Some VERY exciting news today as one of our most (and let's be honest, probably THE most) anticipated Action RPGs has gone gold this morning. if you're unfamiliar, that means it's complete, headed off to physical pressing for boxed copies, and on track to finally ship to hit that March 19th date! Let's hear from the team:
We sincerely thank our fans around the world for being with us on this meaningful journey. Thanks to your support, we have reached this important milestone. We look forward to welcoming you to the continent of Pywel on March 19.
I went hands-on with the game for a full hour of unfettered gameplay and came away from that completely blown away. I put together a preview (seen here) and then Jackson got his hands on it at PAX and came away equally as wide-eyed. Here's his preview and a short snippet from when he faced off against a boss called "The Staglord":
Then there’s the Staglord. You face off against him in the snowy ruins of a fort, giving the fight a bit of a claustrophobic feeling. It’s like being trapped in the ring with a bull. He’s larger than you, so trying grappling moves on him won’t work out well for you. During the fight, I was thrown around like a ragdoll as the old stone walls of the fort crumbled in the Staglord’s wake. He’s a relentless foe, so letting him set the rules for the fight will just result in pain. Eventually, I tried whipping out my bow for a few quick shots with explosive arrows, to great success. Because he’s a boss who’s used to the biting cold, hot explosives dealt massive damage to him. Unfortunately, I ran out of time before I could get through his second phase, but the sheer weight and clean flow of combat left an impression on me.
One piece of advice I was given for boss fights was, “This is not a Souls-like. The sooner you stop playing it like a Souls-like, the sooner you start having fun.” The bosses in this game feel powerful, but it feels more free-flow than Souls games. You have to set the tempo for combat, and while reacting to what the boss is doing is important, you can’t solely rely on it. Get out there and use the arsenal of moves at your disposal to take control of the battle.
The game has received award after award for its realistic graphics, but what blew me away was an incredible attention to detail with animations and interactivity. The amount of motion capture to bring this to life must have been absolutely incredible. Here's a sneak peek at the incredible Collector's Edition for the game:
We won't have to wait long to experience the vast continent of Pywel or the journey of its protagonist Kliff for very long – March 19th is just around the corner!
Pre-orders are now live across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, Apple Mac, and the Epic Games Store. For more information, please visit the official website and follow Crimson Desert on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube.
