How is it?
Crimson Desert! So divisive, but so good. You see a lot of people comparing it to things like RDR2 and Skyrim. This game is mostly seperate but kinda the same as those. Is it an RPG? Yes. Is it open world? Also yes. But that’s where the similarities end. Watching the trailers and seeing pictures leads you to believe that this game is just another open world RPG. When you start, it just throws you into a world that feels alive, a story that feels like you’re in the middle of. It’s a great point to start the Kliff’s story, where he soon transcends into a mystical realm, and why you’re playing him. Once you complete the first two chapters, which are incredibly quick, you start to feel this world open up in an almost overwhelming way. 
Finding books for crafting recipes, randomly ransacking a poor hovel to find a cooking recipe, and experimenting with cooking to find your own recipes are fun on their own. Learning the looting process can be a bit weird, with the whole holding CTRL (which I later learned was MB3 as well!) can be a bit confusing at first. But once you get the cadence of what is going on and how to do it, it flows really well. I also took a while to find out that you can call your horse with H but that was because I was just trying to skip all dialogue to get to the action-y parts. I have since not done that, and found out taming horses is a fun way to pass the time. The movement can feel clunky sometimes, but what I learned from playing is it’s supposed to feel slightly clunky. You’re a relatively large man clad in armor with the stress of rebuilding your clan. The movement really feels flowy and natural when in combat.
Combat is something of a critical junction for a lot of people, you either hate it or you love it. I personally love the combat, the way the actions really flow together and how the character flies from one enemy to another just feels good. When not switching weapons mid-fight, it feels like you are movin’ and groovin’. I have tried the button mashing, but it seems like well-timed parries & dodges really do wonders for survivability (duh). Over time you really start to nail the combos and how they are meant to be used, but there is one thing that really slows combat down. Switching weapons. Going from sword/axe/rapier or whatever you’re deciding to use at the moment, to something like a spear or bow feels so slow and it really grinds the fight pace to a halt. Now, I understand that it is supposed to pose some element of “this isn’t so easy for him either” kind of pause, but gameplay-wise its kind of a pain. As long as you are comfortable with the weapon you primarily use you should be fine though.
The moment-to-moment gameplay is striking, beautiful, and incredibly easy to sink hours into. The boss fights are super fun. I heard that the Reed Devil was hard, I personally didn’t find it too difficult (pre-nerf) and everything else was kind of easy to combat, but not too easy. That quarry boss with the drill had me on my toes and it was kicking my ass pretty well and good. Lots of way to navigate boss fights, and they have interesting movesets. Cutscenes are short but informational, and Kliff nor the people around him say more than needs to be said. Aesthetically, the one gripe I have is not being able to hide the shield. It gets so in the way whenever I want to just use my spear, I know it is part of his character though so I can respect it. The armors seem really cool, and the customization is pretty decent. The dye selection is good, and finding the dyers with special dyes is a fun addition as well. Shops don’t seem to have much but I’m also waiting to get deeper into the game to see if that changes.
The soundtrack really kills it too. The music in shops and interacting with NPCs can be a bit distracting as it definitely does a good job of getting me to stop and listen for a moment. Outside of that, the music isn’t constant and for me that is important. When music plays constantly & repeats the same track over and over it becomes background noise. This game tends to avoid that and lets you experience the world around you, and only introduces music at key points where the game wants you to hear it.
Farming materials can be a bit cumbersome, but if you visit people like street vendors they typically have basic mats for super cheap. Mostly iron and copper though. Wood has been a nightmare to collect. It isn’t hard, but it is just a pain in the ass because it can take a while to get what you need. I haven’t dabbled too much in the trading but I’m excited to see where that takes me and see if real money can be made there (I’m assuming it can).
The story is as interesting as it needs to be, it’s not some long drawn-out pissing contest about these people or those people. It’s about who you want to care about and who you decide to do work for. Outside of main quests, it’s up to you to flesh out the factions and people and doing side quests can be such a good time you totally forget about the main tasks at hand. I find myself getting caught in a string of side quests on my way to a main quest, most notably the bounties. Those guys are so far away but so rewarding when you finally get them there.
One last nitpick of mine is the fact you can’t just plop a bounty on the back of your horse. Rather, you hold them like they are a life-sized body pillow on your shoulder. I could be wrong, but I haven’t found a way to do this yet if it does exist.
Isn’t this place adorable?
Overall, as someone who typically plays co-op games or things I can enjoy with friends, this game has swept me away. It is so refreshing being able to stop and start where I need to, and being able to pickup right where I left off. The game lets you decide when to take certain tasks on and how to go about them. I have loved playing this and will continue to progress towards finishing it.