Gameplay of Crimson Desert on PS5 reveals the reality

The PlayStation Japan released a new video of Crimson Desert as part of the Play! Play! Play! series, delivering 20 minutes of direct gameplay on the standard PS5. After months of being bombarded by edited trailers and captures on high-performance machines, we can finally see how the Pearl Abyss title performs in the "real world." The result is a cold shower for those who expected the base console to work wonders: the drop in visual fidelity compared to the promotional material is clear, showing that the studio's technical ambition comes at a high cost for the 2020 hardware.

Even with the constant conversation and Japanese subtitles cluttering the screen, it is clear that the lighting and textures do not have the same shine as the demos run on the PS5 Pro. However, it cannot be said that the game is ugly or unplayable. The performance seems solid, without the frame rate stutters that usually haunt releases of this magnitude. It's a common situation in the industry: marketing sells an unattainable dream and the final build delivers a competent, but visually more modest experience to avoid melting the processor.

"It's not the ultimate spectacle promised in the trailers, but it also doesn't turn into a disaster in the base version."

With just a few days left until the official release on March 19, the trophy list has also leaked through the Polish site PPE. There are 35 achievements in total, including the coveted Platinum. What catches attention — and annoys those who like to plan their gameplay a bit — is the exaggerated mystery in the descriptions, which say little about the actual progress in the campaign. It seems that Pearl Abyss is making a herculean effort to hide any detail of the plot, which can be a sign of confidence in the story or just a way to avoid people noticing the lack of depth in certain missions.

The definitive technical analysis should come shortly after the release, but what this Sony video shows is that the gap between the PS5 and the PS5 Pro is becoming increasingly evident. Those who do not intend to upgrade their hardware will have to settle for a version that, although stable, leaves behind some of that graphical "magic" that put the game on everyone's radar. It remains to be seen whether the combat system and exploration will be enough to hold interest when the heavier post-processing filters are turned off.