The Witcher 3 remains one of the best RPGs of all time. As I type that, I feel confident that few will dispute such a statement; even if it isn’t your favorite, the way CD Projekt Red weaves narrative, exploration, and action is masterful. Yet if I were to pick out one area that holds it back, it would be the combat. It’s functional and flashy, but a little one-note. Based on my second time playing it, Crimson Desert could be the game I’m looking for – but I desperately want a better look at how its vicious, pulse-pounding battles are integrated into its grander open world.
Back at Gamescom 2024, I went out of my way to return to the Crimson Desert booth for a second sitting to get a better grasp on its distinctive approach to combat. I came away eager for more, and after another hour spent battling bosses, I’m now sold on its premise. Ultimately, however, it’s increasingly clear to me that what you do between these encounters will determine whether Pearl Abyss’s new single-player adventure can reach the upper echelons of the best RPGs.
Away from the Gamescom floor in a dedicated preview session, where I can get immediate assistance and tips directly from the developers, I rapidly expand my grasp of Crimson Desert’s controls. There’s a tremendous, perhaps overwhelming amount of nuance there; each button and every combination of paired inputs manages a different function.
A tap of triangle (we’re playing a PS5 build on PC using a DualSense controller) delivers a Spartan kick capable of launching enemies off cliffs. Press it while sprinting and you’ll instead put your weight into a full-speed, wrestling-style missile dropkick. Opt instead for the pairing of circle and triangle together, which acts as a grab, and that run will transition into a vicious neckbreaker that you can then follow up with a quick R1 sword stab.
This level of control suits my tastes perfectly, and I can feel myself getting better despite Crimson Desert’s seeming unwillingness to give you space to learn. Even the early tutorial enemies fly at you in groups, at speed, forcing you to desperately clutch for space, and the introduction’s climactic battle features a giant man who rolls at you with the unrelenting ferocity of a medieval Sonic the Hedgehog.
Returning to fight the Staglord – a beefcake warrior of similar stature to protagonist Kliff – I easily pick back up where I left off. He’s fast, and even an errant shoulder can send you cannonballing across the courtyard into a broken pillar, but I know where I stand. He’s susceptible to the charged R1+R2 sword slam, and his raised shield strike leaves him briefly open to a well-timed thrust. It doesn’t take long to bring him down, and I then claim his weapons as my own.
The same holds true on my return to face the Reed Demon – he’s fast, but this time I have a series of rapid flurry strikes up my sleeve. His relentlessness becomes a problem when I have to demolish the totems that grant him power. Despite knowing exactly what to do, I can’t help but take a few errant swipes as I make my way over. Crimson Desert’s constant pressure can be fun, but it threatens to slip into annoyance at times like these.
That pacing is most notable against Hexe Marie, a witch who summons a never-ending horde of pottery minions. No matter how many I destroy or how far I run, it feels like they’re on top of me again in a second. Fortunately, I take advantage of a new tip, albeit one that is another example of the complex controls at play. I jump with square, click the right stick, then left stick to boost myself higher with my Force Palm, and then clutch both triggers to draw my bow and aim in slow-motion, unleashing multiple explosive arrows to clear the crowd.
It’s an effective technique, although the explosions also catch me when I come too close to the ground before firing. I use a similarly involved technique against the Queen Stoneback Crab, where I employ the ‘Spider Web’ grapple to swing around the jar on its head to crack it. It’s a cool sequence, but one that’s frustrating to wrap my head around when I’m tasked with it in the middle of the action with no prior practice.
Importantly, these encounters won’t take place in a vacuum when the full game arrives. Instead, you’ll discover them as you explore Crimson Desert’s vast open world. We’ve seen glimpses of this previously, and it only further enhances the Witcher vibes the combat and mystical high-fantasy vibes off. The hope is that, in that wider context, these battles will feel more suitably placed, and that you’ll have the opportunity to gradually master the nuanced systems at play.
After bringing down the Staglord, I’m encouraged to backtrack for a moment to take a glimpse across the wider region – and pick out the arid zone in the distance where I’m told we’ll find the Reed Demon. It looks visually stunning, and I’ve had no notable performance complaints from what I’ve seen so far. I’m also very much into the voice acting, with some impeccable line delivery and a range of accents that dance across the British Isles.
Given more time to learn, I hope I’ll be ready to deal with the sheer pace of Crimson Desert’s enemies by the time I reach them in the final game. If Pearl Abyss can deliver what it’s promising with the overarching experience, we might have something truly special here. I’m told the Crimson Desert release date is still planned to land this year, so hopefully we’ll find out for sure before too long.
