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It has been a long time coming. The much-anticipated action-adventure Crimson Desert is now officially out, available to play on PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. For a game that has been in development for more than seven years and accumulated millions of wishlists across platforms, today is a significant moment regardless of what the review scores say.
And on the subject of reviews, they came in lower than most people expected. The game currently sits at 78 on Metacritic, short of the mid-to-high 80s range that many had anticipated given the scope and ambition of the project. Critics broadly praised the combat, the world of Pywel, and the sheer scale of the thing, while pointing to a weak story, frustrating systems, and bugs as the main sticking points.
It is still a decent score, just not the one Pearl Abyss or its fanbase were hoping for. That said, review scores rarely tell the full story with games of this size, and Crimson Desert has the kind of player base potential that does not hinge entirely on critical reception. Think Black Myth Wukong, which also didn't have the greatest reviews.
The wishlist numbers suggest a very large audience is ready to make up its own mind – Crimson Desert is top of the lists across all storefronts. Launch is also just the starting point. Pearl Abyss are expected to continue patching the game in the weeks and months ahead, addressing bugs and bringing quality of life improvements as players work through the content.
It is a familiar pattern for open-world games of this scale, and the foundation here is solid enough to build on. Further down the line, DLC is a natural possibility, though nothing has been announced officially.
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