such as gathering resources or weakening enemy strongholds.
Afterwards, the video goes into life within the many cities which are bustling cities that seem to be filled with life. You can find various side quests and diversions along the way or even take up the life of a criminal if you want to, although this can make the game harder on you. On top of the bustling cities, there are also special towns with unusual races that are more hidden as well as towns that you can help repair for rewards. The game also shows that Kliff’s appearance can be customized by changing his hair and tattoos among other things.
For a deeper look, you can watch the video down below.
As it stands now, Crimson Desert is looking to be an absolutely massive game. If Pearl Abyss can deliver on everything they’re trying, the game could end up being the unexpected smash hit that Expedition 33 was last year. I now see why they delayed the game with how much it has going on but, hopefully it’s more than worth the wait. Crimson Desert is set to release on March 19th 2026 for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series Platforms.
