Crimson Desert PS5 Preview. If you’re an impatient person, then Pearl Abyss’ upcoming open-world RPG will kick your arse good and proper. That much is clear after sampling an hour of the game recently, during which I took on four different bosses. Admittedly, our small group was thrown into the deep end somewhat, but it proved to be a solid learning experience as we acclimatised to the Crimson Desert’s nuanced combat system, where timing, movement, and patience are key to overcoming your enemy. Okay, and a little bit of old-fashioned look doesn’t go a miss, either.
The sprawling fantasy-landscape of Crimson Desert wasn’t the main focus of our hands-on, so we didn’t get to really explore much, but that was made clear from the get-go. After brief tutorial and a quick scrap to learn the fundamentals of combat, we were lobbed into a mystical hub where each gateway lead to a specific boss. But first, the controls. Crimson Desert feels intuitive to pilot on the DualSense pad, with R1 and R2 dishing out light and heavy attacks, respectively. Pressing various combinations of the face buttons and shoulder buttons will execute special attacks, while triangle is used to deliver a swift boot to your foe while circle acts as your dodge.
L1 is your block button, which can be held down and used in conjunction with R1 or R2 to counterattack and parry, respectively with proper timing. Tapping X as you move has you sprint, while square activates jump. This is simple enough, sure, but your key actions are governed by a stamina meter that depletes with use, so you must take care when in the middle of a brawl; if you don’t have the stamina to guard, you’ll take heavy damage. Likewise, if you’re too knackered you won’t be able to perform specific attacks.
This adds a welcome layer of strategy to the proceedings, and more importantly, doesn’t feel gimmicky. You can really feel the weight of your attacks and the impact of blows as you block, making the stamina gauge feel like a natural inclusion. It’s not as if you have to wait long for it to replenish, and you can always use consumable to refill your stamina with a quick press of the right d-pad when selected.
The muscle-bound Stag Lord was our first chance to bloody our sword in our boss extravaganza, and the more traditional in terms of execution. This hulking chap wields a sword and shield much like our character, and the battle is fierce; we got humbled pretty quickly after it was obvious mashing fast attacks wasn’t the order of the day. Stag Lord is more of a straigh forward bruiser, and as such it’s easy to get overwhelmed as he pummels you with massive blows. Nonetheless, it was a great learning course on how to apply the game’s defensive mechanisms to soak up his attacks and counter with our own while managing the stamina gauge, as some of his attacks are quite telegraphed.
The Reed Devil on the other hand is another cup of tea entirely. This masked foe is less about brutal power and more focussed on delivering surprise, swift strikes while keeping on the move. One of his abilities is to create totems that must be dispatched before you can do any damage to Reed Devil, but he’s free to get stab-happy while you attempt this. This fight also gave us a taste of using our bow, which is able to fire bog-standard arrows and an explosive variety, the latter of which came in handy here.
Next up is Hexe Marie, a powerful witch who is capable of summoning explosive minions that will harass you as you attempt to strike her down. Unlike the previous two battles, Hexe Marie is a bit of a trickster, capable of warping around the combat zone while keeping you busy scrapping with her flunkies while attacking you with powerful strikes. She’s not particularly tough in terms of health, but attacking her is easier said than done; it’s a great example of how adaptable the combat system and mechanics are, as you focus more on movement and spacing to time your blows. One of the highlights here is to double-jump, slow down time and then unleash a barrage of explosive arrows at Hexe Marie’s minions – it’s satisfying and stylish.
The final ruck is against the lumbering Queen Stoneback Crab, which is a complete paradigm shift. Your opponent isn’t human, but a large crab-like behemoth with a stone shell, which can only be injured by striking specific weak points. This is by far the most strategic scrap out of the four bosses, and adds some nice verticality to the proceedings as you scale the back of the lumbering creature and are thrust into the air by its geysers, allowing you to hit square to float safely to the ground – but only if you have sufficient stamina. There’s a careful balance here of holding on to stamina reserves and knowing when to use it; messing up could see you lobbed into the air and end up a bloody heap on the floor. The second phase of the battle brilliantly incorporates some Spider-Man-esque swinging as you latch onto your enemy and spin around it in the hopes of delivering a deadly strike to the vulnerable spot on its head.
And that was it. Our time limit ran out, and we sadly didn’t get a chance to topple this colossal crab. Still, our hands-on with Crimson Desert left a lasting impression. Aside from some gorgeous art direction and channels some awe-inspiring fantasy landscapes and character design, the combat system proves incredibly deep and varied; each boss is unique in its approach, and a testament to how the developers want you to experiment and discover what’s possible.
Crimson Desert is due out in late 2025 for PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S.