Crimson Desert: fascinating but frustratingly obtuse

Crimson Desert is an epic fantasy action RPG stuffed to the brim with mechanics and ideas, an overwhelming ocean of things to engage with, discover, and explore. It launches March 19, 2026 and will cost $70/£55, and in play it feels like the genre’s “Yes, and”—ambitious, sprawling and often contradictory.

The story follows Kliff, a gruff Scottish member of the Greymane faction (voiced by Alec Newman), who wakes from an ambush with a slit throat and a mission to rebuild. Narrative pacing is stilted and disjointed—cutscenes often fail to cohere and whole chunks of worldbuilding, like the first chapter’s futuristic Abyss, feel abandoned—but the camp side quests reveal genuine warmth through endearing comrades such as Yann, Naira and Andrew.

Systems are everywhere: you can invest in stocks, steal goats, chop trees, mine ore, arm wrestle, tame a horse, expand camp resources, deliver goods by wagon, decorate a house, pick up small animals and more.

Scotland

crimson desert, action rpg, epic fantasy, kliff, greymane, alec newman, 2026 launch, price $70, side quests, worldbuilding