TheRetroArcade
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Joined: Feb 2026
The open-world action RPG is out this week, and expectations are soaring.
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Update: Our Crimson Desert review is now live: "Vast and obtuse in a way that is going to frustrate some and exhilarate others, Crimson Desert is a fascinating journey, even when the destination isn't all that."
We've got an old-fashioned videogame hype train on our hands. Our recent preview of Crimson Desert, which Harvey called one of the most overstimulating games he's ever played, is PC Gamer's most-read article of March by a mile.
The game is currently #4 on Steam's top wishlists chart, just before its launch this Thursday, and there's enough excitement that effusive posts about it are breaking through to my social media feeds, which are generally tuned to only show me arguments about whether a given new competitive shooter is woke or not (unfortunately for me).
If you've been out of the loop, Crimson Desert began life as a prequel to MMO Black Desert Online, which has been consistently popular since its release over a decade ago. It's only the second big game from Korean developer Pearl Abyss, which had such success with Black Desert that it acquired EVE Online maker CCP Games in 2018.
Crimson Desert is called an "open-world action-adventure" on its Steam page, but "kitchen sink action RPG" might also be appropriate. From Harvey's preview, it sounds like it's doing a bit of everything:
"Breath of the Wild-style cooking is present for you to create consumables. You can cut down trees for lumber, you can get a GTA-style bounty on your head, you can gamble or do wrestling minigames, you can get faction reputation up or go on bounty hunts, you can clear out outposts, you can go fishing, you can, according to someone a couple stations over from me, bribe members of the church. For what purpose? It is unclear."
I noticed a similar pattern when I covered the announcement of Where Winds Meet, a wuxia RPG from Chinese studio Everstone. They told me you could go so far as to roleplay as a professional orator, which of course is what I fixated on over the combat. (Admittedly I have not made time to check if professional orating wound up in the final game, but I hope so.)
It perhaps isn't surprising that people are hungry for a huge open world game right now; there hasn't been a lot happening in that department after Grand Theft Auto 6's delays. Nioh 3 was good, but the so...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
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Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
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Every Friday
GamesRadar+
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Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
Update: Our Crimson Desert review is now live: "Vast and obtuse in a way that is going to frustrate some and exhilarate others, Crimson Desert is a fascinating journey, even when the destination isn't all that."
We've got an old-fashioned videogame hype train on our hands. Our recent preview of Crimson Desert, which Harvey called one of the most overstimulating games he's ever played, is PC Gamer's most-read article of March by a mile.
The game is currently #4 on Steam's top wishlists chart, just before its launch this Thursday, and there's enough excitement that effusive posts about it are breaking through to my social media feeds, which are generally tuned to only show me arguments about whether a given new competitive shooter is woke or not (unfortunately for me).
If you've been out of the loop, Crimson Desert began life as a prequel to MMO Black Desert Online, which has been consistently popular since its release over a decade ago. It's only the second big game from Korean developer Pearl Abyss, which had such success with Black Desert that it acquired EVE Online maker CCP Games in 2018.
Crimson Desert is called an "open-world action-adventure" on its Steam page, but "kitchen sink action RPG" might also be appropriate. From Harvey's preview, it sounds like it's doing a bit of everything:
"Breath of the Wild-style cooking is present for you to create consumables. You can cut down trees for lumber, you can get a GTA-style bounty on your head, you can gamble or do wrestling minigames, you can get faction reputation up or go on bounty hunts, you can clear out outposts, you can go fishing, you can, according to someone a couple stations over from me, bribe members of the church. For what purpose? It is unclear."
I noticed a similar pattern when I covered the announcement of Where Winds Meet, a wuxia RPG from Chinese studio Everstone. They told me you could go so far as to roleplay as a professional orator, which of course is what I fixated on over the combat. (Admittedly I have not made time to check if professional orating wound up in the final game, but I hope so.)
It perhaps isn't surprising that people are hungry for a huge open world game right now; there hasn't been a lot happening in that department after Grand Theft Auto 6's delays. Nioh 3 was good, but the so...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?