Why Crimson Desert is not a soul-like game

Crimson Desert has been one of the most talked about upcoming games in 2026. It is from the Korean developer Pearl Abyss, who previously developed the successful Black Desert Online MMORPG. Black desert has been praised for its visuals and gameplay, especially its surprisingly satisfying combat, and Crimson Desert seems to kick things up a few notches.

The first important difference to understand between Crimson Desert and Black Desert Online is that the former isn't an MMO – it doesn't actually have multiplayer of any kind. Rather, Crimson Desert seeks to provide a traditional single-player role-playing experience built around freedom and customization, similar to something like Skyrim. But unlike Skyrim, Dragon Ageand so many other massive single player RPGs, Crimson Desert puts a premium on dynamic, intense real-time combat.

Inevitably, the game has drawn comparisons to soulslikes, the dominant RPG subgenre of our time, but that's certainly not what the game is. The soul-like comparison was actually brought up by Pearl Abyss' own marketing manager, Will Powers, in an interview with the Dropped Frames podcast. He was quick to shut it down and explained it in no uncertain terms Crimson Desert does something different than the slew of FromSoft-inspired ARPGs that have preceded it.

Rearrange the cases in the correct US release order.

Light (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)

What sets Crimson Desert apart from Traditional Soulslike Games

When it comes to the core differences between Crimson Desert and let's say, Fire Ringthey are best elucidated by Powers himself: “This is not a soulslike game…soulslike has connotations and has specific definitions of narrow dodge windows, things like that. This is much more combo-driven, and you kind of dictate the pace of the fight. So there's no 'get good' moment.”

Although Power's statements are a bit broad, his meaning is clear. “Dictate the pace of combat” is a particularly elegant description: in a corpse, the player must constantly react to the movements and blows of enemies. The enemy dictates the fight, and the player is forced to adapt and build their strategy around these much more powerful units. While Powers has made it clear Crimson Desert won't necessarily be an easy game, it seems like players will have more control over certain encounters, being able to dominate enemies with ease or at least with confidence.

“Does that mean the game is easy? Hell No” Crimson Desert will still be challenging

It's definitely possible to turn the tables and become “Goliath” in most soullikes, but not without some serious grinding and, depending on who you want to be your “David”, one or more NG+ cycles. This sense of progression and eventual success will not be lost Crimson Desertwhich still contain “skill checks,” as Powers calls them — enemies, bosses, areas, or other challenges that can prompt the player to further explore the open world in search of consumables, upgrades, or other advantages to use in battle:

“You can get additional buffs from food and camps, you can grind a bunch more consumables to make the fight easier for you, you can find a blueprint for an item that allows you to revive in a fight to get an extra, second shot […] and you can create several of them. So you can over-prepare and make all fights available to you. Does that mean the game is easy? Hell no. But I think it allows that layer of accessibility so you're never stuck hard, which I think is really, really important in the single-player game.”

This sounds really promising and similar Fire Rings progression loop, which usually involves facing difficult challenges, grinding in the open world, and then returning to those challenges with a new sense of competence. It is this seesaw of difficulty, balanced by player freedom and strong ARPG design, that promises to Crimson Desert a meaningfully engaging game, regardless of genre classification.

Crimson Desert NOT Being a soul corpse is a good thing

I'm a big soulful guy. FromSoftware is easily my favorite major developer, and I think you can point to any game in between Demon's Souls and Fire Ring and shout “masterpiece” without fail. However, the genre has been extraordinarily oversaturated and weighed down by a lot of mediocre projects. Ironically, the soul simile, which first appeared in bold opposition to the generic 3D melee combat games of the 21st century, has now become a bit of a cliché in itself.

There's nothing inherently wrong with soulslikes in general, and I don't think FromSoftware is the only studio that can make a good game in the genre. But to each Lies by Pthere are several Lords of the Fallen. The genre is simply bloated.

Crimson Desert's combat promises to be far more explosive and fluid than the average Soul-like, supported more by combos and “button skills” than trial-for-fire pattern recognition. Based on what has been revealed about the game's combat so far, it looks a bit more like a character action game (eg. Devil May Cry, Bayonetta) than a soul corpse, though with distinct elements of RPG building and playstyle flexibility. This kind of combat formula in a massive open-world game, complete with character customization and settlement building, sounds like a much-needed breath of fresh air at this point in the life of the RPG genre.