Crimson Desert

Critical response

According to the review aggregator website Metacritic, Crimson Desert received "generally favorable reviews".^[12][13]

Crimson Desert was generally enjoyed by most critics. Destructoid found the game addictive, albeit with some rough edges, calling it "impossible to put down once you get going".^[15] Press Start was pleasantly surprised, acknowledging it as "imperfect" yet "impressive enough to be within striking distance of the juggernauts of [the] genre."^[24] Finding it a "fascinating journey" and a "jack of all trades", PC Gamer praised the game's scale, though acknowledged an imbalance of quality in some areas.^[21] Some critics were able to find enjoyment in some aspects but were let down by others, labelled as "laser-targeted at the current demands of the attention economy" by Eurogamer.^[16] While Shacknews remained able to find a lot to like, they ultimately felt that it was too large and ambitious for its own good.^[22]

Combat in the game was often seen as Crimson Desert's most interesting and impressive feature. Checkpoint Gaming noticed a "huge amount of player expression" in each playable character's moveset, enjoying subtle contextual differences in animations, but finding the initial learning curve rough.^[25] Combat was also praised for its freedom of expression by GameSpot and they were pleased by the absence of basic stat upgrades in the skill tree in favor of new attacks.^[18] Despite finding a lot of flaws with the game overall, Eurogamer generally appreciated the "killer combat", aside from the lock-on system.^[16] IGN took issue with the average fight length, finding that combat dragged on for too long with too many enemies, particularly outside of major story quests where it felt unwarranted.^[20] GamesRadar+ took a different stance, believing that large groups were where combat was at its best, due to the amount of variety and options.^[19]

Reviewers usually found faults with the game's story. IGN and Eurogamer both criticised the narrative, along with its characters, with the former calling the story "aimless" and the dialogue "hard to listen to",^[20] while the latter saw it as an underdeveloped afterthought.^[16] GamesRadar+ suggested that the game was "better as a sandbox than as a story",^[19] a similar sentiment to the one shared by Checkpoint Gaming, who warned against player expectations of a deep RPG with a cohesive story.^[25] Windows Central said the story shined through set-pieces, yet was a "jumbled mess" overall.^[26] On the other hand, TechRadar thought the story was engaging, with characters they were able to grow attached to and a plot that left them wondering how it would continue,^[23] and ComicBook.com called the game a "masterclass in layered storytelling".^[27]

The game's world was praised by most critics for its beauty and scale, along with the technical work behind it. Digital Spy said the world was beautiful visually, and praised the tempting exploration,^[28] which Gamereactor wrote was almost unparallelled, comparing it to Death Stranding 2: On the Beach and the Legend of Zelda series.^[29] From a technical perspective, Game Informer was impressed by how the entire world was rendered as a whole, and could be seen all at once from high points.^[17] PC Gamer mentioned the lack of performance issues, which surprised them, considering how much seemed to happen in the world at once.^[21] When discussing the immersion, IGN found the world to feel somewhat flat and not reactive enough, despite it being "absolutely gorgeous" visually and one of the most impressive parts of the game.^[20]

A few critics noted frustrations with the game's controls, with them being called "wonky",^[17] "overloaded",^[25] and "clunky".^[21][27][30] Checkpoint Gaming noted in particular that they often felt lacking in precision, feeling like the main reason for a lot of their mistakes in gameplay.^[25] While Digital Spy agreed that it can take time to adjust to, they cite the controls as a strength, allowing for freedom in movement.^[28]

Also a subject of criticism was the inventory system at launch, with Gamereactor saying it "may be the worst inventory system in the history of video games".^[29] Several critics complained about the lack of slots to carry things in, compounded by the large number of different items they found themselves encouraged to carry, especially at the start of the game before more inventory slots are gained.^{[19][23][29][30]} IGN noted that the game received a storage box mechanic in a post-launch update to help ease the issue.^[20]

Sales

On March 20, 2026, Pearl Abyss announced that Crimson Desert had surpassed 2 million units sold within its first 24 hours.^[31] The game sold 3 million copies four days after release,^[32][33] and 4 million copies within two weeks.^[34] It surpassed 5 million copies sold worldwide within its first month of release.^[35]

Controversies