Korean blockbuster game ‘Crimson Desert’ bids for Western success

Less internationally successful than Japan, South Korea’s games industry is hoping for a breakout global hit with Thursday’s release of “Crimson Desert”, a medieval fantasy adventure in a sprawling open world. Hooked on the atmosphere drawing on pop culture touchstones like “Game of Thrones” and gaming stalwarts such as “The Witcher”, more than three million people added the title to online wishlists ahead of release. The figure is a rare achievement for a game not belonging to a well-established franchise.

South Korean studio Pearl Abyss has spent seven years working on “Crimson Desert”, its second title, creating a medieval-style world of clashing factions for release on PC, Xbox and PlayStation 5. Player-controlled protagonist Kliff, a warrior with supernatural powers, will take on monsters and armies of human enemies on the battlefield. Gamers will be able to roam freely across the vast game world, described as one of the largest ever built, which developers have crafted with detailed, realistic graphics.

Fantastical elements leavening the swordfighting and archery will include rides on dragonback or at the controls of a military robot. But the initial welcome from professional reviewers has been lukewarm, with “Crimson Desert” racking up a score of 78 out of 100 on aggregation site Metacritic from testers given early access to the PC version. Most praise the vast universe and realistic graphics, while questioning the tricky-to-master controls and sometimes repetitive content.

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Shares in Pearl Abyss fell 30 percent on the Seoul stock market Thursday. “We are trying to appeal to a global audience,” said Pearl Abyss’ European marketing chief Rick van Beem had told AFP at August’s Gamescom trade fair in Cologne.

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