STACK #257 March 2026

GAMING FEATURE

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JUST DESERTS! FORMAT: GENRE: Action adventure MULTIPLAYER: No

Black Desert Online creators Pearl Abyss unleash their new action adventure Crimson Desert this month.We had a chat with them to find out more of what to expect from the fantasy epic. Words Amy Flower

Crimson Desert started life as a prequel to Black Desert Online , before becoming a solo adventure. DYK?

skills, including hand-to-hand actions such as grapples, kicks, and throws, allowing for varied

Can you please give us a brief summary of just what Crimson Desert is all about? Players take on the role of Kliff, a Greymane warrior. The Greymanes are a faction from the Pywel continent's northern region of Pailune who are known for their commitment to peace and unity within the region. Kliff and his comrades have fought side-by side to preserve unity in their lands, but we join Kliff in the aftermath of that peace being shattered. The Greymanes are attacked by a rival faction and are either killed or scattered across Pywel. Your journey as Kliff begins with reuniting the surviving Greymanes, rebuilding the faction, and reclaiming your homeland. But as you venture farther, Kliff comes to realise that he holds more than the fate of the Greymanes in his hands. seamless open world built for exploration and action – ranging from wilderness and mountains to towns and deserts - brought to life with Pearl Abyss' in-house BlackSpace Engine. Were there any key inspirations taken from existing pop culture in crafting Crimson Desert ? For combat, we drew inspiration from arcade games from our childhood, which we remember fondly. Apart from that, rather than drawing from anything specific, development focused more broadly on what makes open-world action adventure games engaging and memorable. The team’s prior experience building large scale worlds, including work on Black Desert , helped shape priorities such as the seamless And the world of Pywel? Pywel is a

attack chains. Defensive options such as guarding,

evasion, and counterattacks are important parts of encounters, and weapons can be enhanced with elemental effects. In certain situations, mounts and environmental interactions can also be used tactically. The goal is to support flexible, action focused combat that players can adapt to their preferences. What was the biggest challenge that you faced in creating the game? A challenge of ours especially near the beginning of development was refining the game’s pacing and structure for a single-player action adventure, while still preserving the systemic depth and large-world scale our team is known for. That meant tuning progression so that players are given the choice on how they want to grow stronger in the game, encounter design, and overall flow so the experience stays cohesive and rewarding. What do you most hope that players take away from their time with Crimson Desert ? The hope is that players come away with a strong sense that they had fun playing the game. This is what’s most important to us. We also hope they get a sense of personal adventure shaped by their own decisions and discoveries.

world, and environmental detail. Those lessons were adapted and extended through the BlackSpace Engine to better support a single player experience. What new mechanisms are you bringing to the action adventure space? Crimson Desert is designed around interconnected systems instead of isolated features. Combat, exploration, character growth, life activities, and progression are intended to influence each other within a unified gameplay loop. Progression is supported not only through combat, but also through discovery elements such as Abyss Artifacts, which can unlock or enhance abilities and reward exploration. Activities like cooking, mining, and crafting contribute practical benefits to equipment and preparation rather than existing purely as side content. Can you please explain the mechanics of the combat system? Combat in Crimson Desert is visceral and very

active, and the system is built to emphasise player choice. Players can equip a variety of weapon types – including sword and shield, spear, greatsword, axe, dual-wielding, and ranged options - each supporting different tactics and combo paths, allowing players to play how they want. Combat combines weapon techniques with lots of different

• Crimson Desert is out Mar 20

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MARCH 2026

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