A lot of Crimson Desert players really hate Kliff and wish the game had its own characters instead

Some Crimson desert Players were not impressed by Kliff as he said so on various discussion forums and social media platforms. While the stated reasons for this opinion vary somewhat from person to person, the broader conversation resulting from the criticism converges on the same point, which calls for an examination of Pearl Abyss' decision not to offer a character creator in Crimson desert.

The latest title from South Korean developer Pearl Abyss launched worldwide on Thursday, March 19. Crimson desert sold 2 million copies in the first 24 hours, making it the latest success story among big-budget, open-world, and single-player games. As is common with major releases, its debut sparked a wave of online discussion about a wide range of topics, including the protagonist Kliff, who many early adopters clearly dislike.

A composite image of a base model PS5 Slim in front of a slightly blurred landscape image from Crimson Desert, showing the game's protagonist Kliff on the console's chassis.

Crimson Desert PS5 players struggle with blurry graphics, but you might be able to fix it

Crimson Desert is reportedly having some graphics issues on the PlayStation 5, with the issue also affecting the more powerful PS5 Pro model.

Crimson Desert lacks a character creator almost as much as Kliff lacks personality, Day-One players say

While Crimson desertWith the game's bombastic launch day still underway, the internet spawned many populous threads and engagement-busting posts lamenting the game's protagonist. “Kliff is one of the worst AAA MCs in gaming history,” wrote Reddit user Sabawoonoz25 in a widely circulated complaint posted on the game's largest subreddit. “No depth, quiet as a book, never questions anything, nothing to relate to, and seems like a conglomeration of all bad*** stoic gaming MCs of all time.” Echoing this sentiment, user WhyPlaySerious found Kliff's persona so generic that he was derisively nicknamed “John Desert”.

Who is that character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Who is that character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s) Medium (5.0s) Hard (2.5s) Permadeath (2.5s)

The decision to limit Crimson desert to three preset playable characters at launch proved particularly disappointing for some Black Desert Online veterans. Kliff's personality — or lack thereof — entirely aside, select members of this demographic were frustrated by learning Crimson desert it doesn't allow them to create their own hero, whereas the previous title Pearl Abyss offers a comprehensive character creator that can compete with the best in the business, both in and out of the MMORPG space.

Kliff Haters are seemingly a vocal minority of Crimson Desert players

Although Crimson desert debuted to mixed player reviews, there are currently no compelling indications that Kliff or any of his other protagonists (Damiane and Oongka) will significantly affect his early player scores. Of the first 200 Xbox Store user reviews classified as “Most Helpful” on March 21, only three criticized the lack of a character creator, and only one had negative remarks about Kliff's personality. None of the game's 107 one-star reviews on Microsoft's platform mentioned a single issue. Likewise, among the first 200 “Most Helpful” negative reviews on Steam analyzed by GameRant on the same day, there were only six game writers who considered the lack of a character creator a significant enough drawback to merit mention. Four others expressed disagreement with one or more of them Crimson desert's playable characters, while one Steam reviewer from the group criticized both Kliff's portrayal and the lack of character creation.

Looking professional Crimson desert Reviews, OpenCritic's database as of March 21 contains 55 with an average score of 79 and a corresponding 79% recommendation rate. Only two of them highlight a “bland protagonist” or “boring characters” in their summary, conclusion, or both. None of the 55 reviewers emphasized the absence of character creation in a similar way.

Pearl Abyss has previously indicated a willingness to support Crimson desert with post-market content. While he has yet to commit to concrete plans, the early success of the title increases the chances of such an outcome. If the game's current character selection wheel and its two placeholder slots are any indication, some of this future content could include new Crimson desert playable characters, which probably wouldn't eliminate lingering complaints about the protagonists, but it might help mitigate them.