There’s an impressive game looming on the horizon and if Korean developers making their own console games have anything to say about it, you should be hyped as hell. Apart from having long lasting, memorable game IPs and introducing us to worlds beyond our imagination, the company behind Black Desert Online, Pearl Abyss, has a new Open-World Action Adventure planned for release in March 2026 called Crimson Desert but what even is it?

Not Just A Brutal World of Myth and Might

Developed by Pearl Abyss, Crimson Desert is an open-world action adventure where you follow the journey of protagonist Kliff and Greymane comrades within the vast continent of Pywel. While the usual fanfare in most fantasy open world games is there with combat and exploration, key differences between this title specifically is how it emphasizes the single-player experience offering a variety of traversal options including the usual walking, climbing and horse riding but even offering aerial mobility like gliding and skydiving!

While it may not have been the demo, there are also day to day activities that add to the worldbuilding in the game including cooking, hunting, mining, gathering, fishing, crafting, horse taming, and much more. These activities don’t only provide worldbuilding but let you interact with the world itself because why save a world you don’t care about when you can learn to care about it and its denizens through bonding.

Hands on adventure

I was fortunate enough to try out a demo build of the game itself during the Thailand Game Show weekend and if I were to liken to experience, I’d say playing Crimson Desert felt like a mix between Red Dead Redemption, Monster Hunter, Tekken and even a bit of Elden Ring but not to the point of it being a souls-like other than having a Posture bar like with Sekiro. There were multiple games mentioned but play enough of them and you’ll get the comparison when you touch the game yourself.

The world of Pywel was beautiful even with the little amount of time I’ve had with it with there being fantastical creatures like ogres and dragons. The trees were all strangely unique with the mountain side also being wonderfully made with this all being done through their own developed engine called the BlackSpace Engine. I kid you not when I’m telling you that seeing this game made me want to touch grass in a good way and the views were equally impressive come nightfall. 

Combat though, that’s where I had the most fun throughout the demo. It isn’t this button mashy mess trying to pretend you’re a prodigy by pressing the same button over and over again but an intricate experience as if you were playing a rhythm game. You have your swordplay which has its own command list and even your bow and arrow gameplay complete with arrows that you could imbue with magic. I want to say I got it on the first try but this is without a doubt the type of game that rewards you for practicing and getting used to combat. Ever seen a fighting game combo video? I’m sure by this game’s release and with enough time, you’d get to that level too. 

Leading to the confrontation with the demo’s boss, a prominent member of the Black Bears, sworn enemies of Kliff and the Greymanes, I was overwhelmed in a good way. There were openings yes but the fight itself was intense with the environment playing a key factor in how you could beat the boss. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to best him in the demo especially with the confusion in the controls but I’m sure with enough practice on the game’s release, I’m sure I’ll get to a higher level. 

Speaking of levels and combat, Crimson Desert had the most unique system implemented in its combat game and that’s wrestling! Remember the Tekken metaphor from earlier? You literally have a double leg takedown in this game similar to what you’d get from the series with you mounting the enemy and not only could you wail on your like sized opponent, but you could even tie them up and throw them! This game welcomes intrusive thoughts because playing by the rules does get boring and who wouldn’t want to be an antagonist from time to time?

Intrusive thoughts? More like inclusive thoughts

I loved my time with the demo with our handler entertaining my intrusive thoughts while playing the game. When I learned that you could pick up animals I just kept holding them for no good reason. Child in the way? You could push them aside and it even had an effect on the surrounding population staring at you in disappointment.

There’s just so much in terms of what you could do fighting and exploring that I couldn’t help myself messing around with the game’s controls that our handler showed me some cool tricks that you could do the more you get used to Crimson Desert’s control scheme. Remember you have magical arrows? Apparently you could make an ice bridge and this would be useful down the line for exploration and shenanigans.

On the topic of shenanigans, remember there’s wrestling in the game? You can disarm enemies and for some reason, I was able to strip a footsoldier of his armor and throw it away. I couldn’t replicate it and it was the first time our handler had seen it happen but wow was I happy with the things that you could do.

Ending the session, our handler took reigns of the controls and gave us a show on what really happens when you master the game and its movements. One second he’s swinging around like spiderman, the next he’s reigning fiery death with an explosive arrow barrage and boy was I just like a kid in a candy store watching all the cool stuff that was unfolding right in front of me.

Closing

Crimson Desert is a title I’m personally excited for this 2026 and while the time I’ve had with it is short, 6 months isn’t that long to wait for an immersive experience like this one being released everywhere. Imagine my surprise that it’s even coming out on ios!

There’s so much to explore and fight over in the vast continent of Pywel and between letting my intrusive thoughts win, an epic world I know I’ll spend hours upon hours of exploration and adventures to be had, March 2026 couldn’t come fast enough.

For more updates on the game check out the following links and wishlist the game on Steam!

Official Website: https://crimsondesert.pearlabyss.com/  

Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3321460/Crimson_Desert