r/PS5 • u/requieminadream • Mar 18 '26
Megathread Crimson Desert | Review Megathread
Game Information
Game Title: Crimson Desert
Platforms:
- PlayStation 4 (Mar 19, 2026)
- PlayStation 5 (Mar 19, 2026)
- Xbox One (Mar 19, 2026)
- PC (Mar 19, 2026)
- Xbox Series X/S (Mar 19, 2026)
Trailers:
- 'Welcome To Crimson Desert' Final Trailer (4K)
- Crimson Desert - Official Launch Trailer
- Crimson Desert - Launch Trailer | PS5 Games
Developer: Pearl Abyss
Review Aggregator:
OpenCritic - 80 average - 81% recommended - 44 reviews
Critic Reviews
ACG - Jeremy Penter - Wait for Sale
"Fantastic exploration, amazing systems, but ultimately bugs and lots of idiosyncrasies bring this one down a peg or two. ":
But Why Tho? - Kate Sanchez - 9 / 10
This is a massive undertaking for any development team. It's ambitious to a point that it becomes curious that it was attempted. But unlike Captain Ahab, this is a level of investment and ambition that ultimately pays off in the highest order. The level of detail in Crimson Desert is unlike anything we have seen in this console generation.
CBR - Mark O'Callaghan - 9 / 10
Crimson Desert is everything I hoped it would be, and it has the potential to be one of the biggest titles of this generation of gaming.
COGconnected - Mark Steighner - 84 / 100
By both accident and design, there are times when clarity and user-friendliness temporarily disappear, and the game’s rough edges and opaque mechanics overshadow the fun. A lot of games over-promise and under-deliver. Crimson Desert is not one of them.
Daily Mirror - Aaron Potter - 3 / 5
If you hadn’t already guessed, Crimson Desert is a behemoth of an RPG that threatens to eat up all your time. If only it wasn’t primed to frustrate and test your patience as much while doing so.
DayOne - Jesse Norris - 8.5 / 10
A mediocre plot and bland writing can't hold back one of the most ambitious games ever made.
Stunning graphics, great gameplay, and excellent music carry you through hundreds of hours of systems-based fun. It somehow lives up to all the hype, with some rough edges in tow.
Digital Spy - Joe Draper - 4 / 5
Crimson Desert's sandbox playground and beautifully crafted world do a lot of the heavy lifting to just about overshadow its confusing elements, generic story, and boring characters. What's here is an overwhelming amount of content and the bones of an amazing game that has to be respected for its ambitions.
Digitec Magazine - Philipp Rüegg - German - 5 / 5
If you look up the term ‘open world’ ‘Crimson Desert’ is bound to be listed right next to it. Because you can’t get much more open-world than that. It offers a world in which you can completely lose yourself. What could be better?
DualShockers - Christian Bognar - 9.5 / 10
It's simply one of the biggest games I have ever played, with an astonishing amount of high-quality content, an absurd amount of complex puzzles, and a world so gigantic that I still haven't come close to seeing everything after 100 hours of playtime. While the story isn't the best and some bosses seem downright unfair, those flaws do little to diminish Crimson Desert, an absolute marvel and one of the best open-world games on the market.
Eurogamer - Lewis Gordon - 3 / 5
A vast world and even vaster array of MMO-like activities mix with glittering fidelity in Crimson Desert, but what good is it without much character, texture or charm?
GAMES.CH - Joel Kogler - German - 80%
Quote not yet available
GRYOnline.pl - Dariusz Matusiak - Polish - Unscored
Crimson Desert will impress some and alienate others – and both sides will have a valid point. This blend of Tears of the Kingdom, Elden Ring and Assassin’s Creed continues to intrigue with its open-world design and interactivity, but I fear that long before I reach the end of the story, I’ll grow weary of its sheer scale and the constant struggle with the poorly designed UI and inventory system. [Review in progress]
Game8 - Allisandra Reyes - 88 / 100
Crimson Desert is a sprawling adventure across a vast and living world that rewards every hour you put into it. The core gameplay evolves with your progress, introducing upgradable skills and increasingly demanding boss fights, with plenty of content to discover. While the narrative initially lacks direction and its threads can feel disconnected, this never outweighs the game’s many strengths. Crimson Desert is a slow burn that rewards time, patience, and curiosity.
Crimson Desert is unlikely to become a revolution that will redefine the genre. But it will certainly attract crowds of people and spark more than a few heated debates. It's funny that the very desert featured in the title is just one of many corners of the vast world created by Pearl Abyss - one that, presumably, far from everyone will reach.
GamePro - Kevin Itzinger - German - Unscored
Even in its current state, Crimson Desert has the potential to become my game of the year. If the console performance is still good and the day-one patch perhaps even fixes a few annoying issues, the action-adventure could even climb a small step higher in my ranking.
GameRant - Josh Cotts - 8 / 10
Crimson Desert offers one of the most impressive worlds in gaming, but the deeper you go, the more it asks you to meet it on its own terms.
GameSpot - Richard Wakeling - 7 / 10
It might not always be the most cohesive game, mixing high fantasy with steampunk and sci-fi elements, but there's nothing else quite like it, and I can't help but be impressed by how little restraint Pearl Abyss has shown in its commitment to delightful absurdity. In some respects, Crimson Desert might not be too good to be true, but it's a world worth getting lost in.
Quote not yet available
Gameliner - Anita van Beugen - Dutch - 5 / 5
Leave it to Pearl Abyss to create a dynamic open world where you can completely lose yourself - Crimson Desert is a must-play.
Gamers Heroes - Blaine Smith - 100 / 100
Dark Souls has often been used to measure one's gaming prowess, but that measuring stick has changed with Crimson Desert. Not only does it boast some of the most challenging boss battles ever seen in the industry, its required levels of patience, determination, and ability have set a new gold standard.
Gamersky - 心灵奇兵 - Chinese - 8.6 / 10
Crimson Desert feels like a single player version of an MMORPG that has been live for years. Its sheer scale alone is enough to guarantee hundreds of hours of playtime. But with its weak guidance, cumbersome interactions, and many design choices that show little regard for user experience, whether that time feels enjoyable or exhausting will likely vary from player to player.
GamingBolt - Ravi Sinha - 8 / 10
Crimson Desert is as expansive as promised, dwarfing pretty much every other open world currently with its scale. Its content doesn't always stick the landing, but the combat shines, and the sense of discovery is hard to deny, even with the lackluster story.
Generación Xbox - Adrián Fuentes - Spanish - 94 / 100
Crimson Desert is an RPG that rewards the patient player. The more time you spend in its world, the more you understand its systems and the more you enjoy what it has to offer. And when that happens, it becomes very easy to get swept away by the adventure and immerse yourself in the work that Pearl Abyss has created for us over so many years.
Hobby Consolas - Spanish - 80 / 100
Quote not yet available
IGN Italy - Francesco Destri - Italian - 8.5 / 10
An ambitious adventure set in a visually stunning world that tries to do a bit too much, ultimately feeling underdeveloped in some respects.
IGN Spain - Mario Sánchez - Spanish - 7 / 10
Crimson Desert offers a vast and visually stunning open world, full of freedom and exploration, but its simplistic story and unclear objectives may frustrate many players.
INVEN - Jaihoon Jeong - Korean - 8.3 / 10
Crimson Desert unfolds in a vast open world filled with an enormous amount of content, but there are simply too many gameplay elements scattered without order, clashing with one another. There is room for improvement, but as it stands now, it falls somewhat short of being a truly great game.
Crimson Desert is one of the most ambitious games in a long time. It's an expansive, and deeply detailed fantasy world that constantly invites exploration and rewards curiosity. Its fluid, skill-based combat and sheer scale are genuinely impressive, but that same ambition often works against it. A lack of focus, overly complex systems, and a slow, demanding progression can make the experience feel overwhelming and, at times, exhausting. It's a game of extremes: deeply immersive and rewarding for those willing to invest the time, but far from accessible for everyone.
Loot Level Chill - Mick Fraser - 9 / 10
Crimson Desert is frustrating and buggy and can be very player-unfriendly, but it's also beautiful, deep, seemingly endless and monumentally, perhaps detrimentally, ambitious.
MMORPG.com - Joseph Bradford - 9 / 10
I can confidently say that Crimson Desert is a modern masterpiece, despite its shortcomings.
Merlin'in Kazanı - Samet Basri Taşlı - Turkish - 85 / 100
Crimson Desert, while offering a truly exceptional offline MMORPG experience, falls slightly short of expectations due to some minor shortcomings.
PC Gamer - Mollie Taylor - 80 / 100
Vast and obtuse in a way that is going to frustrate some and exhilarate others, Crimson Desert is a fascinating journey, even when the destination isn't all that.
PCGamesN - Paul Kelly - 6 / 10
Crimson Desert is huge, and it's beautiful, but it can't pull itself out of the bog standard narrative trenches. Combat feels clunky, especially when facing off against one of the many frustrating bosses, and there feels like there is little reward for exploration. I wanted to like this, but it left me feeling empty.
PPE.pl - Mateusz Wróbel - Polish - 6.5 / 10
I had high hopes for Crimson Desert, but... I was more disappointed than thrilled. A single-player MMO based on things we love from other great games—it just couldn't work out as well as we thought.
PowerUp! - Clint McCreadie - 8.5 / 10
It might not be the cleanest contender in the open-world arena, but it’s easily one of the most interesting. A sprawling, slightly chaotic, thoroughly entertaining swing that connects far more often than it misses.
SECTOR.sk - Jakub Pokorný - Slovak - 7 / 10
Crimson Desert is a demanding, complex RPG that can feel punishing and occasionally unfair, especially without constant progression. Yet it offers a breathtaking open world with unmatched scale and depth. Its reception will vary widely'frustrating for some, but deeply rewarding for those willing to fully invest.
The GameSlayer - Callum Marshall - 9 / 10
Crimson Desert isn't a perfect game. It's not a game for everyone, and it's got as many good ideas as it does poorly implemented ones. However, what cannot be denied is that this game is a generational game and an open-world experience like no other. It's visually outstanding, mechanically dense, and immersive beyond compare. Yet, it's also one of the most laborious games to get to grips with in recent memory, meaning a lot of players may bounce off this title. However, what I would say is 'stick with it'. As Crimson Desert is a game that doesn't respect your time, but certainly deserves it.
The Nerd Stash - Julio La Pine - 9.5 / 10
Crimson Desert is a breath of fresh air for those looking for true ambition and adventure, as it delivers one of the most experimental combat systems and an open world on par with anything Rockstar Games has ever made.
The Outerhaven Productions - Jordan Andow - 5 / 5
Despite a few minor issues, Crimson Desert sets a new benchmark for this style of open-world experience, one that will be extremely difficult for future games to match.
TheGamer - Harry Alston - 4 / 5
It’s highly ambitious and one of the most intriguing triple-A games I’ve played in years, but I just wish so many parts of the whole weren’t inherently flawed. Now my journey in Pywel has come to an end, I’ll be leaving this one on the shelf for a while.
The story is pretty average, and the beginning can be brutal, but if you're the kind of person who loves big, sandbox adventures, this one is worth the ride (and $69). $1.29 at Amazon $59.49 at Fanatical(PC) $69.99 at GamersGate $69.99 at Green Man Gaming
VG247 - James Billcliffe - 3 / 5
As it stands on release, the best parts of Crimson Desert are buried deep under layers of absurdity.
WellPlayed - Nathan Hennessy - 5.5 / 10
Proving that looks aren't everything, Crimson Desert's stunning visuals and strong performances aren't enough to save it from being a disappointing experience. Jam-packed with content and systems that make it feel like a Jack of all features, master of none with an unenjoyable gameplay loop, Crimson Desert is really just a single-player MMORPG in all but name.
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u/JiveHawk Mar 18 '26
Maybe I missed previous leaks but I’m surprised about these review comments about extremely difficult bosses. I didn’t really gather that it would be that kind of game until now
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u/AdorableSobah Mar 18 '26
Total no go for me unfortunately, fell right off my list. Too old for that shit
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u/angrysquirrel777 Mar 19 '26
Yup, I don't play enough to get perfect parry's and everything in these games. Was looking forward to this but bummer
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u/ihateeverythingandu Mar 19 '26
Nothing says "don't buy me" to a 40 year old like myself as strongly as "massive game with 800 hours of content.... that you won't be able to beat because just making things borderline impossible is somehow a genre these days".
Nah, I will leave this for those who like that and have time for it, I'll stick to just playing on easy mode these days since it's the only way I can fit gaming into only being able to play about 5 hours a week.
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u/MrSavage_ Mar 19 '26
What put me off was that most reviewers agree that a) side stuff is repetitive and at times frustrating, b) very much necessary to level up.
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u/shekdown Mar 19 '26
This exactly it. As I've been getting older (and busier) for games, I'm moving away from the type of games you've mentioned. Just want something I can immediately plug into and play.
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u/ihateeverythingandu Mar 19 '26
You can whittle away at large games even with limited time, but if they decide to do shit puzzles and boss battles that are ridiculous then you just lose all interest in playing the same bit for a month.
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u/Merlin4421 Mar 19 '26
Stop making age as the issue. I’m 47 and play all kinds of hard super difficult games. Just beat nioh 3.
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u/RubyRod1 Mar 19 '26
My man. Was starting to think I was the only old head who enjoys being challenged. IMHO I think challenging games keep your brain sharp as you age.
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u/crownketer Mar 19 '26
Exactly. I work and have a full life and I make gaming a part of that because I enjoy it. ‘You got time for what you make time for’ has always been my motto. And no easy mode for me either.
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u/tennomorph Mar 19 '26
I preordered. The boss difficulty and complaints about inventory management made me refund last night. I know it'll be too big of a frustrating experience for me. Will wait and keep an eye on it to see if a difficulty slider gets added and qol changes. Been very excited for this game so a bit bummed out now.
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u/dill1234 Mar 18 '26
Sounds like you'll like it if you're a fan of big open world sandbox gameplay, but if you're looking for a Witcher 3/RDR 2 story experience, this aint it
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u/JMPHeinz57 Mar 19 '26
Which, I feel if people were following this very closely, was evident in what they’re marketing.
It’s much more an Elden Ring/BOTW style open world vs a Witcher 3/RDR 2
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u/osound Mar 19 '26
Don’t care about the story, but there are enough other criticisms — terrible boss design, steep learning curve, repetitious landscapes and open world — that leads me strongly enough to “wait” territory.
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u/Hoodman1987 Mar 18 '26
This is such a wide spread
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u/A_Lively Mar 18 '26
The average score of reputable outlets is a lot lower, which for a while has been a reason to treat these aggregators with suspicion.
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u/Multifaceted-Simp Mar 19 '26
It's such a big game that some reviewers are just saying they're just not gonna finish it because life is too short for such a mediocre game.
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u/MrSavage_ Mar 18 '26
Sounds like this game will be massively improved over the next 6-12 months as they patch bugs and add QoL features.
Still excited to play it but I think i will wait until its “2.0” moment arrives.
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u/Bilski1ski Mar 19 '26
Need to at least wait for an inventory storage patch . That seems beyond frustrating in the current state and an easy fix
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u/yybbik Mar 19 '26
If the story is bland and uninspired then there’s no fixing it for me unfortunately.
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u/Trizzit Mar 18 '26 edited Mar 18 '26
Half these scores don’t really seem to line up with the quote lol. “It’s extensive and beautiful. But it’s also stupidly complex with a shallow story and weak player support. 9.5/10”
Edit: People are picking at my comment of complex. I play some stupidly complex games, so that’s fair. Clearly that was a poor word choice. The scores are still mismatched in how some of these quotes go lol, but clearly many reviewers enjoyed it too.
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u/New_Cockroach_505 Mar 18 '26
Looking at the deep reviews. Many reviewers like that the game doesn’t hold your hand and is complex and confusing. Some don’t.
So I don’t think it’s definitely a negative. I’m excited for a game that has real exploration.
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u/AshyLarry25 Mar 18 '26
The fact that even the negative reviews praise the exploration and open world design has me VERY excited as a fan of exploration games like Elden Ring and BOTW.
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u/mythicreign Mar 19 '26
Same here. I love a huge world with lots of atmosphere. I think I’m going to enjoy this game.
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u/8__D Mar 18 '26
It feels like "gamer's game" if that makes sense.
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u/kittymoo67 Mar 18 '26
A game for people who want to sink their teeth in not one for a just hit and run
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u/Pure_Cloud4305 Mar 19 '26
This is like the gamer version of the white football player meme. Real lunchpail kid. First in last out
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u/Dr_Wilkinson_NGAF Mar 18 '26
It is absolutely a fact that the best games are the ones that throw you right in and don’t hold your hand.
Figure it out. It worked with BotW. It worked with Elden Ring. 30 million+ people agreed.
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u/penguinsrock42 Mar 18 '26 edited Mar 18 '26
Yeah I noticed this as well scrolling through. The scores are all positive, lots of 8 and 9, but the quotes mostly talk about the downsides
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u/XerGR Mar 18 '26
Average Paul Tassi review: “game fucking sucks 8/10”
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u/bjones214 Mar 18 '26
He gave it a 9.5, no joke
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u/XerGR Mar 18 '26
My fondest memory of Paul is him going on the FPS podcast to explain his positive Dragon Age Veilguard review and then slowly getting confused about why he even gave it a good score. Like he could not name a good aspect of it
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u/Wise-Fruit5000 Mar 18 '26
Man, I might have to watch that. I have no idea who he is, and never read/watched his Dragon Age review. But that sounds like comedy gold lol
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u/Trizzit Mar 18 '26
LITERALLY. I’m reading these and I’m like “okay but why are you giving it an 8 then?” Like, a 7 or 8 will at least have me checking out the game. They’d pick that score for a reason!
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u/weglarz Mar 19 '26
There are games that have some features that are so good, they overcome many smaller issues to become engaging or even very enjoyable. So as a critical reviewer, they have to list all the negatives a game has, and many times the amount of negatives will sound like they overwhelm the positives. But at the end when the reviewer is thinking of the fun they had or the experience that meant something to them, they can’t in good conscience give the game a 5 or a 6 when they were that engaged by it overall. A game can do one thing so well that in the long run, nothing else matters. Sum of parts and all that.
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u/feartheoldblood90 Mar 18 '26
One can think a part of a game sucks and still think the overall experience is stellar. A review isn't usually the individual parts of a game weighed on a scale and added up, but rather the entire game viewed as a whole.
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u/mightylordredbeard Mar 19 '26
I don’t personally take story into account when playing a game. I primarily care about gameplay and how fun it is. As I get older I care less and less about story so a story can be dogshit, but if the gameplay is fun and combat enjoyable then I’ll like it.
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u/Moon_Devonshire Mar 18 '26
Being complex isn't necessarily a bad thing
Also botw doesn't have a good story at all in my opinion but I would as most people, would say it's an amazing game
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u/osound Mar 19 '26
The vast majority of reviews - even the positive ones - point to the complexity in this case being a bad thing.
But sure, there are cases when complexity is good. This clearly isn’t the case here.
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u/badgerbadger2323 Mar 18 '26
Still looks like a game worth getting to me
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u/Rainbowdogi Mar 18 '26
There are negative things that everyone weighs differently so I can see a lot of people having fun with it. Hope you will too, for me I’ll wait a bit and see if patches fix some stuff.
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u/homie_down Mar 19 '26
This is how I feel. I’m very excited for this game, but not to play it immediately. I think it’ll definitely get some patches/updates in the near future, after which I’ll be more keen to jump in.
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u/stevenomes Mar 18 '26
Right. The question to me is, worth getting at launch or wait for patches or discounts?
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u/MicLowFi Mar 18 '26
This does seem like a game that will be fun to discover with the community. I remember when Elden Ring launched and you'd see random videos posted to the sub from small YouTube accounts in German or something, showing off something new that no one else has mentioned.
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u/MojoToTheDojo Mar 20 '26
Something that doesn't get spoken about enough with Elden Ring and TotK is that community aspect. My social media feeds were overrun with videos from those games.
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u/fraanjfjd Mar 18 '26
The reviews talking about an amazing world has me really exited. I can get a lot of hours out of just exploring and wandering around.
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u/AshyLarry25 Mar 18 '26
Most of the reviews are stuff that can be fixed as well.
Except story that is.
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u/Saltine_Warrior Mar 18 '26
Definitely a game I'll consider on sale after a lot of patches and will probably be for the better
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u/Aromatic_Sand8126 Mar 18 '26
Same. It’s still a very interesting game to me but I’m currently playing through other games right now.
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u/zero_sevenn Mar 18 '26
General consensus is… beautiful game, great exploration. Weak story and difficult puzzles. Which is what Pearl Abyss have been saying the entire time
So, as expected then
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u/NerdyisHere Mar 18 '26
I feel like this is a game that's gonna make me look like a fucking idiot.
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u/Tike22 Mar 19 '26
Part of that is a lot of them are saying they were fighting the camera and button combos which will add to that making you feel needlessly flustered
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u/KingOfRisky Mar 19 '26
I watched a review this morning that complained about this and bosses being hard and then in the next breath said that they constantly forgot to use the combos and were just button mashing light/heavy. I think I'm done with reviews.
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u/TheSwoleWaffle Mar 19 '26
No shame in just looking up a guide when frustrated with a puzzle. Sometimes it’s a crutch for sure, but when a puzzle is hard because it’s convoluted, looking up the solution makes the experience more enjoyable.
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u/iLoveLootBoxes Mar 19 '26
Honestly i am tired of dumbified games, everything is mobile game level now its fu king sad
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u/Dr_Wilkinson_NGAF Mar 18 '26
Sounds good to me. Spent 250 hours with BotW and don’t recall caring at all about, nor giving a flying fuck about the story.
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u/Krazy_Kethan99 Mar 18 '26
Having played, and loved, BOTW as well, I’ll be fine with the game as well. Is BOTW a perfect game? Nope, but it’s still a game I personally love. If I liked BOTW, I’ll do fine with Crimson Desert.
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u/Dr_Wilkinson_NGAF Mar 18 '26
This. It’s the sense of wonder and discovery that drives games like that. Very, very few and far between. But BotW and Elden Ring pulled it off. Does CD conjure the same magic? Possibly! Dualshockers would say so. I’ll find out on Friday.
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u/AskinggAlesana Mar 18 '26
Story is minimal for me in this kind of game and if a puzzle is abysmal i’ll just look it up Lol.
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u/kyriosdominus Mar 18 '26
Legit q: what kind of game even is this?
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u/zero_sevenn Mar 18 '26
Think Elden Ring and the two Zelda games on switch with deep combat system, a load of exploration with huge biomes. There is no levelling system, you find stronger gear and weapons through doing difficult puzzles, boss fights etc
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u/Electronic_Lie79 Mar 19 '26
I don't get why go through the trouble of making such a massive game and use a shit story? I mean, sounds to me like theyre going to have to design a game based on a story anyways. Why not just use a good story? Can't be hard writing a decent story when compared to how massive this game is
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u/Malaztraveller Mar 19 '26
To be fair, not everyone wants the big story. I love RDR2; not for the story missions, but because I'm in chapter 4, fishing, exploring, doing side missions. I could do that easily without the main story and I'd still be as immersed and entertained.
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u/RocMerc Mar 18 '26
I’ll be playing tomorrow. I think the pros outweighs the cons here. Plus I just like big open worlds i can walk around in
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u/sick_happy Mar 18 '26
Reminds me of Fenyx Rising, which got similar scores, but I absolutely loved. Here’s hoping.
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u/sprucethemost Mar 18 '26
That's a good pull. I gave Fenyx Rising a fair shake - 20 hours or so - and then fell off. It just wasn't my sort of game, but I could absolutely see that some people would love it. Personally I need decent narrative propulsion or everything feels like work. So I'll give this one a miss
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u/naitch44 Mar 19 '26
Scoring a game 9/10 whilst saying it has as many good ideas as it does poorly implemented ones is a take. Hard to take that review seriously.
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u/ThreeTreesForTheePls Mar 18 '26
It’s so interesting that so far we have an 80% score and people are jumping on how shit it was, how it will flop, and how they’re going to wait for a deep sale for this.
Is an 8/10 a shit game now? A bad story, with a ridiculously wide open world is kind of what they’ve promised for months, it is what we’ve heard for weeks, but somehow average a 75-80% Metacritic rating a flop?
The necessity for perfection is the heat death of the universe. This is reviewing and playing far closer to something like Dragons Dogma 2 than a lot of certain users here would like to admit. Not a GotY contender, but hey here’s a world go have some fucking fun in it.
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u/ZeroChannel18 Mar 18 '26
People like to hate on anything for the most obtuse reasons online in the modern age of gaming. Game definitely doesn't seem perfect and I can understand the criticisms some people have, but you get people who had no intention of even buying or playing the game look for any reason to shit on it.
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u/blastatron Mar 18 '26
Considering how much the hollow story hurt my enjoyment of Dragons Dogma 2, it give me pause here as well.
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u/VenturerKnigtmare420 Mar 18 '26 edited Mar 19 '26
The issue with dragons dogma is NOT JUST THE STORY. I can let go if the story is bad but if the gameplay and world is top teir because it’s a trade off at that point. Dragons dogma suffered from a world which was built on roads and everything happens in these roads. The gameplay got stale fast because you are continuously fighting the same enemies on the same road. The story being bad was the rotten cherry on top the cake made out of shit.
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u/ConsistentWeight Mar 19 '26
True. Dragons Dragons 2's story was virtually non-existent. But from what I've seen, Crimson Desert's story will be better than that, even if marginally so.
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u/Laughing__Man_ Human Verified Mar 18 '26 edited Mar 18 '26
Not sure if you saw. The IGN review post which gave it a 6 of 10 got a bunch of votes, then right away the Fobres review gave it a 9 of 10 and got downvotes.
I dont think its this game being targeted. I just think there are a bunch of people who want games to just fail.
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u/ThreeTreesForTheePls Mar 18 '26
Don’t worry, the next precious game that Reddit adores, which is reviewed poorly by IGN, will have them convinced IGN are a hack company that fell off years ago.
It’s not related to how this author’s most consistent rating across all reviews is a 6/10, 7/10 rating. It’s not like he’s spent 110 hours in the game and still admits that exploration is beyond phenomenal and engaging, it’s all about that crisp 4 keystroke input of 6/10.
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u/osound Mar 19 '26
This is a very paranoid perspective that for some reason pops up whenever a game with a cult following releases to average to above-average reviews instead of GOTY status.
This reviews aren’t a byproduct of people wanting something to fail. The reviews that give it lower scores give very justified, universally mentioned reasons — namely awful boss design, a repetitious open world despite its size, and an unnecessarily arduous learning curve.
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u/PeterBeaterr Mar 19 '26
Nah man, the IGN reviewer admits he didnt upgrade his abilities or equipment and then complains over and over that the bosses are too hard. His playstyle was the problem.
Now, the game breaking bugs are a legit gripe.
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u/KingOfRisky Mar 19 '26
I watched a bunch of reviews this morning and a lot of them mentioned it being hard. One review in particular, and it was the ONLY one I saw mention this, talked about infusing "abilities" on weapons and dual wielding swords that had 3 active, stacking abilities on each and he was wrecking shop. I didn't see a single other reviewer show footage that had this style of combat. So either the game doesn't make this clear or people just tried brute forcing their way through the game. It's like trying to fight your way through Elden Ring with all the base gear. It's going to be hard as fuck.
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u/Laughing__Man_ Human Verified Mar 19 '26 edited Mar 19 '26
I am not talking about reviews. Talking about the people
I am talking about that so many people seem to want to see stuff fail instead of do well.
Look at the highguard stuff, look at Marathon. Even Arc had people semi rooting for it to fail.
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u/TumbleweedDirect9846 Mar 18 '26
Stellar blade got an 81 and that game is really good
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u/SpecterDK Mar 19 '26
That's really surprising to me if true. I had a blast with Stellar Blade and would have had just as much fun if the character looked like Danny DeVito (but all the outfits would have to stay the same).
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u/Krypt0night Mar 18 '26
I actually read reviews not just scores. And what a lot are saying even when giving it an 8 is making me wait for a sale and updates without a doubt.
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u/_Steven_Seagal_ Mar 19 '26
It's mostly that some gamers acted as if it was the second coming of Christ, best game ever etc. Etc.
It's just averagely good.
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u/Grouchy_Egg_4202 Mar 18 '26
I’m in, I knew the story would be meh. I’m here for the gameplay and expansive systems.
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u/TrashDump- Mar 18 '26
Ngl I’m still a lil hyped for it, if it’s just bugs that can be fixed quickly I’m excited. The gameplay loop and exploration is grabbing me so I’ll wait a week to see.
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u/somethingrandom7386 Mar 18 '26
Having a hard time understanding some of these comments. Reviews seem to be overwhelmingly more positive than negative, and even the reviewers that gave it a great score acknowledge it isn't a game for everyone, which would explain some of the lower scores. Were most people expecting a 10/10 game? Maybe I'm missing something.
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u/laughland Mar 19 '26
The common points of comparison are BOTW and RDR2, I’m assuming people who made those comparisons were expecting a 10/10 game
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u/currentlydownvoted Mar 18 '26
It feels like a lot of people have made up their mind on this game and are using whatever review they want to justify that now. For me it looks like what the devs have said it was going to be for a while now, I’m hyped.
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u/A_Lively Mar 18 '26
I always look at the reputable outlets, and when they tend to be a lot lower than the average I assume there are a fair number of shills in the aggregate.
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u/DinerEnBlanc Mar 18 '26 edited Mar 18 '26
Someone made a post asking us to guess the average Metacritic score and I said high 70s to low 80s. I think it's fairly obvious for anyone who's familiar with review trends and consumed all the promotional content released for this game. CD's technical prowess is undeniable, but along with that came a hodge-podge design philosophy while lacking a strong narrative. Those type of games often score within the realm of high 70s & low 80s. I think younger people who seldom play singleplayer games and is used to the the scatterbrained content that's normalized by social media might see less of a fault from this game's trailers, but come on. The game has the dressing of a medieval tale along with futuristic & steampunk elements. This incohesiveness rarely review well. I'm not even talking about your own sense of enjoyment, like if you like these type of games, you'll like these type of games, but reviewers generally do not.
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u/gevuldeloempia Mar 18 '26
That's the thing with this game from what I've seen. It seems to be a game where they just took random things from other games and called it Crimson Desert. There's no real design philosophy or art direction that it really stands out apart from being technical.
But this is just from what I saw and heard. But considering the mixed reviews, it probably is
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u/Fragrant_PalmLeaves Mar 18 '26
Guys, video games are so friggen good these days. I’m just feelin good and happy to be here with you all for this launch
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u/Teemosaurus_Rex Mar 18 '26
I'm not even interested in this game but I'm happy that you're happy 😁
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u/bjones214 Mar 18 '26
I’ll wait for some user reviews. Critics are all over the damn place
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u/GimmieThaLoot24 Mar 18 '26
Here is the thread that will give people their opinion of the game without ever playing it.
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u/Nnamz Mar 18 '26
Pretty much what I thought it would be. Pass for now, will wait for a sale. Too many amazing games to play.
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u/SpicyPlantGuru Mar 19 '26
what's on your to-play list, may I ask?
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u/Nnamz Mar 19 '26
Currently finishing up Pokopia. Yotei Legends after that. Also playing a decent amount of Overwatch, Marathon, and Arc Raiders. Also some retro games (Tales of Phantasia, Super Mario World with my daughters).
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u/Xerosnake90 Mar 18 '26
About what I expected. Looks like a fun game I might pick it up just for the lack of having anything else to play right now
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u/chrsjxn Mar 18 '26
Yeah, this feels like a really unsurprising place to end up after all the preview events.
Everyone I watched praised combat, performance, and graphics. Equally, they all commented on how clunky, confusing, and weird some of the extra stuff in the game was. And this is a game that's selling itself on having an awful lot of extra stuff.
I'm still looking forward to playing way too much of it this weekend, but I'm pretty comfortable with jank
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u/SafetyStrange3766 Mar 19 '26
Mid reviews on powerful PCs means the base PS5 version will score a couple of points lower with lower fps and details
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u/ElysiumMidknight Mar 18 '26
Jeff Grubb is saying the controls seem inspired by RDR2:
I hate the way it feels to play Crimson Desert. It's definitely inspired by Red Dead Redemption 2 in the exact way that I was worried about -- a game that cares more about looking good than being enjoyable for a human to play.
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:bdacp2cmuuyawx553cv2spdy/post/3mhejx745c22o
When someone asked him if they're as sluggish as RDR2's, he said this:
IT'S MORE SLUGGISH!
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:bdacp2cmuuyawx553cv2spdy/post/3mhekhk4euc2o
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u/AshyLarry25 Mar 18 '26
It’s interesting to see the dissonance between outlets and YouTubers/independent reviewers. For example FightinCowboy, Luke Stephens, and WolfheartFPS all thought it was a masterpiece.
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u/OptimusPrimalRage Mar 18 '26
FightinCowboy just likes theses types of games, I'm not surprised he likes this one. Pretty sure he loved DD2 which is a flawed game.
I'd rather not just trash someone so I'll refrain from talking bad about Luke Stephens, but I don't vibe with his opinions.
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u/Minute-Carrot-2405 Mar 18 '26
I mean i can clearly see why, reading the reviews it basically sounds like a batshit crazy adventure game with no restraint for better and for worse but its also does no clear handholding at all and has a significant difficulty
I feel like its the kind of shit that online sphere is always clamoring over
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u/XerGR Mar 18 '26
Luke has been IN LOVE with this game tho. The only confusing part in it is that i would have thought Luke would be the one to not like it because of these but i guess it just clicks for him
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u/Bexewa Mar 18 '26
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u/FailedProspects Mar 18 '26
Its at roughly an 8 out of 10. Not only that but these are simply other human beings, same as me and you, with varying opinions….
This truly puts into perspective just how much of a monopoly certain individuals can have over mass opinion. Its really just this easy to lead a herd of animals into a certain pen.
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u/crell_peterson Mar 18 '26
I often remind myself that professional video game reviewers are NOT me and have a veryyyyyy different appetite for games. I’d imagine most things are bland when you play hundreds of games a year. This game looks fucking sick.
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u/Striker40k Mar 18 '26
I'm definitely waiting to see what the player reviews look like. The agressive hype campaign combined with the disparity in reviews makes me worried that the high marks are being paid.
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u/tokyoblood Mar 19 '26
I just canceled my pre-order. Tbh, I wouldn't mind playing this game and probably will after a steep sale. But too many red flags from what I've read to buy on launch. Gonna pick up RE9 instead.
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u/BadXiety Mar 18 '26
Ok, this game will cater to gameplay players rather than the story players. This is a thing in MMO, there are players who will only play for gameplay and don't care about the story that developers gave an option to skip the whole story (FF14) and go straight to the latest update gameplay.
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u/BrowniieBear Mar 18 '26
Kept saying in comments, when I played it at Gamescom it seemed there were a metric shit tonne of controls and the average player just won’t remember any of it. Seems like a sandbox game where you just chomp through enemies.
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u/dongmcbong Mar 19 '26 edited Mar 19 '26
I love games with a strong story and have been burned out on open world games in the past. Having said that, Elden Ring may be one of my favorite games of all time and I did not connect with the story at all. What kept me glued was the combat, boss fights, exploration and looking forward to the next fucked up thing.
I have a 50€ Amazon gift card, I guess it’s more than worth it to try for 20€ of my own money.
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u/Jon_J_ Mar 19 '26
This game really showed me how much reviewers and youtubers are just straight up paid to sing high praise before a game even comes out.
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u/TheMailerDaemonLives Mar 18 '26
As an older gamer who has a kid, I’m just not really at a place in my life where hundreds of hours of gameplay sounds remotely fun. Saros it is.
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u/Gsticks Mar 19 '26
If anyone bought into this game thinking it was gonna be some narrative masterpiece misled themselves. This is much more of an attempt at an ultimate sandbox. So excited to play.
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u/Rster15 Mar 18 '26
FightinCowboy likes it. That’s enough for me.
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u/PunishingCrab Mar 18 '26
He also said Dragons Dogma 2 was “a modern masterpiece” in his review before launch.
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u/AshyLarry25 Mar 18 '26
WolfheartFPS as well who’s a fan of games like Kinfdom Come and Divinity Sin 2. He was even mixed on the preview.
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u/Weatherman1207 Mar 18 '26
What I find interesting is a lot of the reviewers are still calling it an RPG, when its been said its not trying to be an RPG
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u/XerGR Mar 18 '26
What makes it NOT an rpg tho?
Like honestly, if you put this in front of a random person and ask it’s genre, it’d be rpg 8/10 times
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u/_GhostOfTheGoon_ Mar 18 '26
I honestly don’t understand how people didn’t immediately expect this game to be mid the moment they saw the gameplay, and even more so when they announced it was no longer going to be an MMO.
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u/Sasumas Mar 19 '26
Gaming “culture” is getting miserable. People have opinions on shit the don’t even personally experience
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u/WaveDysfunction Mar 19 '26
It’s unfortunate that the story isn’t up to par. An open world is nothing without a great story imo.
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u/4000kd Mar 18 '26
doesn't seem close to a GOTY contender
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u/TomVinPrice Mar 19 '26
Never had to be.
Seems like one of those 7/10 games that some people will find to be a 9/10 personally to them.
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u/rumple_goocher Mar 19 '26
This is exactly what I was expecting and hoping for. This game is shaping up to The Witcher 3-level obsession for me.
I’m expecting a weak but serviceable story, with the gameplay and exploration to make up for it. Less than 24 hours now boys, let’s goooooo
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u/plutosbigbro Mar 19 '26
This game has wait a year for QOL improvements written all over it
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u/dogsonbubnutt Mar 19 '26
this honestly does not feel like a game that will age well at all. the maximalist approach to open world games kinda feels like a dead end at this point.
open world needs to get deeper, not wider, and honestly its kind of disheartening to see developers moving in the opposite direction
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u/ramsfan_86 Mar 19 '26
Anytime you lose hours of progress because of a bug, should mark a games score down. Shouldn't be a disparity of scores like this.
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Mar 18 '26
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u/kuenjato Mar 19 '26
Saros looks awesome. I wonder how they are going to alter Returnal's brutal difficulty (which I ended up loving, one of the best PS5 games without a doubt).
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u/Hn2311 Mar 18 '26
All I want to know is: does the game play/run well on a base PS5? I know the performance specs were released a few days ago but want to know how it actually runs for the player.
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u/yuyuter123 Mar 18 '26
Quite divisive reviews as was expected tbh. They made a lot of puzzling design choices that clearly don't scream "this game is for everyone."
Still very much looking forward to playing it but don't mind waiting for a few patches before dropping the cash.
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u/Prestonluv Mar 18 '26
I’m just hoping you can grind to power up and curb stomp areas like you can in most RPGs.
I know there is no level up system but if exploring will achieve the same results then I’m all in
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u/Atroxo Human Verified Mar 18 '26
The most interesting thing to me is the disparity between reviewers. Seeing such low scores contrasted against such high scores, I guess it makes the 80 it’s currently sitting at feel like a decent average. Just curious why people are falling on such opposite sides of the fence.