# Crimson Desert: what players say As of 28 October 2026, 83% of 117,622 player reviews of Crimson Desert recommend it. > Pearl Abyss’s open-world action RPG wins players over with its world and its combat, and its story is the part they fault most. Developer: Pearl Abyss. Publisher: Pearl Abyss. Released 19 March. ## In short Players love roaming its huge open world and learning combat built on grapples, weapon swaps and combos, and many report steady frame rates on mid-range PCs. The story and the main cast are the weak point, though later reviews say the free Enhanced update’s new cutscenes and dialogue help. Its expansion, Charting the Unknown, comes out on 29 October 2026. ## What players say Players praise the world, the combat and the steady patches, and fault the story, the controls and the side quests. We read these reviews in full on 20 October. - 80 most helpful reviews: 55 positive, 9 mixed, 13 negative, 3 off-topic. - 40 latest reviews: 18 positive, 5 mixed, 8 negative, 9 off-topic. - **The open world rewards wandering.** Castles, caves, camps and ruins sit off the main path, and many players lose hours roaming a map that feels alive. - **The combat invites experiments.** Players chain grapples, weapon swaps and combos into fluid fights. Gear mixes freely, so several weapons stay worth using to the end. - **It looks beautiful and runs well.** Landscapes, lighting and weather draw strong praise, and players on mid-range and older graphics cards report steady frame rates. - **Patches fixed most early problems.** Players credit steady patches and free content with fixing early crashes, stamina problems and gaps in the story. - **The story lags behind the world.** Players find the plot hard to follow and the main cast flat. Later reviews say the free Enhanced update’s added cutscenes and dialogue help. - **Controls and side quests test patience.** Many attacks share buttons and two-button inputs need precise timing, and most side quests are fetch, delivery or talk tasks. ## Questions ### Is Crimson Desert worth it? Most players say yes. As of 28 October 2026, 83% of 117,622 reviews recommend it, mostly for the world and the combat. Opinions on the $69.99 price split, and some advise waiting for a sale. ### How long is Crimson Desert? Players who finished the main story report about 100 to 240 hours, and the main story is a small share of the whole. Some who completed everything logged more than 350 hours. ### What did the Enhanced update change? Players describe it as a free update that added cutscenes, dialogue and voice lines and made the story easier to follow. The store page now names the game Crimson Desert Enhanced. ### How does Crimson Desert run on PC? Many players report steady frame rates on recent cards, and some hit crashes or freezes that patches or a file check fixed. Pearl Abyss’s minimum is a Ryzen 5 2600X or Core i5-8500, 16 GB of RAM and an RX 5500 XT or GTX 1060, and it recommends a Ryzen 5 5600 or Core i5-11600K with an RX 6700 XT or RTX 2080. It needs 150 GB on an SSD. ### Did Asmongold play Crimson Desert? Yes. His YouTube channel, Asmongold TV, posted his first session on 20 March 2026, the day after launch, and a run of videos through 27 March. ### What is Crimson Desert: Charting the Unknown? An expansion for Crimson Desert, out on 29 October 2026 at $24.99. ### When did Crimson Desert come out, and how much is it? 19 March 2026, at $69.99. ## Sources 154. Steam: Crimson Desert, store page and user reviews: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3321460/ 167. Steam: Crimson Desert: Charting the Unknown, store page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/5001840/ 174. Asmongold TV (YouTube), So I Tried Crimson Desert.., 20 March 2026: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LArT82f1CUE 175. Asmongold TV (YouTube), My last time playing Crimson Desert…., 27 March 2026: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DP-UH-R4_PU Page: https://creativecult.digital/games/crimson-desert