Many Crimson Desert players really hate Kliff and wish the game had custom characters instead

Some Crimson Desert players are not impressed with Kliff, having said as much on various discussion boards and social media platforms. While the stated reasons for this opinion vary from person to person to some degree, the broader conversations resulting from the criticism have converged on the same point, one that calls for scrutiny of Pearl Abyss's decision not to offer a character creator in Crimson Desert.

The latest title from South Korean developer Pearl Abyss launched worldwide on Thursday, March 19. Crimson Desert sold 2 million copies in the first 24 hours, becoming the latest success story at the intersection of big-budget, open-world, and single-player games. As is common with major releases, its debut sparked a wave of online discussion on a wide range of topics, including the main character Kliff, who many early adopters seem to dislike.

A composite image of a base model of the PS5 Slim in front of a slightly blurred landscape screenshot from Crimson Desert, with the game's protagonist, Kliff, visible on the console's chassis.

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Crimson Desert lacks a character creator Almost as much as Kliff lacks personality, say day-one players

While Crimson DesertThe bombastic launch day was still going on, the internet spawning several populous threads and engagement-driven posts bemoaning the game's protagonist. “Kliff is one of the worst AAA MCs in gaming history,” wrote Reddit user Sabawoonoz25 in a widely circulated complaint posted to gaming's largest subreddit. “No depth, quiet as a book, never questions anything, nothing to connect with him, and looks like a conglomeration of every bad *** stoic gaming MC ever.” Echoing that sentiment, user WhyPlaySerious found Kliff's persona so generic that they derisively nicknamed him “John Desert”.

Who is that character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Who is that character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s) Medium (5.0s) Hard (2.5s) Permadeath (2.5s)

The decision to limit Crimson Desert three preset playable characters at launch have proven particularly disappointing to some Black Desert Online veterans. Completely putting aside Kliff's personality – or lack thereof – select members of this demographic were frustrated to learn Crimson Desert doesn't let them make their own protagonist considering that Pearl Abyss' previous title offers a comprehensive character creator that can compete with the best in the business, both inside and outside of the MMORPG space.

Kliff haters are seemingly a vocal minority of Crimson Desert players

Even if Crimson Desert debuted to mixed player reviews, there are currently no conclusive indications that Kliff or any of its other protagonists (Damiane and Oongka) significantly affected their early adopter scores. Of the first 200 Xbox Store user reviews rated “Most Helpful” on March 21, only three criticized the lack of a character creator, and only one made negative comments about Kliff's personality. None of the game's 107 one-star reviews on Microsoft's platform mentioned any of the issues. Likewise, among the first 200 “Most Helpful” negative Steam reviews analyzed by GameRant on the same day, only six were written by players who considered the lack of a character creator a big enough drawback to warrant a mention. Four others expressed disapproval of one or more of the Crimson Deserts playable characters, while a Steam reviewer from the group criticized both Kliff's portrayal and the absence of character creation.

Watching professionals Crimson Desert reviews, the OpenCritics database contains 55 of them as of March 21, with an average score of 79 and a matching recommendation rating of 79%. Only two of them highlight a “bland protagonist” or “boring characters” in their summary, conclusion, or both. None of the 55 reviewers emphasized the absence of character creation in a similar way.

Pearl Abyss previously indicated a willingness to support Crimson Desert with post-launch content. While it has yet to commit to any concrete plans, the title's early success increases the chances of such an outcome. If the current in-game character selection wheel and its two placeholders are any indication, some of the future content may include new Crimson Desert playable characters, which likely wouldn't eliminate the ongoing complaints about the main characters but could help alleviate them.