YouTuber Skill Up released his hands-on impressions of Crimson Desert after playing an early build of Pearl Abyss’ upcoming open-world action game. His verdict? The game is highly ambitious and looks fantastic but struggles to make a good first impression.
Skill Up praised the combat as exhilarating once it opens up. The game offers a diverse toolbox with multiple weapons and skills that players can customize to match their preferred playstyle. He compared the control scheme to a fighting game with complex inputs, timing requirements, and combo systems. Boss fights stood out as a particular highlight with strong designs and varied movesets.
The visuals impressed him repeatedly throughout his session. He called the foliage density and interactivity “absurdly good” alongside massive draw distances that bring the world to life. The game features a bright and vibrant visual style with surprising levels of environmental destructibility during combat. Towns and villages feel populated with NPCs chatting and following daily routines. He also praised the voice acting as comparable to Western AAA productions.
Pearl Abyss built Crimson Desert as a completely open sandbox world. Skill Up noted the game leans more toward gameplay-forward exploration and systems rather than tightly guided narrative experiences like The Witcher 3 or Red Dead Redemption 2. He mentioned an average playthrough clocks in around 60 hours with more time needed for completionists.
The tone struck him as earnest and serious. He specifically contrasted it with MCU-style quippy writing that dominates many modern games.
But Skill Up warned potential players about significant friction in the opening hours. The game dumps systems-heavy mechanics on players right away while using a complex control scheme that creates early frustration. Some mechanics and inputs aren’t explained clearly or consistently. He gave examples like needing to walk around towns discovering question mark icons on the minimap just to locate basic merchants and blacksmiths.
Pearl Abyss brings the Black Desert DNA
Pearl Abyss built its reputation on Black Desert Online, an MMO known for flashy high-input combat and overwhelming system density. Crimson Desert represents the studio’s attempt to translate that MMO-scale tech and combat depth into a single-player experience.
The developer has promoted its proprietary engine technology to compete visually with top-tier productions. Skill Up joked the engine should be renamed “Black Magic” given how impressive the results look.
