A former Rockstar Games artist who helped craft the standout water physics in Red Dead Redemption 2 has turned his attention to another big-name modern game—and he’s seriously impressed. David O’Reilly, known for his work on RDR2’s rivers, streams, and flowing water, recently shared his first reactions to Crimson Desert’s visuals and environmental technology, and one element quickly stole the show: the water.
While reviewing Crimson Desert on the Game World Art YouTube channel, O’Reilly paused on a moment where water runs down a creek and couldn’t hide his excitement. He described the effect as “amazing,” pointing out that the game appears to be leveraging a live particle simulation to achieve its look and movement. According to him, there are “all sorts of interesting things” going on beneath the surface in how Crimson Desert handles water, and he even hinted that he plans to create a separate video focused entirely on breaking down the system.
What makes his reaction especially notable is that O’Reilly isn’t just any observer—he’s someone who spent years helping build the kind of high-end water simulation people still praise in Red Dead Redemption 2. Yet after seeing Crimson Desert’s rivers in motion, he said a game has finally surpassed RDR2 in this department. He sounded genuinely pleased to see progress in an area that’s historically been one of the hardest things to nail in real-time 3D graphics.
That challenge isn’t new. Since the early days of 3D gaming, convincing water has been a constant technical battle. It’s not enough for water to simply “look wet.” Great water physics must move naturally, reflect light convincingly, react to terrain and objects, interact with characters, and still run efficiently without breaking performance. Many games settle for visual tricks, but true believable water simulation remains rare—and that’s why O’Reilly’s praise stands out.
Red Dead Redemption 2 set a major benchmark when it launched in 2018, thanks to its realistic landscapes, strong lighting, and dynamic weather systems. But O’Reilly’s comments suggest Crimson Desert may be pushing visual fidelity even further in at least one key area: flowing rivers and live-moving water. With the game having launched on March 19, the discussion is already fueling new curiosity from players who care about next-level graphics and immersive open-world environments.
O’Reilly did mention that he spotted at least one inconsistency in the water tech, though he didn’t fully explain what it was. He suggested it could be a bug or an intentional optimization choice by developer Pearl Abyss, and said he plans to address it in a deeper breakdown later.
For anyone following the evolution of game graphics, especially realistic water physics in open-world games, Crimson Desert is quickly becoming one of the most talked-about releases—not just for its scale and visuals, but for the way it may be redefining what real-time water simulation can look like.
