From Mixed to Magic — Crimson Desert's Steam reviews surge to glory

Crimson Desert has been the talk of the town these past few days. What started off in some negative respects has suddenly seen a massive surge the other way. After what seemed like a rough start for Pearl Abyss as Crimson Desert began tracking at around a 51% approval rating, the game has now jumped to 77% as of this morning.

Officially nearing “Mostly Positive”, Crimson Desert’s review turnaround doesn’t seem to be slowing down either, as player charts continue to hold steady around 200,000 every day. Sunday’s numbers were at their peak, nearly surpassing 250,000 concurrent players on the platform.

Pearl Abyss has been nothing but communicative since release with their fanbase, a reflection of my time I had during the review process. Prior to release, all of us reviewers had a shared Discord channel to share experiences, advice, and bugs.

Some journalists expressed concerns over control muddying, storage issues, and other noteworthy pests. Will Powers, PR and Marketing Director at Pearl Abyss, was relaying all of this and more to the development team during their final push before release.

Will shared every update he could, and, as the Crimon Desert X account has shown, continues to do so with the fanbase at large. Every concern thus far has either been patched or plans to be.

Intel GPUs, AI assets, and more control reworks are all on their way in the wake of the latest storage and gameplay improvement reworks we received last night. Hopefully, all will come in a timely manner that satisfies the player base.

80 Hours in, still hooked

I haven’t been shy about my time with Crimson Desert. I gave the game a near-perfect rating, with the story and jank we're seeing being patched out as the main culprits holding it back from perfection.

I’ve spent most of this week working and writing, while also scouring social media to gather player reactions. Many are warming up to the idea that yes, Crimson Desert is what we like to call a slow burn. Hours in things suddenly click, like having to get through the first season of The Office.

Players are posting videos of elephants I hadn’t even come across yet, or mechanics I never even thought to try. Crimson Desert really does seem to be the game that keeps on giving.

The reviews cropping up on Steam are a noteworthy extension of that attitude shift. Today alone, according to SteamDB, over 6,000 positive reviews have been given, while a mere 150 of them are negative. That’s a 98% approval rating on the day.

If this keeps up, the review score will be swapping to Mostly Positive, marking a monumental shift in the game’s reception that few titles ever see. What Pearl Abyss has done before and after the reception of their game is a masterclass in communication and teamwork.

Here’s to hoping the next 80 hours of my playthrough are even more surprising than the last.

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