We are just a month away from the release of Crimson Desert, a game which continues to astound with its breadth and amount of active gameplay systems in play at any given time. A game with this scope and scale can be difficult to truly comprehend, so we recently sat down with developer Pearl Abyss to talk about various aspects of the gameplay experience.
Here, the developers revealed that they currently don't offer adjustable, distinct difficulty settings for the game, instead offering one, set, and balanced difficulty for all, as the team explains:
"At the moment, Crimson Desert does not offer distinct difficulty modes. But at the same time, we want players to be able to enjoy the game's story, world, and combat. It's why we implemented a variety of player choices in preparing for battle or difficult moments, such as discoverable and upgradable equipment choices, buffs from consumables, abilities, etc., that allow players to nudge down the difficulty through empowering themselves."
They do say "at the moment", giving themselves a window to add separate modes in future, but conversely, many games have succeeded based on sticking with its intended difficulty.
You can read all about difficulty, the scope of the world and key inspirations behind the game in our upcoming, exclusive interview.