Why Crimson Desert is not a Soulslike Game

Crimson desert is one of the most talked about upcoming games of 2026. It is from the Korean developer Pearl Abyss, who previously developed the successful Black Desert Online MMORPG. Black desert it was praised for its visuals and gameplay, especially its surprisingly satisfying combat Crimson desert looks like it kicks things up a few notches.

The first important difference to understand between Crimson desert and Black Desert Online is that the first one isn't an MMO – it doesn't really feature multiplayer of any kind. Rather, Crimson desert seeks to provide a traditional single-player role-playing experience based on freedom and customization, similar to something like Skyrim. But unlike Skyrim, Dragon Ageand many other massive single player RPGs, Crimson Desert emphasizes dynamic, intense real-time combat.

The game has inevitably drawn comparisons to soulslikes, the dominant RPG subgenre of our time, but that's certainly not what the game is. The soul-like comparison was actually made by Pearl Abyss' own director of marketing, Will Powers, in an interview on the Dropped Frames podcast. He quickly closed it and stated it unequivocally Crimson desert does something different than the multitude of FromSoft-inspired ARPGs that preceded it.

Arrange the covers in the correct US release order.

Easy (5) Medium (7) Hard (10)

What sets Crimson Desert apart from traditional Soulslike games

As for the basic differences between Crimson desert and let's say Elden Ringbest explained by Powers himself: “This isn't a soul-like game… soulslike has connotations and specific definitions of narrow dodge windows and things like that. It's much more combo-driven and you kind of dictate the pace of the fight. So there's no 'get good' moment.”

While Powers' statements are a bit broad, his meaning is clear. “dictating the pace of combat” is a particularly elegant description: in spirit, the player must constantly react to the movements and blows of enemies. The enemy dictates the fight and the player is forced to adapt and base their strategy on these much more powerful entities. While Powers made it clear Crimson Desert it won't necessarily be an easy game, it looks like players will have more control over some encounters and will be able to dominate enemies with ease or at least confidence.

“Does that mean the game is easy? Hell no” Crimson Desert will still be challenging

It is certainly possible to turn the tables and become a “Goliath” in most souls, but not without a good grind and depending on who you want to be your “David”, one or more NG+ cycles. That sense of progress and eventual success is not lost Crimson desertwhich still features “skill checks,” as Powers calls them—enemies, bosses, areas, or other challenges that can prompt players to further explore the open world in search of consumables, power-ups, or other perks that can be used in battle:

“You can get extra buffs from food and camp, you can grind a bunch of other consumables to make the fight easier, you can find a blueprint for an item that allows you to revive in combat and get another, second shot. […] and you can make several. This allows you to over-prepare and make any fight more accessible to you. Does this mean the game is easy? Hell no. But I think it allows for that layer of accessibility so you're never really stuck, which I think is really, really important in a single-player game.”

That sure sounds promising and stuff Elden Ring's progression loop, which usually involves facing difficult challenges, grinding in the open world, and then returning to those challenges with a new sense of competence. It's this swing of difficulty balanced by player freedom and strong ARPG design that holds promise Crimson desert a meaningfully engaging game regardless of its genre classification.

Crimson Desert NOT BEING WITH LOVE IS A GOOD THING

I'm a big guy like a soul. FromSoftware is easily my favorite lead developer and I think you can point to any game between them Soul of Demons and Elden Ring and shout “masterpiece” without being wrong. However, the genre is extremely oversaturated and burdened with a lot of mediocre projects. Ironically, the soulslike, which first appeared in bold opposition to the generic 21st century 3D action melee combat games, has now become a bit of a cliché.

There's nothing wrong with soulslike in general, and I don't think FromSoftware is the only studio capable of making a good game in this genre. But for everyone Lies Pthere are several Lords of the Fallen. The genre is simply overblown.

Crimson Desert's Combat promises to be far more explosive and fluid than the average Souls, fueled by combos and “button skills” rather than trial-and-fire pattern recognition. Based on what has been revealed so far about the game's combat, it looks more like an action game with characters (eg. Devil May Cry, Bayonetta) than souls, albeit with clear elements of RPG creation and playstyle flexibility. This kind of combat formula in a massive open-world game, complete with character customization and settlement building, sounds like a much-needed breath of fresh air at this point in the RPG genre's life.