"I have never seen a single-player game this big, and it is not particularly close." That's Forbes Senior Contributor Paul Tassi, writing after logging 100 hours into Crimson Desert and reaching only about two-thirds through the main questline. That sentence alone should tell you everything about what Pearl Abyss has built here.
Crimson Desert officially launches today on March 19, and if you want a full breakdown of launch times and pre-load details, those are already confirmed. But the real story right now is what players and critics are actually experiencing once they're inside.
A Map That Earns Its Size
You've probably heard the stat: Crimson Desert's map is roughly the size of Skyrim and Red Dead Redemption 2 combined. That's been floating around for months. Here's the thing, that number only matters if the world is worth exploring, and by all accounts, it absolutely is.
Tassi reports that after a full 100 hours, he has never once been bored. The world is packed with quests, crafting systems, territory takeovers, boss hunts, sky-zone puzzles, and faction research trees. The game doesn't scale to your level either, meaning you cannot simply rush the main story. You are forced to engage with the world, whether you want to or not.
The sky zones in particular draw comparisons to Breath of the Wild, while the ground-level world carries a Witcher-ish feel. The story itself echoes Assassin's Creed in structure. None of this is meant as a knock. The blend produces something that reviewers say genuinely feels new.
Combat That Escalates in the Best Way
Combat in Crimson Desert operates on a wide spectrum. One moment you're in a tense 1-on-1 duel with a brutal boss. The next, you're bouncing lower-tier enemies around like they weigh nothing. One entire chapter is built around a full castle siege, with hundreds of enemies and allies on the map simultaneously.
The physics system deserves its own mention. Kicks send enemies collapsing in realistic ragdoll fashion. You can knock over a tower with a greatsword to eliminate an archer you can't reach. Tassi describes unlocking a move that functions like a Stone Cold Stunner, and that's not even close to the ceiling.
The weapon system is where things get genuinely interesting. Unique weapons drop from bosses, but you can extract their special properties and stack them onto entirely different weapons. Tassi's current sword shoots homing crows on heavy attack, ejects a poison arc on a specific input combo, and deals bleed damage. That kind of build depth takes many hours to reach, but it's there.
danger
The game does not scale to your level. Attempting to rush the main questline without building up your character will hit a hard wall at boss encounters, some of which are described as genuinely punishing.
The Multi-Character System Feels Half-Baked
Crimson Desert advertises three playable characters: Kliff (the main protagonist), Oongka (a large orc-type fighter), and Damiane (a quick-striking woman). At 100 hours in, Tassi had only just unlocked Oongka and spent roughly ten minutes with Damiane.
The problem is that the game forces you to use these characters in certain story moments, but you've spent dozens of hours investing skill points and gear upgrades into Kliff, with little carryover to the others. It's an awkward system that feels like a leftover from an earlier version of the game, one that might have been a different product entirely at some point in development.
Kliff himself is described as a blank slate, which is a strange choice given that Pearl Abyss is known for deep character customization in Black Desert Online. The Greymane companions you reassemble throughout the story are reportedly more memorable than the protagonist himself.
Inventory system needs work
Where the Game Stumbles
Not everything lands. Inventory management is the most glaring issue. Pearl Abyss acknowledged this during the review period and patched in additional inventory slots, but even the expanded count is reportedly not enough for a game with this many items. Base camp storage was missing at launch, with the developer confirming it would arrive in a later update.
Fast travel is another friction point. The game does not automatically provide fast travel points at major cities. Tracking down those points in a new region can eat up 30 minutes of riding. Getting back to the main Greymane base apparently involves skydiving out of an Abyss location and landing in the middle of camp. Every time.
The lack of handholding is mostly treated as a positive, but there are moments where the game crosses into genuinely unhelpful territory. One early main story boss fight teaches you a skill beforehand that does nothing in the actual fight, then requires you to use an ability you've never been introduced to. Fail, and you replay the entire puzzle sequence and sit through the cutscene again.
The Technical Miracle Underneath It All
What makes all of this more remarkable is the engine powering it. Tassi ran the game on a GTX 3080 and reported solid performance with excellent visuals, no small feat for a world this size. The ability to jump off an Abyss platform, freefall, glide, and land anywhere on a fully loaded map below is described as one of many technical achievements that set Crimson Desert apart from the current wave of Unreal Engine 5 titles.
Pearl Abyss built their own engine for this, and it shows.
What This Launch Actually Means
Reviewers who got early access are largely reporting they won't finish the main story before launch. Tassi explicitly says he wouldn't trust a review from someone with fewer than 50 hours in. That's not a criticism of the game. That's the scope of it.
Crimson Desert is going to overwhelm some players. The time commitment alone is a barrier. But for those willing to put in the hours, Pearl Abyss appears to have delivered something genuinely rare: an open world that earns every inch of its map. Make sure to check out more:
