We may not get a new treat The Legend of Zelda It's a game from 2026, but it feels like I've already played it. crimson desert. From the moment I set foot in Pywel, or rather from the moment I saw Kliff use Axiom Force in the game's pre-release marketing rollout, I compared this game to: Zelda: Tears of the KingdomSpecifically. But the more I played (which means I'm now over 130 hours in), the more I saw how similar the games were. The Legend of ZeldaIt's one of my favorite franchises. As a result, I think it's okay if I don't get a new product. zelda 2026 game.
i know crimson desert not really zelda It's a game, and it's kind of funny to say that it's my new favorite game. zelda Games—because they’re not. But it has almost everything I like. The Legend of ZeldaAnd maybe that's why I enjoyed it so much. Puzzles, secrets, and a huge world to discover. There are many things for a zelda Fans like me love love crimson desert. I know it's not for everyone, but what game is it? Claire Obsker: Expedition 33 It's not for everyone and look what it achieved.
Crimson Desert Review: A Stunning Open World That Often Asks Too Much
Crimson Desert offers one of the most impressive worlds in gaming, but the deeper you go, the more it demands to be encountered in its own way.
Crimson Desert is basically Zelda, and I really like it.
If Nintendo decided to make: zelda A game that looks this good probably means: crimson desert. In fact, I would argue that hardware is the most important thing that separates people. zelda from crimson desertAlthough I could never give up my Nintendo Switch 2, especially now. Pokemon Pokopia It's out. But nevertheless crimson desert It's essentially a lucky bag for just about any game or franchise you can think of. zelda Above all – even Red Dead Redemption 2.
Who is that character?
Check out the silhouette before time runs out.
start
Check out the silhouette before time runs out.
Easy (7.5 seconds) Medium (5.0 seconds) Hard (2.5 seconds) Eternal Death (2.5 seconds)
The Crimson Desert is full of Zelda-like puzzles
First, there are too many puzzles. crimson desertIt is almost impossible to count them at this stage. zelda It's always been a puzzle-heavy series, and it's also been known for its use of puzzles as a form of progress gating. crimson desert You won't be able to use puzzles as obstacles to advance, but once you solve them they'll reward you with valuable Abyss Artifacts – the game's basic skills, stats, and equipment progression items. That way, it's actually worth it as long as you're patient enough. The main difference is crimson desertpuzzles and standards zelda The puzzle, however, is that the latter are usually solved with unique items or tools, while the former can be solved in a variety of ways.
If Nintendo decided to make: zelda A game that looks this good probably means: crimson desert.
But that place crimson desert starting to resemble Zelda: Tears of the KingdomIn particular, it's starting to look like a game from Nintendo's beloved franchise. Tears of the Kingdom's MO is experimental in that it encourages players to solve the game's biggest challenges in their own way. This is especially true for Link's Ultrahand ability, which allows players to create their own paths by moving certain objects in the world. As I said earlier, crimson desertThe Axiom Force ability is essentially Ultrahand and is also used to solve many of the game's puzzles.
Crimson Desert is in some ways a copy and paste of Tears of the Kingdom
It takes more than a puzzle to become something. zelda But that's because there are tons of titles that take a puzzle-centric approach to gameplay. But why am I comparing too quickly? crimson desert to Tears of the Kingdom That's because of how many signature mechanics it emulates, including Ultrahand's, and its focus on puzzle-solving gameplay above all else.
Not long after crimson desert's story, you visit one of the many sky islands with a world design concept that feels like a copy and paste. Tears of the Kingdom. They look different and have different uses, but the concept is the same. The sky is full of floating islands that act as a completely separate layer from Pywel, and each island also has a fast travel point.
That's not all. Shortly after discovering the first Sky Island, Kliff realizes that when he uses his wings, they do the same thing as his wings. Tears of the Kingdomof paragliders—but the Kliff's wings can be upgraded for greater speed and maneuverability. But why would you need something like a paraglider in the first place? Well, there are cases where you can dive from that sky island all the way to the land of Piewell below. Tears of the Kingdom. And to avoid immediate death on impact, they can pull in their wings to soften their fall. The wings also help paragliders cover more horizontal ground as if they were in the air. Tears of the Kingdom.
There are also several biomes. crimson desertA world of snow-capped mountains, deserts, and grasslands. Even that makes me feel that way. Tears of the Kingdom.
But there crimson desert's open worlds generally move forward primarily with their own curiosity in a similar way. Tears of the Kingdom And its predecessor, breath of the wild. There are very few parts that can be grasped by hand. crimson desert Because it expects you to go out and solve the problem. They rarely tell you what the next step is. Because we just want users to discover the steps themselves. To me, it makes finding things in the open world more satisfying, and that's one of the reasons I like it. Tears of the Kingdom Too much.
So, at one point after dozens of hours with me, crimson desertIt stopped feeling like a comparison and was just starting to feel real. The more I played, the more I realized how much it tapped into the same sense of curiosity and discovery that has always defined it. The Legend of Zelda To me, games trust you to try something, push your boundaries, and figure it out without having to keep pointing you in the right direction. That freedom is what makes the world so attractive. Because it feels like it's reacting to you rather than guiding you.
That's the point. It may not have a name, and ideas may come from all over the place, but the feeling it creates is unmistakable. crimson desert It captures something I’ve always loved. zelda In an unexpected way, after over 100 hours, I've come to call it my new favorite. zelda The game doesn't feel boring at all.
- released
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March 19, 2026
- ESRB
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Age 17 or older / Blood, drug-related, high-intensity violence, verbal abuse
- developer
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Pearl Abyss
- publisher
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Pearl Abyss
