It may be less than two weeks away, but the wait for Crimson Desert is just becoming unnerving at this point. However, thanks to the latest round of previews, there is a bunch of new information to sort through. Much of this focuses on hands-on time that various publications and content creators have had within the first five or so hours, and it’s incredible just how much there is, on top of everything that the development team has already revealed. So let’s dive into it all, starting with…
Gifts and Gaining NPC Trust
We’ve seen how Kliff can liberate regions and receive benefits, but sometimes, a simple greeting and gift can go a long way. Based on the previews thus far, players can greet a wide selection of NPCs, gaining bits of Trust along the way. It also increases when gifting items, and apparently, significantly increasing your Trust will lead to lower prices among vendors and may unlock some new missions.
The Skill Tree
Skills are a core element of the combat system, and Crimson Desert has a lot to offer. Kliff’s skill tree consists of three core pillars – Red (Health), Blue (Stamina) and Green (Spirit) – but don’t think these are just straight upgrades to certain stats. For example, Unarmed Combat falls under the Blue part, where upgrades will unlock more bare-handed combos and even a headscissors takedown. Meanwhile, Keen Senses is in the Green part, and can unlock the ability to parry, precisely dodge attacks and even counterattack before an enemy hits you. The Red section offers such skills as imbuing charged arrow shots with elemental damage. Suffice it to say that there’s a lot to unlock.
Where in the World (of Skills)
As important as unlocking skills from the skill tree can be, observing and learning from enemies is also essential. But what if you want to acquire something specific and don’t have the Abyss Artifacts to unlock it? By navigating to the Skills tab on the map, their locations are marked, though what awaits is ultimately a mystery. Yet another reason to go out and get lost in Pywel.
Soft and Hard Target Lock Options
While nothing is stopping you from going unga bunga on your enemies, Crimson Desert has two kinds of targeting systems. Holding L1 activates the soft lock-on, meaning the closest enemy will be the subject of your attacks. It’s ideal when fighting groups of enemies who tend to weave in and out of your attack range depending on the situation. If you press down on the D-pad, however, you’ll target a singular enemy, focusing all your attacks on them. Overall, it’s a pretty interesting approach, allowing enough freedom to tackle multiple enemies at once while also providing a means to stay locked on a boss or tougher foe.
Cooking, Recipes and Experimentation
Cooking is a great way to not only restore health but also obtain other benefits, like restoring stamina. Ingredients can be discovered in the world, whether by hunting animals, harvesting plants at your camp, buying them or gathering them. Don’t worry if the many recipes adorning the world elude you – chuck things into a pot and see what happens. Hopefully, it’s edible.
Crimes and Punishments
Kliff is a paragon of justice and general do-goodery, but you have some freedom to commit a few crimes, such as stealing or threatening people. What’s interesting is that you can actually leave the scene of a crime and escape from any witnesses. Fail, and a bounty will be placed on your head. If it gets too high, the local guards will hunt you down and eventually throw you into prison, deducting the overall cost of the bounty automatically. And if that’s not enough, some crimes actually require going a little outlaw, a la Red Dead Redemption 2 and donning a mask.
Animal Husbandry
Both of these features – cooking and crime – make for an excellent segue into something unexpected – animal husbandry. As noted by FightinCowboy’s preview, you can steal someone’s animals and then take them back to your camp, which is also where they can be raised and either sold or butchered. Does this potentially mean selling tamed horses to turn a profit? Time will tell, but it’s yet another feature on top of the dozens already available.
Precise Jumping
Thus far, we’ve seen Kliff using a grappling hook, gliding, falling with style, and even the Force Palm to push off the ground and the environment. But what if you need some precise platforming, especially when navigating the Abyss? As it turns out, by holding L1, you can freely point at a spot and then press Square to jump to it. Manual jumping with the latter is still a thing, but it’s nice to have the option, especially if you aren’t confident in simply eyeballing it.
Digging for Treasure
Fancy a bit of treasure hunting? Pick up a shovel and get cracking. Yes, along with all the other resource-gathering tools like axes and pickaxes, you can dig. What are the chances of every single place having something notable to dig up? Who can say? The possibility is what’s enticing.
Ghost of Pywel
With how much Pywel has to offer, is it any surprise at all that there are also bounties to hunt down? You’ll find flyers for them strewn in different places, which provide a sketch of the target’s appearance, what they’ve done and your objective. While it marks their rough location on your map, the exact spot is unknown. You’ll have to do a bit of extra work to find them, but it’s the perfect incentive to explore the area.
Supports Upgraded PSSR
If you’re on PS5 Pro, then there’s good news: Crimson Desert will benefit from the recent upgrade to PSSR, thus ensuring even better image quality. It’s confirmed that it can hit 4K on the console with ray tracing enabled, though the exact frame rate – not to mention resolutions and FPS on the base PS5 and Xbox Series X/S – has yet to be detailed.
Ray Tracing Feats
Speaking of ray tracing, Digital Foundry has an incredible breakdown of its usage based on Ultra 4K footage provided by the studio, and it’s incredible. You’ll see ray-traced diffused global illumination on all light sources, from the sun in the sky to the torches. When considering the reflections, particle effects, draw distance and more, it already stands out as one of the best-looking games of this year (and several others).
Gorgeous Water Physics
Perhaps the most underrated graphical detail is the water physics. It’s seemingly using a 3D displacement system and a “sense that it needs to fill space,” according to Digital Foundry. Yet the way it splashes against terrain and moves back is simply mesmerizing.
And Then the Darkness
A recurring theme among many previews is that darkness in this game is actually dark, which means that you’ll actually struggle to see at night or in dimly lit spaces without the aid of a lantern or torch. Not only does this further add an element of unpredictability to exploration, but tension, especially when it’s raining and lightning flashes to momentarily reveal your surroundings.
Action-Adventure or RPG?
There’s been some debate over whether Crimson Desert can be classified as a role-playing game or an action-adventure. Marketing and PR director Will Powers clarified this, noting that “we already have an RPG, and it has all the elements people want,” but that the most “representative genre is actually ‘open-world action-adventure.’ “That carries many of the elements of combat, exploration, and storytelling that we’re achieving with this game,” he said, and based on everything that we’ve seen thus far, it certainly fits, though you’ll still have plenty of freedom to play how you want.
