It looks like Crimson Desert is leaving a few things for just before the March 19 launch date. Only yesterday we reported that the controversial Denuvo DRM was added to the game’s Steam version. While that won’t go down well, considering the performance issues it has been known to create, we finally got some console gameplay footage of the game.
While fans have been optimistic about the game’s visuals and performance, the lack of console footage had many worrying about a Cyberpunk 2077-like scenario. Digital Foundry has finally gotten its hands on the console version and initial reports look good. However, it should be noted that it’s The PS5 Pro version of the game.
Early Signs Of Crimson Desert’s Console Version Look Good
The first thing that Digital Foundry noted is that the ray-traced diffuse global illumination, which is the highlight of the PC version, works as intended on the PS5 Pro version as well. All three graphics modes on PS5 Pro support raytracing, but it’s not perfect.
“The denoiser can occasionally struggle with streaking in high contrast areas, but it’s far less intrusive than the boiling effect seen in the recent Resident Evil Requiem. Pearl Abyss also piles on the detail by using displacement mapping at a scale I’ve never seen before to simulate depth within textures, making every stone and brick explode in detail.”
It offers a performance mode, balanced, and quality mode, which target 60fps, 40fps and 30fps respectively. While low base resolutions pre-upscaling has been a problem with recent games, Crimson Desert targets 1080p, 1440p and 4K respectively.
On the flip side, issues were noted with the game’s VRR support as there is no low frame-rate compensation (LFC) support. “The game can drop out of the VRR window on the odd occasion, resulting in obvious screen-tearing. It’s this element of the game I hope to see improved in future patches as there is full LFC support within the PS5 SDK which would solve this issue.”
“Right now I prefer playing the balanced mode, but if the new PSSR is as effective as we think it is, the base 1080p from the optimal mode may still deliver an impressive experience with higher frame-rates,” said Digital Foundry’s John Linneman. “Beyond that, we’ve yet to see anything on the base PS5 or Xbox Series consoles. Even so, the signs are looking good – and certainly for PS5 Pro owners, Crimson Desert delivers a phenomenal experience.”
Hopefully, the game’s performance on base consoles is not too far off.
- Released
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March 19, 2026
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
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Pearl Abyss
- Publisher(s)
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Pearl Abyss
