crimson desertIn Pearl Abyss' new medieval fantasy action-adventure game, players can perform one of WWE's most iconic moves: the RKO on their enemies. Most gamers probably don't think of wrestling moves when they start a medieval battle. crimson desert Players are discovering that the game is unexpectedly full of them, and the discovery is hitting them suddenly.
Released on March 19th, crimson desert It's making a pretty strong first impression, with an average score of 79 from top critics on OpenCritic and 73% positive user reviews on Steam. Fans applauded the expansive open world, varied gameplay, and even real-world simulation-like immersion. crimson desertControls during battle. A patch to fix that issue is expected to be released soon, and fans who have already tried out the controls have discovered that there are a surprising number of ways to dispatch your enemies, including one that's bound to catch the attention of pro wrestling fans.
“Hell No” Crimson Desert explains whether it will be easy and whether there will be a difficulty option at launch.
Pearl Abyss clarifies how difficult players can expect Crimson Desert to be, and whether there will be difficulty options ahead of its March 2026 release.
Crimson Desert's Kliff Transforms into a Surprisingly Good Pro Wrestler
Just a few days after its release, some players crimson desert The main character, Kliff, seems to be a professional wrestling enthusiast. His fighting skills have been shown to include a diverse repertoire of moves that appear to have been taken from WWE and AEW. These impressive hand-to-hand combat abilities have been captured in action by players, including Reddit user Intelligent-You-7002, who shared a brief video detailing some of the special unarmed moves featured in the game. In the 56-second video, Cliff approaches a group of enemies and knocks away three of them simultaneously with a flying dropkick, finishing him off with an RKO if one enemy in front of him doesn't fall. He then jumps over his fourth enemy, knocks him to the ground with a German suplex, and runs to another group, eliminating them with moves including a standing powerslam, an enzuiguri, and a few diving lariats.
For those who don't know, the RKO is the finishing move of WWE superstar Randy Orton, a 14-time world champion and one of the company's longest-running stars. His debut took place in 2000. A variation of the stylish jumping cutter, the RKO is when Orton leaps at his opponent, wraps his arms around his neck from biceps to neck, and falls flat to the ground, faceplanting the mat. It's a versatile move designed to be used against opponents of all sizes, and its lightning-quick application has created some shocking WWE moments. The move's popularity can be felt in pop culture even outside of professional wrestling fandom. The meme-worthy appeal resulted in countless videos of people falling on their faces, combined with footage of Orton and actual WWE voiceovers announcing the move's name, often ending with the exclamation “Out of nowhere!”
Grappling is just one of the combat types featured in . crimson desert. Cliff can be equipped with a variety of one-handed swords, maces, daggers, two-handed axes, hammers, greatswords, and ranged weapons including bows, rifles, pistols, and hand cannons. Meanwhile, grappling provides an unarmed combat option that both Kliff and Damine can learn, and leveling up the skill tree allows players to unlock additional moves.
Pro wrestling grapple moves aren't the only unconventional medieval tools at Kilff's disposal. The game includes fantasy-inspired vehicles such as horses and dragons, but players can also unlock ATAG machines that fire missiles at: crimson desert For 10 chapters. Additionally, Kliff's Axiom Force ability allows him to fire gravity-manipulating beams of light from his hand attachments, and some players have commented that this makes Kliff look a bit similar. metroidThis is Samus Aran.
- 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
