Crimson Desert

Crimson Desert is an open-world action-adventure game developed and published by South Korean studio Pearl Abyss, best known for Black Desert. It launched on 19 March 2026 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC (Steam and Epic Games Store) and Mac. It is a new IP, and the publisher says it sold over 6 million copies in 83 days. This page is a sourced analysis: we have not played the game, and every observation below is attributed to its source.

Kliff and the Greymanes

According to the official website, the story takes place on the continent of Pywel, where the factions of Pailune fight for power. The Greymanes, a mercenary band, are decimated in a night ambush by their sworn enemies, the Black Bears. One of them, Kliff, sets out to find the survivors and rebuild his faction. Along the way, he forges alliances and uncovers a greater threat to the continent, tied to the mysterious sky realm known as the Abyss.

Gameplay: a huge world and free-form combat

Pywel mixes plains, forests, deserts and mountains, with ruins, treasure and puzzles to discover. You can travel on horseback, but also on a dragon or in a mech, climb cliffs and glide. Combat is meant to be fast: according to the launch press release, players chain combos with swords, axes, spears, ranged weapons or bare hands, including kicks and grapples. The game offers one-on-one boss duels, large battles and skirmishes. On the side, you can cook, fish, hunt, play minigames and customise your appearance.

What critics liked

Critics mainly praise the open world. GameSpot (7/10) says "there's nothing else quite like it" and calls it "a world worth getting lost in". PC Gamer (80/100) describes "a fascinating journey", TheGamer (4/5) calls it "one of the most intriguing triple-A games" in years, and IGN (6/10) says its ambition makes it "incredibly cool". PlayStation Universe (90) calls it "an incredibly ambitious project".

The TricknFix average only counts five reviews of the PC version whose platform is verified: IGN (6/10), Game Informer (7/10), KeenGamer (9.5/10), Gaming Trend (95/100) and Eurogamer.de (5/5). Gaming Trend, which gives it its Editor’s Choice award, calls it “likely your RPG of the year” despite a few bugs. Eurogamer.de, after about 120 hours on PC, names it its game of the year and praises very motivating exploration and combat that stays varied. KeenGamer highlights the scale of the world and the developers’ ongoing support, while noting that the world overshadows the story. The other scores quoted on this page are context only and are not counted.

What critics criticised

Opinions are more divided than for other big releases this year. IGN finds that same ambition "gobsmackingly infuriating" almost as often as it is cool. Fextralife (8/10) feels the game could have scored higher "with better controls and less clutter". Eurogamer (3/5) asks what good such a vast world is "without much character, texture or charm", and Game Informer (7/10) would like to see its "unneeded layers" cut out. The game was also criticised for AI-generated 2D assets left in the final build. Pearl Abyss acknowledged the issue, apologised and said it would replace them in updates (Polygon).

Crimson Desert Enhanced and the DLC

The game has changed a lot since launch. Version 2.0, called Crimson Desert Enhanced, was unveiled on 25 August 2026 at gamescom. It is free for all owners and adds new cutscenes and dialogue, voice-over in French, German, Spanish, Japanese and Brazilian Portuguese, plus Arabic text. The first paid DLC, Charting the Unknown, launched on 29 October 2026. It lets players build a ship to explore an ocean and its islands, dive underwater, pursue romances, run businesses and design their homes more freely. According to Pearl Abyss, PlayStation Plus Premium members and Xbox Series players can also try the game free for five hours.

Prices and languages

Prices checked on 10 November 2026 and rechecked on 13 November on Steam, the PlayStation Store and the Microsoft Store, unchanged: on Steam (France), the standard edition is €69.99 and the Deluxe Edition €79.99, with no discount. On the French PlayStation Store, the standard edition is also €69.99 and the Deluxe Edition €79.99. The Microsoft Store shows the same prices, and the Mac version is €69.99 on the App Store. The Charting the Unknown DLC costs €24.99 on Steam. Since the Enhanced version, the game is fully voiced and subtitled in French (at launch, it was only voiced in English, Korean and Chinese). It is rated PEGI 18.

Who is it for?

Players who enjoy freely exploring a very large open world, with demanding combat and plenty of side activities. Those mainly looking for a strong story or easy controls may be less convinced, according to critics. The many updates may have fixed some of the issues raised at launch, but most reviews were published in March 2026, before the Enhanced version.