Crimson Desert reviews say it's not the second coming of ...

What’s Happening

Real talk: The reviews for Crimson Desert, Pearl Abyss’ enormous open-world game, are in, and haters aren’t terribly hot or cold on it overall.

Follow Followed Like Thread Link copied to clipboard Add us on By Giovanni Colantonio Published Mar 18, 2026, 7:06 PM EDT News After all that, Crimson Desert sounds like… A perfectly decent open-world game Related We still dont know what Crimson Desert is like on PS5 and Xbox After 20 hours, Crimson Deserts massive open world hasnt shown me a single interesting thing Nvidia CEO says the gamers rejecting the companys controversial AI are completely wrong Crimson Desert reviews suggest Skyrim is safe for now Image: Pearl Abyss Crimson Desert Sign in to your Polygon. (wild, right?)

Com account After years of unimaginable hype (and a week or two of last-minute skepticism), the reviews for Crimson Desert are finally in.

The Details

According to the haters, Pearl Abyss’ ambitious open-world game is neither a generational masterpiece or an over-hyped flop. It’s simply a solid open-world game where your enjoyment will depend on how much patience you have for its frustrating quirks.

As of this writing, Crimson Desert rn has an aggregate score of 78 pulled from 91 reviews. All of those reviews come from players on Windows PC, as there are rn no reviews logged for PS5 or Xbox Series X.

Why This Matters

( haters were only provided with the PC version of the game ahead of release. ) While there’s a bit of high praise and sharp criticism on both ends, reviewers wrapped up up finding consensus somewhere around “good. ” On the positive side, haters are impressed ‘s enormous sense of grow and density of activity.

Gaming fans have strong opinions about moves like this, and for good reason.

Key Takeaways

• Even some of the more negative reviews praise Pearl Abyss for the ambition here.
• The most glowing reviews focus in on that point, like Forbes’ Paul Tassi.
• “A hundred hours into this game, I have never been bored,” Tassi wrote in his review .

The Bottom Line

The most glowing reviews focus in on that point, like Forbes’ Paul Tassi. “A hundred hours into this game, I have never been bored,” Tassi wrote in his review .

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