Crimson Desert climbs to mostly positive reviews

Crimson Desert's start probably hasn't been the one Pearl Abyss wanted. Despite selling two million copies in its first few days, it received a lower-than-expected Metacritic score, sending the company's stock price plummeting; it faced a barrage of player complaints in the form of Steam reviews; and it was hit by a major AI controversy, with generative AI content “accidentally” left in the game, prompting the developers to apologize profusely.

But things may be on the upswing. After players had a full weekend to sink their teeth into the Pywel continent, Crimson Desert's Steam reviews have climbed from Mixed to Mostly Positive.

Crimson Desert's Steam reviews have improved significantly in its first weekend

Crimson Desert protagonist in front of a white circle background.

In the first 12 hours, Crimson Desert received nearly 5,000 negative reviews on Steam. That left it with a positive rating of 66 percent and the “Mixed” tag on Steam. This was, surprisingly, worse than the 77 it received on Metacritic, causing significant online backlash.

More time with the game, much like many reviews suggested, appears to have been the strength of its early negative reviews, as Crimson Desert's positive reviews in its first weekend have increased by 11 percent, taking it to 77 percent and a “Mostly Positive” rating on the Valve-owned platform.

Some of the biggest early complaints revolved around the game's story, complex mechanics and poorly optimized controls – which two players now seem to have gotten their heads around. Even if you can't get good at the game's gruesome story, players have now had time to learn the mechanics properly, making Crimson Desert feel more natural.

“The game is very beautiful, and once you understand the mechanics, you will enjoy it a lot,” said one review from the weekend.

Probably the most improved region was Korea. Early reviews from the country were around 33 percent, with local players unhappy with the game being developed in their home country. It has now increased by 16 percent to 51, from “Mostly Negative” to “Mixed.”

The game's development team has promised to listen to feedback and make appropriate adjustments, with a new update being released today. This update fixes two of the biggest issues: Crimson Desert's controls and its boss difficulty. If it keeps updating at this rate, we could have a fun game in no time.