this game is unreal I've watched the full 53-minute demo and after seeing IGN's Deep dive into Crimson desert here's what I've learned the game is shaping up to be a brutal fast-paced mix of combat and exploration IGN's Matt Perlo recently dove into the gameplay offering insights into what Crimson desert is really about Beyond its epic boss battles the protagonist Cliff carries a non-nonsense attitude and a Scottish accent navigating a world that feels heavily inspired by a blend of modern Assassin's Creed god of war and Dragon's Dogma cliff Story begins with a bloody conflict between his faction the grey Ms and the black bears the game's opening gives you just enough to understand his goal hunt down surviving greyman allies scattered across the continent of pyell after the battle and likely take revenge on myuran the black bear Chief who seemingly killed him the demo doesn't explain how Cliff survived a throat slitting encounter leaving plenty of mysteries for the full game most of the demo takes place in hernand a medieval Town filled with Fantastical races looking like something straight out of tolken from whistling for your horse to interacting with NPCs and sneaking into hostile regions the open World gameplay feels familiar but polished one cool twist is the use of disguises much like Hitman or Kingdom Come Deliverance Cliff sneaks into a castle by changing into banquet attire blending in with the guards it's a nice break from combat and hopefully disguises will allow for more than just infiltration like unlocking new dialogue or alternative outcomes inside the castle he discovers something a little unexpected an abyss artifact this device opens up up a pixelated portal transporting him to a digitall likee realm similar to the Animus from Assassin's Creed there he meets an alchemist who hints at a larger more mythical plot beings trying to bring everything to nothingness the writing in these sequences feels a bit clunky but it does hint at deeper storylines than just Revenge the Mythic undertones kick up another notch when Cliff receives a glider likee ability called Crow Wings which looks and feels straight out of Zelda tear of the Kingdom returning to hernand the demo shifts back to combat pitting Cliff against a local Knight in a duel that kicks off a larger Quest a peacekeeper asks him to hunt down a bandit group using Red Mist which leads Cliff to a burning house where he saves a trapped clergyman by throwing vases of water it's unclear if these side objectives are scattered across the map like in Red Dead Redemption 2 but it's confirmed that these Bandits are tied to the larger storyline when Cliff tracks down split horn the game ties up the overlapping quests in a satisfying way the goblin guards use Red Mist revealing them M themselves as the same Bandits terrorizing hernand split horn himself serves as the Demo's final boss a fast and aggressive fighter who uses wind blasts from his sword while the fight is challenging split horn only has one health bar making the battle less intense than earlier bosses like the mega wrestler with stag antlers or the Abominable Snow deer from previous Demos in terms of innovation Crimson desert doesn't break much new ground the gameplay will feel familiar to fans of Assassin's Creed The Witcher 3 or Zelda however it's well executed with a strong emphasis on combat diversity the demo leaves a lasting impression with its boss battles and the mythical undercurrent of its World pear Abyss seems to be making a smooth transition from Black Desert online's MMORPG routes to a more focused singleplayer experience but the challenge will be keeping the questing and exploration as varied and creative as the Epic fights if the full game can match the thrill of its combat with equally exciting exploration and storytelling Crimson desert could be something special you know how when you're hyped about a game and it's almost everything you expected but then there's this one weird Choice the devs make that leaves you scratching your head that's kind of what happened here Conor ma who got to try out the game at Gamescom said Crimson desert looks absolutely stunning it's like Pearl Abyss the team behind the game went all out and making it visually jaw-dropping and the combat system sounds wild too imagine smashing enemies with this combo system where two button presses lead to all kinds of cool moves from huge slashes to wrestling style takedowns it's the kind of thing that makes you feel like a total beast when you're fighting humanoid enemies like Bandits those fights were so good that they went beyond makar's expectations but here's the thing ma was puzzled by the way the demo was set up most of the time you're fighting bosses and all those sick moves you just learned yeah they don't really work on them instead you're left playing a slow patient game of waiting for the right moment to land a couple of heavy hits it's like the game is nudging you to play it in a totally different souls-like way which feels at odds with the intense fast-paced combat it seems to be best at the environment and visuals absolutely topnotch the way the game handles particle effects how the world reacts to your actions like the ground cracking under a powerful slam is on another level but Ma left the demo feeling a bit frustrated because it didn't show off the game's best aspects those thrilling group fights where you're taking on multiple enemies at once even though he's a bit annoyed with the demo setup ma is still excited to see more of the game it's clear there's something special here especially with its release planned for 2025 he just hopes that the next time he gets his hands on it it'll better showcase what makes Crimson desert so potentially great