Crimson Desert boss blames reviews on review period
Pearl Abyss' European CEO says critics had little time and stuck to the main quest, while Metacritic's 77 sits far below an 8.7 user score.
Crimson Desert's critics were harsher than its players, and the head of Pearl Abyss' European arm thinks the reviewing period is to blame. CEO Lybee Park told The Game Business that reviewers were handed a build that did not match the launched version and had limited time, typically playing straight down the main quest line.
That path, she suggested, is not where the open-world RPG shines, since its appeal is scattered across the wider world in hidden details and optional freedom. Park's argument has a familiar ring, because embargoes and short play windows are a recurring flashpoint between studios and the press. The numbers make the gap plain: Metacritic's critical average sits at 77 against a user score of 8.7, while the Enhanced edition on Steam holds 83 percent positive lifetime reviews. Pearl Abyss has since rewritten parts of the campaign with the Enhanced release, and the Charting the Unknown DLC was pushed back two weeks for extra polish, suggesting the studio is still working to close the distance between its critics and its buyers.
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- playstation
Sources
Where this story ran: one outlet on 8 October 2026. The summary above is written by GamersGuild; the links go to the original reports.