Crimson Desert has opened to a solid but clearly divided critical reception. One of the most hyped and talked about games of 2026 is widely praised for scale, visuals, and combat ambition, but also criticized for story, usability, and system overload.
Crimson Desert review scores
On Metacritic, Crimson Desert currently sits at 78 on PC, based on 85 critic reviews, and the split is 74% positive, 25% mixed, and 1% negative.
On OpenCritic, Crimson Desert currently has a “Strong” rating. It has been reviewed by 45 critics, with an OpenCritic score of 80, an 81% Top Critic Average, and a 79th percentile rank on the site.
Those numbers can still move as more reviews are added, but the early signs point to Crimson Desert being good enough to avoid disappointment territory, but not at the instant genre classic level that some pre-release hype had everyone believe it was going to be.
What critics are praising
The strongest point of consensus is the world itself. Critics keep coming back to the game’s scale, visual fidelity, and sense of freedom. Reviews on Metacritic describe Pywel as breathtaking, massive, alive, and full of meaningful exploration.
Combat is the other major strength. Several positive reviews highlight deep, fast-paced fights, demanding boss encounters, and a combat system that becomes more rewarding the longer players spend with it.
What are the criticsms
The biggest weakness is the narrative side, with almost non-existent story, barebones characters, and a lack of coherence in lore.
Quest design is another big issue, as the game has lots of fetch-heavy mandatory quests you can’t even skip.
Controls, UI, and general usability are another major complaint. Several critics point to clunky controls, awkward menus, and especially a baffling inventory system that doesn’t allow you to store your unused items anywhere, and that’s with the on-person slots being extremely limited.
There is also a broader criticism that Crimson Desert tries to do too much at once. Reviews frequently describe it as overstuffed, unfocused, or burdened by too many overlapping systems that lack depth.
Overall consensus
The early consensus is that Crimson Desert is a good game with major strengths, but not a genre-defining masterpiece or something you have never seen or experienced before. Combat and exploration seem to be the strengths, and many people point to the game’s content-first approach over everything else.
It seems like the internal predictions for the review scores were much higher, as the Pearl Abyss shares are down 30% due to not meeting the expectations.
Dot Esports has not received the review key for Crimson Desert, and as Pearl Abyss decided against having the regional pricing implemented on Steam, we can’t outright recommend the game yet, and we encourage you to do deeper research on whether $69.99 is the amount you’re willing to pay for what it offers.
