With yet another update today, Crimson Desert’s momentum simply can’t be stopped. Not that Pearl Abyss wants to (and not just because of the six million-plus sales milestone) – as PR and marketing Will Powers said recently, the developer will continue as long as there’s demand. However, it may face its greatest challenge yet with the story, which remains the undisputed weakest part of the whole experience.
It will see improvements sometime between now and September in an update, but what exactly do they entail? Well, for starters, don’t expect Pearl Abyss to take the current story and completely throw it away in favor of something different.
“I’ll start with what I hope is not a controversial statement: art is subjective, just in general. That’s not to discount anyone’s experience, and people’s different opinions are all valid, whether it’s a review or a consumer’s impressions. But that’s what comes down to the crux of the question: does that mean we’re overhauling this story and throwing away what we built for a different story than the one people originally played? No,” Powers told IGN at Summer Game Fest.
“Does it mean we are making a better effort to maintain story continuity and improve cutscenes to clarify story elements and provide a better onboarding experience? Yes. That’s the goal we have with the improved storytelling, and that’s okay.”
Of course, as always, there’s a balancing act. While Powers notes criticisms like players not understanding Kliff’s motivation out of the gate (or really what drives him other than being a do-gooder), the team doesn’t want to alter the core experience.
“Many players didn’t necessarily understand the character’s motivation in the beginning hours, and they felt like characters appeared without them understanding who they were in the story. We can address that, but that won’t change the experience of those who already played the game.
“But does it make it better for people playing for the first time, or for people who want to play again? Yeah, totally. But at the end of the day, we didn’t want to compromise on fun, and we also don’t want to detract from people who are early adopters for the game as well, so everything that we’re doing is a way of rewarding their experience by making it additive to what they’ve already experienced.”
If you’ve already played through the story, then another playthrough may prove much more rewarding while remaining fun in its own way. It’s likely Powers is also indicating that you shouldn’t expect any massive changes to mission structure or the general flow of the game.
Stay tuned for more updates on the upcoming changes, and in the meantime, check out Crimson Desert’s latest update here. It lets you turn the camp into a veritable zoo by raising the pet limit to 100 (though you can only have 50 out at a time).
