Crimson Desert Review Scores are starting to surface, but what do critics think of the game? Developer Pearl Abyss's open world action-adventure RPG has caught the world by storm, surpassing 3 million copies sold. But does that mean you should spend your time and money on it? Let's see what reviewers have to say.
Crimson Desert Review Scores – 78 on Metacritic
As of March 24th, 2026, Crimson Desert currently has an aggregated score of 78 on Metacritic based on 93 total critic reviews. The game is currently available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, & Mac.
Before we dive into these review scores, it's important to remember that Crimson Desert has received some updates shortly after it launched. During the review phase, many reviewers had to deal with several issues.
Vice gave Crimson Desert a 5/5 review score. The reviewer called “the real deal”, praising it's “jaw-dropping sandbox world that you can easily get lost in for hours while exploring it”. Overall, they enjoyed the combat, exploration, and graphical quality. However, they noted that a difficulty spike in their experience, and found the inventory system frustrating at first.
DualShockers gave the game a 9.5/10. The reviewer called the game “an absolute marvel and one of the best open-world games on the market”. Overall, they enjoyed the dense world, exploring the sandbox, character progression, and puzzles. However, they noted that the main story “is nothing special”, and that some bosses felt too aggressive.
Forbes gave Crimson Desert a 9.5/10 Review Score. The reviewer mentioned Pearl Abyss' active patches as, complementing how quickly they fixed things. However, they did note that the size of the map “will no doubt overwhelm some”. But overall, they greatly enjoyed their experience and the amount of content the game offered.
GamingTrend gave the game a 95/100. They said the game is “a once-in-a-generation action RPG that redefines the genre, providing hundreds of hours of incredibly varied gameplay that never stops giving you new things to do”. Like many other reviewers, they enjoyed the graphics, puzzles side quests, and world of Pywel. However, they did note some bugs during their experience.
Destructoid gave Crimson Desert an 8.5/10 Review Score. The reviewer stated that the “lack of polish breeds frustration, but nothing can shake up the firm foundations of this incredible title”. Overall, they enjoyed the combat, exploring the open-world, and unique boss fights. However, they did note a “lack of polish and quality of life that can be fixed post-launch”.
GamesRadar+ gave Crimson Desert a 4/5 Review Score. They noted the experience is “far better as a sandbox than as a story”. Like many other reviewers, they liked the combat and sense of exploration. However, they also mentioned difficult boss battles and a story “that's not worth investing in”.
PC Gamer gave the game an 80/100. They said that the game was “a fascinating journey, even when the destination isn't all that”. They enjoyed the graphics, abyss puzzles, and open-world. However, they noted some issues with the character system, including their “pared-down skill tree”, and also that you need to do everything with Kliff.
Game Informer gave the game a 7/10 score. They said that the game “has something special buried beneath its surface, if all those unneeded layers can be cut out”. They wished the game featured simplified combat while focusing more on puzzles. Furthermore, they also noted numerous crashes during their experience, as well as a “lack of a meaningful narrative”.
GameSpot gave the game a 7/10 score. They wrote that “Crimson Desert might not be too good to be true, but it's a world worth getting lost in”. Like many reviewers, they loved the open-world, combat, and means of exploration. However, they noted that “Quest design feels like merely following a checklist”. Furthermore, they did not like the inventory system at the time of review.
InsiderGaming gave Crimson Desert a 7/10 review score, calling it a “game of extremes”. They loved the game's scale and sense of exploration, but that was “weighed down by a weak narrative” and combat system.
Eurogamer gave the game a 3/5. They said that the game “lacks a certain distinctiveness”. They enjoyed the combat, but couldn't say the same about the narrative or various activities.
IGN gave Crimson Desert a 6/10 Review Score. They called it “an extremely ambitious open-world adventure”, but that the “ambition is what makes it both incredibly cool and gobsmackingly infuriating in almost equal measure”. Overall, they liked several of the game's concepts, but grew frustrated with the inventory system, a major quest bug that lost him progress, and certain boss battles.
Crimson Desert Review Score Roundup – Is Crimson Desert worth it?
It does seem that many of the reviewers' concerns about the games have been alleviated in post-launch updates. The inclusion of an inventory system, the removal of bugs in key quests, and adjusting some of the bosses in the game seems to have quelled most issues. Additionally, there have been many other fixes to prevent game crashes, while the developer plans to fix more things like controls and more.
Personally, I haven't played enough of Crimson Desert to give it a review score yet. ClutchPoints did not receive a copy, so I played it after launch on my base PS5.
My experience so far has been pretty good. The combat feels fluid, exploration feels fun, and I do like the story. Many reviewers seem to not like Kliff, but I find him humble and good-hearted, but also tough when he needs to be. I've yet to play as the two other playable characters, yet.
Furthermore, it seems that my biggest concerns of the game have been fixed, especially the inventory system. And I'm lucky to say that the game has not crashed for me yet (knock on wood).
Additionally, the game seems to offer a lot of content. You can take down bandit camps, hunt, fish, cook, solve crimes, solve puzzles, fight bosses, acquire new gear, discover lore via a specific helmet you unlock in the game, and so much more. And although I haven't reached it yet, you can also pilot a giant machine, ride on different mounts like dragons and bears.
Overall, there's no shortage of things to do in Crimson Desert. If you like Red Dead Redemption 2 or The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, you may want to consider picking up this title someday.
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