Crimson Desert was decently prominent among my most anticipated games of the year, but, at best, it was a wait and see” prospect. Now it’s out, along with a plethora of initial reviews, I am glad I didn’t jump on it in a fit of FOMO. Word is that Crimson Desert is, to turn a famous phrase, pretty but vacant. It seems that while the devs were formulating solid combat systems in an endless sandbox, they forgot about one thing: the story. I daresay this isn’t unusual nowadays, and maybe the choice was made on purpose, and maybe my sentiment is a little pretentious. After all, your Calls of Duty, Fortnights, Minecrafts, sports titles, looter and/or extraction shooters, and even GTAs Online have plenty of backstory and are sometime infused with small plots to keep things interested. At the same time, however, they aren’t about storytelling or building narratives.

And that’s fine. Crimson Desert is bound to find its audience, because not everyone wants a side of War and Peace with their video games. And those that do, don’t need to look very far. The indie scene is replete with story-driven games that range from traditional adventures to mind-bending experiences. There are new crops of games from countries across the globe that immerse players in intriguing stories. Big hits like Baldur’s Gate 3, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and the redeemed Cyberpunk 2077 prove that story in game isn’t completely dead. And yet, in my search for something new to take the place of the excellent Clair Obscur – games that are immersive, well-written, and provide lots of character motivation – my list came up short. I had hoped Crimson Desert would make it, but it hasn’t, at least for now.

Somewhat hilariously, when searching online for new games that meet my particular set of RPG needs, engines and AI spit out Mass Effect and Dragon Age. Well…duh. (Mass Effect: Andromeda notwithstanding.) I would indeed love to find a set of new games like these, but no one’s writing them, and “bad/boring story” is my number one reason for quitting most recent RPGs and adjacent that I’ve tried. The likes of Dragon’s Dogma, Atlas Fallen, Elden Ring, and Where Winds Meet come to mind in that regard. Both Avowed and Dragon Age: The Veilguard failed in the story-telling department, and The Outer Worlds 2 came close flunking out, too. In all cases, these games have a lot of good things going for them, and many players will sing their praises for years to come, and that’s brilliant. But my concern is that my beloved RPGs of 2000-2010 are officially going extinct, if they haven’t expired already. Will I simply have to adapt to a new age where literary fantasies presented game form are the exception rather than the rule?

Well, if beautiful but story-shallow games like Crimson Desert have anything to say about it, I suppose so. Could I be any more spoiled? Or…could the current drought of good game writing be yet another sign that the AAA industry is heading in the wrong direction? Hate to keep bringing up that throughline, but when Clair Obscur exists, it’s hard to think otherwise. Because it is possible to infuse games with meaningful, thoughtful stories without turning them into funeral dirges or meandering nonsense, it’s just a matter of making sure that story isn’t forgotten…or worse, fed into and output from AI. (Looking at you Where Winds Meet.)  

Yes, writing is hard, and I can believe that writing for video games is among the most challenging of outlets. But, truly, good writing can and does make all the difference between producing an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink game and a compelling and memorable everything-but-the-kitchen-sink game. After all I’ve seen and read about Crimson Desert, it makes me a little sad that no one thought to bump up the caliber of its writing. But considering its wide range of activities and environments, maybe “story” is not what it’s about anyway. As for me, my own search continues.

Lede image taken from igdb.com press kit for Crimson Desert (© Pearl Abyss).