When Pearl Abyss announced Crimson Desert, the ambitious single-player follow-up to their smash hit, Black Desert Online, I was left feeling excited but cautious in equal measure. MMORPGs are an entirely different beast, and despite what can be considered to be one of the best implementations of a real-time combat system in the genre, a shift to a fully single-player open world game, particularly with the scope that Crimson Desert aims to cultivate, creates expectations that are hard to live up to.
For those worried about enjoying Crimson Desert without prior knowledge or playtime with Pearl Abyss’s last game, can rest assured in knowing that, despite Crimson Desert taking place in the same universe as Black Desert Online, newcomers will have no trouble following the story of the game. Crimson Desert opens strong, showing the downfall of Kliff and his ragtag group of mercenaries, known as the Greymanes, after the brutish Black Bears, an equally imposing group of bandits and... Read more