Eleven minutes of new gameplay footage from Crimson Desert was released today, giving us a deeper look at the traversal and combat mechanics at our disposal when the game releases in March 2026.
The first thing that always catches me off guard when watching videos of Crimson Desert in action is how sharp and explosive the combat is. The past decade and a half has been dominated either by the weighty, punishing combat of the Souls-like or the counter-focused school of Arkham. In contrast, Pearl Abyss’ open-world action-adventure game looks and feels like a kung-fu historical drama when it moves.
A lot of the weapons combat reminded me of the swift strikes, flashy leaps, and large sweeping blades of my favorite musou games. Early on in the video, the protagonist, Kliff, grabs a spear then wields it Ba Gua style—rearward hand high and loose for whip-like, repeated stabbing. While the scale of Crimson Desert’s battles isn’t quite as massive as something like Dynasty Warriors, it does give you a similar sense that the player-character is akin to a force of nature, tearing through enemy ranks like a storm of spinning blades.
The video also gives us a better look at the environment design, which seems to take advantage of scale and verticality. Kliff has a grappling hook that allows him to swing off of structures, Spider-Man style. He can glide long distances, which the player in the demo uses to get the jump on a group of archers. We also see Kliff perform a double jump to access to gain direct access to the castle’s dungeon. That last bit I wasn’t expecting—I’m so used to this type of game taking place exclusively on battlefields and castle wards that when Kliff slips through a ventway into the castle interior (with no loading screen) it felt like it had unlocked a whole other level of scale.
I wish they had a more skilled player in control. As seen from previous highlight videos, the game’s combat is flexible, with massive potential for skill-chaining. None of that is on display here. And, while it looks impressive, the cinematics and voice acting are clearly a step below games it will inevitably be compared to, like The Witcher 3 and Shadow of Mordor. Also, Pearl Abyss tends to write grand stories that they quickly lose control of, and there’s nothing here that shows they’ve improved on that front. That said, none of that is dimming my anticipation for Crimson Desert.
Crimson Desert is coming to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on March 19, 2026. Watch the full eleven minutes of gameplay down below.
