Crimson Desert is being called everything from stunning and expansive to surprisingly tedious, and the split reaction is getting harder to ignore. After six years in development and months of intense pre-launch hype, the open-world adventure has entered the spotlight in a very different way than many expected, especially on Steam.
Early chatter around the game leaned optimistic, helped along by leaked positive impressions before release. But now that players have spent real time with the full experience, the conversation has shifted. Recent SteamDB figures show Crimson Desert has pulled in over 8,000 negative reviews, accounting for more than 41% of its total Steam ratings. That wave of criticism has pushed the game toward a “Mixed” reputation on the platform. Meanwhile, its 78/100 score on Metacritic looks relatively generous compared to the harsher tone found in user reviews.
Where Crimson Desert still earns consistent praise is in presentation. Players frequently highlight the game’s vivid visuals and richly detailed world design, with many agreeing it’s one of the more visually impressive open-world releases in recent memory. The environments look grand, the world feels large, and the artistic ambition is obvious. For some, that alone makes it worth sampling.
The frustration begins once the novelty of the scenery wears off. A common theme in negative Steam reviews is that the gameplay systems don’t match the quality of the world itself. Inventory management and controls are among the most criticized features, and many players also point to issues with pacing. The story, in particular, has become a major sticking point, with complaints that the narrative fails to sustain momentum and that the overall experience starts to feel repetitive. One reviewer summed it up bluntly by calling the game “tedious” and “not fun,” a sentiment echoed by many others who expected more variety and stronger progression.
The price is also part of the backlash. At $70, expectations rise dramatically, and players are less forgiving when the core loop doesn’t feel satisfying. A premium price tag can work when the content feels deep and polished across the board, but a number of Crimson Desert buyers say they’re getting impressive visuals without the level of engaging storytelling and smooth systems they wanted.
There is at least some room for improvement. Certain complaints, particularly around inventory and usability, are the kind of issues that can be addressed through patches, and updates have already started targeting some of these pain points. But the same can’t always be said for story and structure. Several critics argue the narrative problems feel baked in, with one remarking that what starts as excitement eventually turns into a routine grind.
Adding to the complicated reception, the mood isn’t much brighter on PS5. Even the game’s most celebrated feature—its visuals—has reportedly received criticism there, with some comparisons going as far as calling it dated.
For Pearl Abyss, Crimson Desert’s launch has become a case study in how a breathtaking open world isn’t always enough. Right now, the game sits in an awkward space: admired for how it looks, questioned for how it plays, and judged harshly because it arrived with massive expectations. Whether future updates can shift the narrative depends on how quickly the developers can smooth out the rough edges—and whether players are willing to give it another chance.
