Crimson Desert - Deluxe Pack Review Summary

Its vast open world, stunning visuals, and dynamic combat are enjoyable, but poor controls, a steep learning curve, and missing Deluxe edition items hold it back.

Included armor cosmetic appeal: Multiple reviewers appreciate the included armor sets and cosmetics, finding them visually appealing. The armor looks cool and adds value to the purchase.

Vast open-world exploration: The open world is massive, living, and rich with detail, inviting exploration of every corner. It feels like a magical fantasy world.

Highly praised game quality: Reviewers describe the game as well-made, beautiful, wonderful, and highly addictive. The overall quality is consistently praised.

Stunning graphics and visuals: Graphics are frequently described as beautiful, stunning, and almost perfect. The visuals are pleasing and technically impressive.

Abundant content and activities: The game offers plenty of content, mini-games, and diverse activities that keep pulling players back. There is always something to do.

Deluxe edition items not delivered: Players report that Deluxe edition and pre-order bonus items are frequently missing from their inventory and supply chests. This issue spans multiple purchase scenarios including pre-orders and separate Deluxe pack purchases.

Controls are poor and unintuitive: Many reviews describe the controls as a disaster, very bad, or feeling off on both controller and keyboard/mouse. Players note a significant learning curve to become comfortable with the control scheme.

Armor lacks neck guard: The armor set's chestplate is missing the neck guard/gorget portion as shown in promotional images. This leaves the neck exposed and looks ugly according to reviewers.

Steep learning curve at start: The game is somewhat complex to get into and has a learning curve, especially for less experienced players. This difficulty is noted for both general gameplay and puzzle solving.

Horse accessories and armor disappear: Horse armor and accessories vanish after changing horses or saving, and cannot be found in inventory or storage. This leads to lost acquired items and player frustration.

Open World Sandbox: The game is described as an open-world sandbox rather than a traditional RPG, offering a massive map and a similar formula to The Elder Scrolls series. Exploration is a key component with constant discoveries.

Dynamic Combat System: The combat system is a central feature, involving fighting multiple enemies with a wide variety of weapons, combos, and fighting styles. Players frequently highlight the dynamic and action-oriented nature of combat.

DLC Claiming Via Add-ons: Claimable items, including pre-order and Deluxe Edition rewards, are obtained through the Add-ons menu under the Others tab. The process typically involves navigating to Options > Add-ons and clicking receive or update.

Armor Stats and Customization: Armor has stat values that affect gameplay, and players can wear different armor sets. Armor color can be changed via a dye system or at the barber for visual customization.

Inventory and Storage System: The game features an inventory system with storage, including chests with a limited number of slots. Players manage their items through this inventory and storage mechanism.

Good Optimization and Performance: Multiple users report strong optimization, high frame rates on various hardware, and smooth experiences overall. This indicates the game's performance is generally praised.

Crashes and Startup Failures: Several reviews mention crashes at startup, in the map menu, or after reinstallation, making the game unplayable for some. These are critical issues affecting a minority but causing significant frustration.

Input Lag and Control Issues: Players experience delayed or missing inputs with mouse and keyboard, and controls may need remapping for controllers. This suggests responsiveness problems that can hinder gameplay.

FSR Mod Improves Visuals: Downloading the FSR 4.0.2b mod significantly improves visuals and performance, to the point where it 'saved the game' for one reviewer. This indicates the base game's optimization may be lacking without the mod.

Graphical Bugs and Poor Reflections: There are reports of critical graphical bugs and atrocious plate armor reflections even on ultra and cinematic settings. These visual flaws detract from the overall experience.

Mixed Purchase Recommendations: Many reviewers strongly recommend the game or package (clusters 1, 4, 11, 51, 58, 59, 63), while others explicitly advise against buying (clusters 2, 3, 7, 15, 29). The strong split indicates the experience is highly dependent on player expectations and tolerance.

Deluxe Pack Value Debated: Opinions on the Deluxe Pack are divided: some find it worth it if you enjoy cosmetics (clusters 5, 6, 27), while others say it is not worth it for most (clusters 7, 8, 28, 12, 14, 43, 46, 49). The consensus is that it mainly appeals to cosmetic lovers and supporters.

Strong For Exploration RPG Fans: Reviewers recommend the game for players who enjoy exploration, trials, and open-world adventures in the vein of Skyrim, The Witcher, or Red Dead Redemption (clusters 9, 34, 35, 42, 45, 47, 53, 75, 77, 78, 79, 80). The focus on discovery and immersion appeals strongly to that audience.

Support Developers Via DLC: Several reviewers bought the Deluxe Pack specifically to support the developers and feel good about doing so (clusters 4, 6, 18, 24, 30, 37, 50). They recommend the purchase as a way to show appreciation for the team's work.

Not For Everyone: Multiple reviewers note the game is not for everyone, especially those who prefer hand-holding or short-form dopamine (clusters 10, 39, 62, 70, 72). Others emphasize it may tire players who disliked BDO after 10-20 hours.

Community fair range: $30.00 - $45.00.

Game completion: 300.0h.

Crimson Desert is reported as a slow, rough start -- janky controls, overwhelming systems and a tedious early UI -- that becomes genuinely enjoyable once players understand the mechanics and get past the opening hours and chapters.

Reported time to anchor: 4h.

Friction: Steep initial learning curve for the controls; Controls described as 'pure jank' at the beginning; Overwhelming HUD and game systems in the opening hours; Difficult early fights; Terrible UI/UX making the game tedious; Tedious manual camera adjustment during extended travel.

Unlock drivers: Understanding the concept and mechanics; Adapting to the controls after the janky opening; Deluxe/DLC gear providing an early-game boost that eases the notoriously rough first hours; Progressing from early chapters into later chapters.

Open-World Immersion Seeker: Multi-hour solo exploration playthroughs focused on atmosphere, world scale, and freedom rather than story completion. Motivation: Long-form solo immersion in a vast open world that can stand beside the genre's best. Stance: buy.

Fashion-First Armor Customizer: Cosmetic-driven progression: hunting armor sets, using dye and barber color options, and wearing fashion gear for the whole run. Motivation: Looking good and expressing a personal style through collected, dyed armor sets. Stance: buy.

Challenge-Seeking Veteran: Grinds through demanding combat without hand-holding and dismisses players who want an easier ride. Motivation: A punishing difficulty curve that rewards persistence and mastery. Stance: buy.

Across the Windows VRAM cohorts, performance reports are generally positive, with most users describing the game as running well or improving; isolated issues include a DLSS performance decline on a high-end GPU and a startup crash on an 8GB system.

Windows 12-15GB VRAM: positive. A recommended report indicates graphics, controls, sound, and FPS are all present, suggesting solid overall performance.

Windows 8-11GB VRAM: positive. Users report 76 FPS on ultra at 3440x1440 with FSR, and the game is recommended for this VRAM range.

Windows 16GB+ VRAM: positive. High-end systems generally run with few issues, though one report notes DLSS reduced performance even on an RTX 5090.

Steam Deck: The Steam Deck experience is playable but not seamless. Users report rough performance and rely on manual graphics tuning or an FSR mod, ask for a native Linux version, and flag a late Denuvo addition as a compatibility risk. Controls are repeatedly described as unintuitive at first, requiring adaptation or remapping. There are no clear reports of crashes, anti-cheat errors, or a complete inability to launch, so the friction is best classified as tinkering required.

Monetization: The reviews mix optional DLC support with explicit pay-to-win complaints. The clearest monetization signal is that the DLC sells equipment giving an in-game advantage, which two reviewers label as pay-to-win, passing the real-money gate as paid power. The remaining feedback concerns the Deluxe edition's value and its overlap with a normal-edition save, plus a single real-money-tied inventory item that cannot be discarded. No repeatable cash shop, gacha, currency obfuscation, or FOMO mechanics are described. The paid-power element pushes the score into the aggressive range, but the advantage is described as minor, single-player, and tied to a one-time DLC purchase rather than an ongoing monetization loop.

DLC claim process and issues: Clusters detail how to claim Deluxe or pre-order items via the in-game addons menu, often requiring a restart or verifying game files. Many players report missing rewards or the need to claim items from a chest, and some note a bug that was later fixed.

Deluxe pack contents and cosmetics: Clusters describe a Deluxe edition that includes cosmetic armor, horse armor, and outfits, with some noting it is purely aesthetic and offers no performance advantage. Others mention items are non-cosmetic or become less unique due to better gear found early.

Developers responsive and update frequently: Pearl Abyss is praised for being responsive to community feedback and releasing frequent patches that improve the game. They actively fix issues and add content, with updates often shared on Reddit.

Compared to Skyrim and other RPGs: Reviewers frequently compare the game to Skyrim, The Witcher 3, Breath of the Wild, and Elden Ring, both favorably and unfavorably. Some call it the best game of its kind since Skyrim, while others find it falls short of the hype.

Black Desert Online comparisons: The game shares a universe with Black Desert Online and is often compared to it in terms of graphics, quests, controls, and UI. Some reviewers wish BDO were more like this game, while others note similarities in armor and navigation.