Crimson Desert Steam Reviews Jump to 'Mostly Positive' as Latest Patch Makes Significant Improvements

Crimson Desert Steam reviews are improving, moving up from ‘mixed’ to ‘mostly positive’ on Valve’s platform as developer Pearl Abyss releases game-changing updates. As IGN has reported, Crimson Desert launched big on Steam with nearly 250,000 concurrent players, but was met with a "mixed" user review rating. Much of the early criticism from players revolved around the controls, which some had called clunky and unnecessarily complicated. There were some performance complaints too. For example, PS5 owners joined forces to work out the cause of blurry visuals — an issue that was also on the PC version. Meanwhile, Pearl Abyss saw its stock price plunge nearly 30% in what was seen as a reaction to review scores from critics. A day after launch, the company stock fell a further 9.78% — despite the announcement of 2 million sales. According to the Korean business press, Pearl Abyss reportedly spent seven years making Crimson Desert, with development costs coming in at 200 billion won (approx. $133 million). Today’s patch addresses keyboard and mouse control complaints, and improved control responsiveness with the promise of more to come. But it also made a long list of quality of life improvements, including the addition of an actual storage box, nerfs to a lot of the difficulty in the game, and more fast travel points. And there are some key fixes, too, detailed in the patch notes below. This update, which arrives just a few days after Crimson Desert came out, really does change the experience in quality of life terms, and should make the game more easy going overall. Now, Crimson Desert Steam reviews are 'mostly positive' across both English-only reviews, and all reviews. At the time of this article's publication, 70% of the 37,660 Steam user reviews were positive. That percentage jumpts to 77% for English language reviews. Today, March 23, Pearl Abyss’ stock price was up slightly, by 0.6%. “We are currently reviewing various gameplay elements based on your feedback and will roll out further improvements and fixes in subsequent updates,” Pearl Abyss said. “We remain committed to improving Crimson Desert and your experience in Pywel. Thank you once again for your continued support.” Over the weekend, Pearl Abyss said it had launched a “comprehensive” audit of all in-game assets after admitting the use of AI-generated images in the final release should have been disclosed. The AI assets will be replaced via patches, the developer added. Pearl Abyss is pumping out updates at a surprisingly fast rate — something that has pleased players, although some are concerned that nerfs to difficulty take something away from the experience. But there is no sign of the Korean company slowing down as it works to improve the experience.Crimson Desert update 1.00.03 patch notes: QuestsFixed an issue in the Chapter 2 quest "Reunion" where the cat would sometimes stop leading the way.Improved the Chapter 4 quest "Mysterious Pot" by making the symbol stop briefly when it reaches the correct position while repairing the ancient generator.Fixed an issue in "Turnali's Request" where the quest would not complete if a Bekker Shield that had already been refined was refined again.Improved the notification to appear when crime status prohibit the quest from progressing. ContentAdded more Abyss Nexuses across the continent of Pywel to improve fast travel via teleportation.Added the Private Storage that can be used to store items from your Inventory.The Private Storage is located at the initial temporary lodgings in Hernand and at the Howling Hill Camp.Reduced the time required to acquire knowledge.Changed skill observation to be only required once to learn before being able to use it.Adjusted when Force Palm is learned to allow players to use it much earlier in the game.Reduced the number of hits required to log trees.Changed logging so that trees are chopped with basic swings without aiming first.Decreased the QTE difficulty in the Arm Wrestling minigame and when pinned by an opponent (Mount).Improved the visibility of items that can provide knowledge by adding icons and tooltips that show the total number of knowledge acquired.Changed ore veins and collectibles to be discovered automatically when you are within a certain proximity.Regular Ores: 8mTools: 2mBonfire, Special Cooking Tool, GrindstoneImproved Skybridge Alignment Devices in the Abyss to trigger immediately when placed in the correct activation point.Improved the visibility of Skybridge Alignment Devices within the Abyss to make them easier to locate.Improved the visibility of the circuit board attached to Axiom Force to show its lines while being moved.Improved camera movement when aiming a bow at a brazier and adjusted the range for lighting arrows accordingly.Added an indestructible brazier in front of the Lioncrest Watchtower.Improved the Trading Post UI to display Damiane, Oongka, and Kliff's horses' Inventory.Added effects for destroying facilities at enemy strongholds. Th

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Mar 23, 2026 - 20:04

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Crimson Desert Steam reviews are improving, moving up from ‘mixed’ to ‘mostly positive’ on Valve’s platform as developer Pearl Abyss releases game-changing updates.

As IGN has reported, Crimson Desert launched big on Steam with nearly 250,000 concurrent players, but was met with a "mixed" user review rating. Much of the early criticism from players revolved around the controls, which some had called clunky and unnecessarily complicated. There were some performance complaints too. For example, PS5 owners joined forces to work out the cause of blurry visuals — an issue that was also on the PC version.

Meanwhile, Pearl Abyss saw its stock price plunge nearly 30% in what was seen as a reaction to review scores from critics. A day after launch, the company stock fell a further 9.78% — despite the announcement of 2 million sales. According to the Korean business press, Pearl Abyss reportedly spent seven years making Crimson Desert, with development costs coming in at 200 billion won (approx. $133 million).

Today’s patch addresses keyboard and mouse control complaints, and improved control responsiveness with the promise of more to come. But it also made a long list of quality of life improvements, including the addition of an actual storage box, nerfs to a lot of the difficulty in the game, and more fast travel points. And there are some key fixes, too, detailed in the patch notes below. This update, which arrives just a few days after Crimson Desert came out, really does change the experience in quality of life terms, and should make the game more easy going overall.

Now, Crimson Desert Steam reviews are 'mostly positive' across both English-only reviews, and all reviews. At the time of this article's publication, 70% of the 37,660 Steam user reviews were positive. That percentage jumpts to 77% for English language reviews. Today, March 23, Pearl Abyss’ stock price was up slightly, by 0.6%.

“We are currently reviewing various gameplay elements based on your feedback and will roll out further improvements and fixes in subsequent updates,” Pearl Abyss said. “We remain committed to improving Crimson Desert and your experience in Pywel. Thank you once again for your continued support.”

Over the weekend, Pearl Abyss said it had launched a “comprehensive” audit of all in-game assets after admitting the use of AI-generated images in the final release should have been disclosed. The AI assets will be replaced via patches, the developer added.

Pearl Abyss is pumping out updates at a surprisingly fast rate — something that has pleased players, although some are concerned that nerfs to difficulty take something away from the experience. But there is no sign of the Korean company slowing down as it works to improve the experience.

Crimson Desert update 1.00.03 patch notes:

Quests

• Fixed an issue in the Chapter 2 quest "Reunion" where the cat would sometimes stop leading the way.
• Improved the Chapter 4 quest "Mysterious Pot" by making the symbol stop briefly when it reaches the correct position while repairing the ancient generator.
• Fixed an issue in "Turnali's Request" where the quest would not complete if a Bekker Shield that had already been refined was refined again.
• Improved the notification to appear when crime status prohibit the quest from progressing.

Content

• Added more Abyss Nexuses across the continent of Pywel to improve fast travel via teleportation.
• Added the Private Storage that can be used to store items from your Inventory.
  • The Private Storage is located at the initial temporary lodgings in Hernand and at the Howling Hill Camp.
• Reduced the time required to acquire knowledge.
• Changed skill observation to be only required once to learn before being able to use it.
• Adjusted when Force Palm is learned to allow players to use it much earlier in the game.
• Reduced the number of hits required to log trees.
• Changed logging so that trees are chopped with basic swings without aiming first.
• Decreased the QTE difficulty in the Arm Wrestling minigame and when pinned by an opponent (Mount).
• Improved the visibility of items that can provide knowledge by adding icons and tooltips that show the total number of knowledge acquired.
• Changed ore veins and collectibles to be discovered automatically when you are within a certain proximity.
  • Regular Ores: 8m
  • Tools: 2m
    • Bonfire, Special Cooking Tool, Grindstone
• Improved Skybridge Alignment Devices in the Abyss to trigger immediately when placed in the correct activation point.
• Improved the visibility of Skybridge Alignment Devices within the Abyss to make them easier to locate.
• Improved the visibility of the circuit board attached to Axiom Force to show its lines while being moved.
• Improved camera movement when aiming a bow at a brazier and adjusted the range for lighting arrows accordingly.
• Added an indestructible brazier in front of the Lioncrest Watchtower.
• Improved the Trading Post UI to display Damiane, Oongka, and Kliff's horses' Inventory.
• Added effects for destroying facilities at enemy strongholds. The effects of facility destruction are as follows:
  • Infirmary: Wounded enemies no longer return to the fight.
  • Storage Facilities: Enemy Max Health -10%.
  • Barracks Facilities: Enemy Attack -5.
• Improved the visuals of certain puzzles for clarity.
• Increased the Health restored by ingredients and food items, and added new food to the Hernand Tavern.
• Increased the Lantern's range for detecting clues.
• Reduced Stamina consumption for Nature’s Grasp.
• Fixed an issue where pets would fail to loot items under certain conditions.
• Changed certain items in the Witches' shop to reset daily.
• Changed the properties of bismuth ore and how it is gathered.
  • Petrification is now applied by default when you approach bismuth ore.
  • Bismuth ore can now be mined using regular methods like a pickaxe, rather than requiring Lightning damage attacks.
• Lowered the difficulty of the Marksmanship and Archery Contest minigames.
• Fixed an issue where the Abyss cell's electric field would not disappear.
• Improved the visibility of the part that needs to be grabbed with Axiom Force on the Skybridge Alignment Device.
• Changed Visione to be automatically equipped and play after reading memory fragments with the Lantern.
• Fixed an issue in the Ethereal Pathway Abyss where players could not observe Force Palm if they did not step on the Abyss Nexus.
• Fixed an issue where Stamina was not consumed after a certain quest cutscene.

Controls

• [General] Improved the response speed of the interaction UI.
• [General] Improved the responsiveness of jump inputs.
• [General] Fixed aiming to target the center of the screen when using a Lantern or while unarmed.
• [General] Improved the Equipment Quick Slot so that re-selecting your current equipment will stow it.
• [General] Improved the responsiveness of the Main Menu UI.
• [General] Fixed an intermittent issue where the Main Menu would not open.
• [Keyboard/Mouse] Improved the responsiveness of character movement controls.
• [Keyboard/Mouse] Added the following shortcuts to open and close certain menus:
  • Inventory: [/*]
  • Skills: [K]
  • Journal: [J]
  • Map: [M]
• [Keyboard/Mouse] Fixed an issue where the key guide at the bottom right of the screen would not update when using Guard or Aim.
• [Keyboard/Mouse] Added default control options for Guard/Aim (Side Button 1) and Evade (Side Button 2).
• [Keyboard/Mouse] Changed controls to maintain movement input when using Axiom Force.
• [Keyboard/Mouse] Fixed an issue where duplicate keys could be assigned in Shortcuts and Input Settings.
• [Keyboard/Mouse] Fixed an issue where certain inputs did not function correctly after changing the Shortcuts and Input Settings.

Boss Fights & Combat

• Reduced the Health and Attack of specific enemies and bosses.
• Reduced Stamina consumption for blocking attacks.
• Lowered the difficulty of the ambush encounters triggered while heading toward the Reed Devil boss stage.
• Adjusted certain attack patterns for Kearush the Slayer.
• Increased the accumulation of the stun gauge on bosses upon a successful parry.
• Changed boss weakness effects to display even if the player has not acquired the specific knowledge.
• Fixed an issue where comrades remained when entering a boss fight.
• Fixed an issue where fire arrows failed to ignite enemies on hit.
• Fixed an issue where certain bosses fell unnaturally in specific situations.
• Fixed an issue where certain bosses ran away too frequently when hit under specific circumstances.
• Fixed an issue where the Blinding Flash weakness was not being properly applied to certain enemies.

NPC & NPC Dialogue

• Fixed an issue where some English audio lines were not playing.
• Reduced the price of restorative items sold by Carl at Howling Hill Camp from 10 Silver to 1 Silver.
• Improved animal behavior to appear more natural when near the player.
• Fixed abnormal behavior and placement positions for certain NPCs.
• Fixed an issue where NPCs would catch each other cheating during the minigame Duo.

UI Fixes & Improvements

• Improved food items to automatically register to a quick slot upon first acquisition.
• Improved the display positioning for the Homing Pigeon letter UI.
• Improved the camera movement when observing skills.
• Fixed an intermittent issue where the UI failed to remove the destination on the Map menu.
• Fixed an intermittent issue where the cursor did not display correctly when navigating the Shop menu.
• Moved the Knowledge and Notifications menu from the Others tab to the Journal tab and adjusted the order.

Graphics & Settings

• [PlayStation 5, Xbox] Added a toggle for 120Hz mode within Settings.
• Fixed an issue where settings were not saving correctly after using the Default option in the Settings menu.
• Fixed an issue where resolution and upscaling settings were not retained when restarting the game.
• Fixed an issue where character equipment and cats were invisible on the minimum performance quality setting.
• Fixed an issue where screen quality appeared abnormal when activating FSR Ray Regeneration or DLSS Ray Reconstruction.
• Fixed an issue where monitor size was incorrectly detected at certain resolutionsm causing abnormal display output.
• Fixed an issue where the game screen appeared cut off or misaligned in Fullscreen, Windowed, and Borderless Window modes.
• [Mac] Fixed an issue where default graphics settings were incorrectly set to Cinematic on certain MacBook models.
• [Mac] Fixed an issue where the game would occasionally crash under specific graphics settings.
• (Mac) Fixed an issue where the game would occasionally freeze when Frame Generation was disabled.
• (Mac) Fixed a letterbox rendering issue in cutscenes when Frame Generation was enabled.
• Fixed an issue where the Abyss remained visible in specific situations while on the ground.
• Improved and fixed various visual effects triggered during specific NPC animations.
• Improved the appearance of the waterfall in the Abyss tutorial.
• Fixed awkward animations that occurred when a character collided with a wagon.
• Fixed an issue where letterboxing failed to deactivate after certain cutscenes.

Performance, Stability, Gameplay

• [PlayStation 5] Fixed an issue where the game would occasionally crash when opening the Map menu.
• Fixed an issue where the game would not launch because dedicated graphics cards were not recognized in environments using both integrated and dedicated graphics cards.
• Fixed an issue where graphics cards were not correctly recognized on versions below a specific build of Windows 10 (Improved detection for graphics card versions that could not be found).
• Fixed several stability, performance optimization, and crash issues across PC and console platforms.
• [Xbox] Fixed an issue where gameplay was unavailable while offline.

Localization

• Fixed various localization errors and improved localization quality across all languages.

Others

• Fixed an issue where the death and loading sequences were delayed.
• Improved horse behavior to approach the player after being called.
• Fixed an issue where the character would be pushed sideways when using Force Palm or Stab while against a wall.
• Fixed an issue where DualSense Controller vibration failed to function in specific Windows environments.

If you’re jumping into Crimson Desert’s huge open world, we recommend you take a look at our guide to Things to Do First in Crimson Desert, plus Things Crimson Desert Doesn’t Tell You (we’ve got 28 and counting!). We’ve also got a guide to the Best Early Weapons we recommend picking up, the Best Skills to Get First (including a handy explainer of the skills system), and 34 Essential Tips and Tricks to help you succeed in Pywel.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

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