Crimson Desert might be called an action RPG or an open-world game or some combination of both, depending on whom you ask, but Pearl Abyss is determined not to let it get bogged down by unrealistic expectations.
Will Powers, the Director of PR and Marketing over at the studio, sat down with IGN to clear the air about potential misconceptions about what the game is trying to do with Pywel, its massive open-world, and Kliff, its gruff but gold-hearted protagonist. Per that conversation, Crimson Desert is now an open-world action adventure title, which Powers was quick to iterate when asked about the potential RPG comparisons to Black Desert Online.
“Well, there are really two parts to that. For one, we already have an RPG, and it has all the elements people want. But then there’s the connotations of genre that create some expectations, but also some confusion in the marketplace for what kind of RPG it could be. Because we were changing what this game has been over the years, we didn’t want to create further confusion by assigning a genre that we don’t even feel is fully representative of the game.
“So, to be completely honest, the most representative genre for Crimson Desert is open-world action-adventure. That carries many of the elements of combat, exploration, and storytelling that we’re achieving with this game.”
Powers also insisted that while the game draws inspiration from some of modern gaming’s best open worlds, the things it does with them are going to set it apart. The game is seemingly designed around presenting an experience that can stand tall amongst its peers while managing to remain distinct from them, a feat that’s quite an achievement in a world full of open-worlds.
“I think that it would be arrogant of a studio to say that other games do not inspire them. That would just be pure arrogance to say that you don’t take inspiration from some of the best games in the last 10 years. However, I’m at a point where I’m done comparing this game to others. We needed to do that at the beginning because we hadn’t offered enough hands-on time to people. Still, I think now we’re at the point where comparing it to any singular title is a misrepresentation of [Crimson Desert] because the elements that exist within it honestly transcend some of the systems in any singular game.
“That’s where I think it comes into its own. And sure, those similarities are still there, but I do hope this can become one of those games people look to and say, ‘Oh, I can’t find another game like that.’ It remains to be seen how people will feel about the game once it’s out there, and whether it’s defining its own new genre or what, but in the end, those inspirations have created something special and a type of experience you can’t get elsewhere.”
We won’t have to wait too long to find out if everything Powers has told us is true, but we’re optimistic that this upcoming behemoth is going to have us indulging in all sorts of shenanigans as Kliff once it releases on March 19th.
