I purchased this game around a week or so after it was released, having read a lot of reviews I thought it seemed like a worthwhile purchase. However, one topic that came up time and time again was the story being hard to follow, pacing issues, or just generally bad overall, I personally quite enjoyed the first hour, yet it felt incomplete, NPCs talking to you and the main character staying completely silent, it seemed very disjointed. After another couple of hours, I tried to enjoy the game but I just couldnt, the mostly silent protagonist bugged me, the story seemed to be leading you here there and everywhere but not explaining why you are going there or any information on why its important to you. The world and the mechanics however i truly enjoyed and its what kept me returning to try it again and again.

Today, i jumped back on after hearing of the latest major update 2.0. It apparently added bits to the story, so i played it, from the beginning. What were they thinking? the sections of the story where you would expect the character to speak but he always remained silent, he now talks, the reasons for him doing certain things or going to specific areas, now have cutscenes giving a glimpse to that reason, its so much better and finally i feel like i will enjoy this game without worry, Kliff has more of a personality and considering how great the voice actor is, its good to see his talent on show finally. It seemed like such a waste of potential. Anyways this is my first review but i thought it needed to be said, i may update it down the line if anything changes for better or worse, but thank you team for the 2.0. It now feels complete and im only an hour or so in. Look forward to the rest.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to read this.

Stay Safe - Stay Kind

Crimson Desert!

This is a game that tries to do EVERYTHING — and sometimes it actually pulls it off.

First of all, the game looks absolutely incredible. Pywel can be breathtaking, and there have been plenty of times where I've simply stopped what I was doing to look at the scenery. The scale, environments, cities and landscapes can be seriously impressive.

The combat is also one of the strongest parts of the game. There are so many different attacks, combos and ways to fight that even after spending a huge amount of time with the game, combat can still be fun.

And the boss fights are incredible. Honestly, some of the best I've played. The bosses where you're forced to use dragons? Those suck. But other than that, the boss fights are easily one of the highlights of the game.

The world is huge and filled with NPCs, yet somehow it can still feel strangely empty at times. There are so many interesting-looking places that make you think "there has to be something here" — only to discover that there really isn't much to do.

I'm also very mixed on the main story. There are parts I really enjoy, but sometimes I completely lose track of what's happening and just sit there with a giant question mark over my head.

And then there's the name...

Crimson Desert really should have been called Pywel.

Ironically, the Crimson Desert itself is probably the least interesting region in the entire game. The actual playable desert isn't even that big compared to the rest of the map.

And this leads to one of the most frustrating things about exploration: the invisible boundaries.

You can stand in the desert and clearly see huge stretches of land, buildings, towers, fortresses and other locations in the distance. They don't look like some blurry background decoration. They look like places you should actually be able to explore.

So naturally, you ride towards them.

Then suddenly the game tells you that you're leaving the playable area and forces you to turn around.

That's incredibly disappointing in an open-world game built around exploration. If an area isn't supposed to be accessible, don't fill the horizon with interesting locations that look like they're waiting to be discovered.

And for a game literally called Crimson Desert, I expected the desert to be one of the biggest and most important parts of the world. Instead, it feels almost forgotten.

I have over 200 hours in this game, and I've genuinely had a great time with it. But that's also why its problems frustrate me so much. There are so many systems where I keep thinking: Why didn't they take this one step further?

Trading is a perfect example. You have all these professions where you can send people out to work for you, but I can't have a horse-drawn wagon trading and earning money for me? Instead, I have to do all the trading myself.

It's one of many strange design decisions that make me wonder why they built these big systems but stopped just before making them truly interesting.

Quests are another example.

The game will sometimes give you a riddle that you're supposed to solve to figure out where to go... and then it marks the exact location on your map.

What's the point of the riddle then?

A much better solution would have been to mark a large search area on the map instead of the exact location. Give me a circle showing the general area, then let me use the riddle, clues and environment to actually find what I'm looking for.

That way the game could still help players who don't want to wander around the entire world, without completely solving the riddle for them.

Give me a direction. Give me clues. Just don't give me the answer.

This is where Crimson Desert frustrates me the most. It gives you this massive, beautiful world that should be perfect for exploration and discovery, but then it often holds your hand through the actual exploration.

There is an incredible game in here.

When it's good, it's REALLY good. The combat is great, the bosses can be fantastic, the world is beautiful, and I wouldn't have spent over 200 hours in Pywel if I wasn't enjoying myself.

But so many mechanics and design decisions feel like they stopped one step before becoming something truly great.

The developers are still updating the game and listening to player feedback, so I absolutely believe this could become a game I recommend in the future.

But after 200+ hours, I have to review the game that exists today — not the game I hope it becomes.

And today, I can't give it a thumbs up.

⭐ **CRIMSON DESERT ENHANCED — REVIEW** ⭐
**My Rating: 8.5 /10** 🔥 Could be a 10 out of 10 if complaints are fixed.

Crimson Desert Enhanced is one of those games that tries to do almost everything — massive open world, cinematic story, brutal combat, exploration, mounts, huge battles, side activities, boss fights, progression systems, and an almost ridiculous amount of content.

The Enhanced update made the game noticeably better, especially when it comes to the story and overall flow.

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⚔️ **COMBAT — 9/10**

Combat is easily one of the strongest parts of the game. Most importantly cater to all types of gamers.

🔥 Fast and aggressive
💥 Tons of abilities and combos
⚔️ Excellent group combat
🛡️ Blocking, dodging and counters feel satisfying
💪 You eventually become extremely powerful
🎯 Lots of freedom in how you approach fights

Most importantly:

🚫 **THIS IS NOT ELDEN RING 2.0**

Crimson Desert has bosses, but the entire game is NOT a nonstop boss parade and made for streamers garbage and watch to play garbage. Game built for almost all kinds of players. Even if its rated little low on steam just ignore them. This game content alone is worth the money spent.

There is a gigantic world, quests, towns, exploration, battles, NPCs and side content between major fights.

If you like a **power-fantasy action RPG** more than repeatedly dying to bosses for hours, Crimson Desert is far more enjoyable.

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🌍 **OPEN WORLD & EXPLORATION — 9.5/10**

The world is MASSIVE.

🏰 Castles
🏘️ Towns and settlements
⛰️ Mountains
🌲 Forests
🏜️ Huge wilderness areas
🐎 Mounts
🧗 Climbing and traversal
⚔️ Random encounters
📜 Side quests
🎯 Activities everywhere

Sometimes you will start heading toward one quest and discover five completely different things along the way.

The world feels like it was designed for people who actually enjoy wandering around rather than simply teleporting from quest marker to quest marker.

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📖 **STORY — 8/10**

The original version had problems explaining characters and events clearly.

The **Enhanced version is much better**.

🎬 More cutscenes
🗣️ More dialogue
🧠 More character memories/context
👤 Better development for Kliff
📜 Improved narrative flow

It still isn't **Witcher 3 level storytelling**, but I actually care about what is happening now instead of simply waiting for the next fight.

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🎨 **GRAPHICS — 9.5/10**

Absolutely gorgeous.

🌄 Landscapes look incredible
🔥 Excellent lighting
⚔️ Huge battles look spectacular
🐎 Animations are impressive
🌧️ Weather adds atmosphere
🏰 Cities and castles look fantastic

On a powerful PC this game can look stunning.

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👹 **BOSSES — 7.5/10**

Some bosses are fantastic.

Some bosses made me question several life decisions. 😂

The good news is that bosses are only one part of the game.

You aren't walking through a corridor containing:

Boss ➡️ Boss ➡️ Boss ➡️ Boss ➡️ Depression ➡️ Boss

There is a real adventure between them.

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📜 **QUESTS — 8/10**

There are LOTS of quests.

Probably too many. Worth way more than the money spent. Probably 2 games combined into one. 😂

Some are excellent, some are average, and some exist mainly to send you exploring.

The game doesn't always hold your hand, so occasionally you'll wonder:

🤔 "Where exactly am I supposed to go?"

The easiest way to enjoy Crimson Desert is:

✅ Follow the main story
✅ Do interesting side quests
✅ Explore naturally
❌ DON'T try to complete absolutely everything

Otherwise your 80–100+ hour adventure may become a second full-time job. 😂

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🎒 **INVENTORY & QUALITY OF LIFE — 6.5/10**

This is one of my bigger complaints. ALMOST IRRITATING. Inventory is way too small and you have dedicate your time for inventory management alone.

🎒 Inventory can feel too small
📦 Too many items
🗂️ Lots of systems to manage
📜 Tons of side content
🧭 Quest guidance could be better

Thankfully, on PC there are already quality-of-life mods that can reduce some of the unnecessary frustration.

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🛠️ **MODDING — BIG BONUS**

Since this is primarily a single-player experience, mods can make the game even better.

Useful categories include:

🎒 Inventory expansion
👩 Character appearance mods
⚡ Progression/QoL tweaks
🧰 Utility/mod menus
🎨 Visual improvements
🎮 Gameplay customization

You can remove some annoying friction without destroying the actual game.

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⏳ **CONTENT — 10/10**

There is an absurd amount of game here.

Seriously.

Every time I think:

"Okay, I understand what this game contains."

Crimson Desert replies:

😂 **NO YOU DON'T. HERE ARE THREE MORE GAME SYSTEMS.**

There are activities inside activities inside activities.

For people who want a huge game for their money, this is excellent. Way more worth for your money.

For completionists…

May God have mercy on you. 😂

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❤️ **WHAT I LOVE**

✅ Massive beautiful world
✅ Excellent combat
✅ Fantastic sense of adventure
✅ Huge amount of content
✅ Great power progression
✅ Amazing graphics
✅ Much better story after Enhanced update
✅ Lots of gameplay variety
✅ Doesn't feel like a Souls boss simulator
✅ Excellent value for people who love huge RPGs

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😤 **WHAT I DON'T LIKE**

❌ Inventory limitations. Biggest failure. Dedicated inventory management on a single player game ? Come on, fire the people who designed that way.
❌ Quest guidance can sometimes be poor
❌ Some bosses can be annoying
❌ Too many mechanics introduced at once
❌ The game can become overwhelming
❌ Story still isn't Witcher 3 quality
❌ Completionists may lose several years of their life 😂

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🎮 **BEST WAY TO PLAY**

Don't treat Crimson Desert like Elden Ring.

Don't treat it like a Ubisoft map-cleaning simulator either.

Do this instead:

📖 Main story = backbone
🌍 Explore whenever something looks interesting
⚔️ Experiment with combat
📜 Do side quests you actually enjoy
🎒 Use QoL mods if something annoys you
🚫 Ignore completionism
💪 Slowly turn Kliff into a walking natural disaster

That is when the game becomes great.

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🏆 **FINAL SCORE**

⚔️ Combat: **9/10**
🌍 Open World: **9.5/10**
🎨 Graphics: **9.5/10**
📖 Story: **8/10**
👹 Bosses: **7.5/10**
📜 Questing: **8/10**
🎒 Quality of Life: **6.5/10**
⏳ Amount of Content: **10/10**

⭐ **OVERALL: 8.7/10**

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🔥 **FINAL VERDICT: RECOMMENDED** 🔥

Crimson Desert Enhanced isn't perfect.

It's messy.

It's enormous.

It's occasionally confusing.

It has more gameplay systems than some entire game franchises.

But underneath all of that is a **beautiful, ambitious, incredibly fun open-world action RPG** with excellent combat and an insane amount of content.

If you enjoy games like **The Witcher 3, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Horizon, Skyrim or other massive third-person adventures**, there's a lot to love here.

Just don't try to finish everything.

Your family may eventually file a missing-person report. 😂

👍 **RECOMMENDED — especially after the Enhanced update.**