I'm now 160 hours into Crimson Desert, and I've still not covered half of its map — and that's exactly why it's so good | Tech Radar

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I'm now 160 hours into Crimson Desert, and I've still not covered half of its map — and that's exactly why it's so good

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(Image credit: Future / Isaiah Williams / Pearl Abyss)

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The seven years spent by Pearl Abyss developers to craft Crimson Desert have very much paid off. It's an open-world sandbox full of incredible and immersive exploration, built to keep you coming back for more — and it can't be understated, considering how difficult it is to overcome one's open-world fatigue.

Now, that latter statement is an interesting one: in my review, I mentioned that Crimson Desert wouldn't solve a gamer's open-world fatigue, despite its brilliance, as its breadth of content means players will likely spend 50 hours or more before rolling credits (if they're only playing the main story).

However, I'd now argue that Crimson Desert is the cure to open-world fatigue that gamers have been searching for. It has one of, if not the biggest, open-world maps in gaming, notably bigger than Skyrim and Red Dead Redemption 2, and yet, it surpasses both in exploration and discovery.

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At 160 hours in, I've only just reached the game's titular region, Crimson Desert, and I still feel as though I've barely scratched the surface after spending so many hours with the game — and that's not a bad thing in this case.

(Image credit: Future / Isaiah Williams / Pearl Abyss)

Usually, modern open-world games are heavily criticized for their checklist-like nature. You might recognize that term as one often used to describe Ubisoft titles, like Assassin's Creed: Shadows or Far Cry 5, with side quests that often feel like chores, without strong satisfaction or worthy reward — and make those 100 hours (or more) of playtime feel exhausting.

Crimson Desert is the complete opposite of that, with what I still describe as pure open-world exploration. It's a game that you can tackle at any pace you choose, and remain intrigued regardless of what your chosen activity is, as you're constantly discovering secrets and left amazed at how deeply hidden a loot item is, or by how well-crafted certain puzzles are in a vast sandbox.

It's effectively a hyperrealistic version of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, where it thrives less in its story, but rather in the sense of discovery and players having freedom without any leash or guides. It feels as though I could happily spend another 50 hours or more playing, and want more, especially since there are two other playable characters besides the main character, Kliff Mac Duff.

Damiane and Oongka hardly receive much of a focus (at least in my experience), as it's easier to narrow down on exploring with Kliff, and finding new gear and unlocking new skills to master his play style. That leaves the door wide open for many more hours of playtime once you beat the main story, as both side characters have their own skill trees and gear to discover.

The number of hours you can put into Crimson Desert seems to be nearly endless, and that's not detrimental to the enjoyment gained from it, because the game is good, it's that simple. It's also worth noting that Pearl Abyss isn't stopping support for the game anytime soon.

The Korean developer has been incredibly active with numerous patches and updates based on community feedback, which are deployed at unprecedented speeds. It has already promised fans that more major updates will be added in its developer update blog post.

Crimson Desert is still shining bright weeks after its launch, maintaining a very high Steam player count, and it's a testament to its greatness.

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Isaiah is a Staff Writer for the Computing channel at Tech Radar. He's spent over two years writing about all things tech, specifically games on PC, consoles, and handhelds. He started off at Game Rant in 2022 after graduating from Birmingham City University in the same year, before writing at PC Guide which included work on deals articles, reviews, and news on PC products such as GPUs, CPUs, monitors, and more. He spends most of his time finding out about the exciting new features of upcoming GPUs, and is passionate about new game releases on PC, hoping that the ports aren't a complete mess.

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