Multi Crimson Desert - Collector's Edition & Deluxe Edition Steelbook

[TheWildEye]

Well, I caved and bought it digitally... not quite sure if I regret it yet

Never known a game that requires so much messing around just to get it to look/run somewhat smoothly. None of the advice I found online quite suited my taste, so I ended up going back and forth adjusting everything to my own liking, but the graphics still look kinda dogsh!t and I either have to have it super bright so I can see in the dark, or have it super dark so that it doesn't blind me.....there's no in between. As I was warned, the controls are really finicky and clunky, even more-so than I expected. There's loads of different button combos to remember for certain abilities etc as well, so I'm probably gonna forget half of them and therefore just not use them lol.

I've only just got to the point in the story where you get your wings anyway, so still very early days. Hopefully I can get passed the way it looks/run and adapt to the controls so that I can at least enjoy exploring.

If this helps.
My Game settings for an LG OLED CX

My LG OLED Game TV settings with VRR

Hope this is useful dude.

BTW. If you're using HDR, have you set it first in PS5 video screen settings?
Must do that first and THEN set the in game HDR filter.

 

[AstroC13]

Dude, I've got mine looking beautiful on a base PS5 and OLED.
Have you got HDR running on a non HDR TV/Monitor?
What's you TV setup and PS5 video settings?
I'm happy to assist

Yes, button combos are bewildering but the graphics should look great if set right for your TV type.

It opened up about an hour or two after the wings.

Wish I could drop a video or a full higher resolution still.
It's so clean if you get it right.

View attachment 613280
View attachment 613283
View attachment 613284

Looks stunning mate. Love my OLED, black levels are so good. im getting fomo...

 

[TheWildEye]

Well, I caved and bought it digitally... not quite sure if I regret it yet

Never known a game that requires so much messing around just to get it to look/run somewhat smoothly. None of the advice I found online quite suited my taste, so I ended up going back and forth adjusting everything to my own liking, but the graphics still look kinda dogsh!t and I either have to have it super bright so I can see in the dark, or have it super dark so that it doesn't blind me.....there's no in between. As I was warned, the controls are really finicky and clunky, even more-so than I expected. There's loads of different button combos to remember for certain abilities etc as well, so I'm probably gonna forget half of them and therefore just not use them lol.

I've only just got to the point in the story where you get your wings anyway, so still very early days. Hopefully I can get passed the way it looks/run and adapt to the controls so that I can at least enjoy exploring.

Looks stunning mate. Love my OLED, black levels are so good. im getting fomo...

Sorry.
Forgot to post a pic of the In Game HDR settings I've set as well.
LG OLED is renowned for a lower nit brightness range than other OLEDs. Hence why the image disappeared at around 800 nits which is about right using HGIG HDR and not Tone Mapping HDR in the TV settings.

 

[Noodles]

My TV is nothing amazing (this one) compared to most, so I admit I'm probably not doing myself any favours in that respect. Also doesn't help that I'm not very tech savvy these days, so have no clue what half of these settings mean... wtf is nits? All I know is my sister once had those as a kid . I don't even really know what HDR is/does. Not to mention my TV has a 'Game Optimiser' setting which throws another spanner in the works... I turned it off because again, I don't understand it and it didn't seem to make a difference to me anyway lol.

Appreciate your help though mate. Will take another look at my settings later and compare to yours

 

[Noodles]

Looking at that link I posted of my TV and only now just realised it's 50Hz. Maybe that explains it??

 

[TheWildEye]

My TV is nothing amazing (this one) compared to most, so I admit I'm probably not doing myself any favours in that respect. Also doesn't help that I'm not very tech savvy these days, so have no clue what half of these settings mean... wtf is nits? All I know is my sister once had those as a kid . I don't even really know what HDR is/does. Not to mention my TV has a 'Game Optimiser' setting which throws another spanner in the works... I turned it off because again, I don't understand it and it didn't seem to make a difference to me anyway lol.

Appreciate your help though mate. Will take another look at my settings later and compare to yours

Let me know if you need a hand with settings. Happy to help.

Quick look at your TV via the link. Perfectly fine 4K with HDR. It's a 50/60hz panel so you should be turning OFF the 120hz mode in the game and in the PS5 Video settings. Theres a 120hz panel mode there too. Switch it OFF
You've got HDR, so it should start automatically on your TV with any HDR content played. What it sounds like is that you've not set up the HDR black and white settings in the PS5 video settings menu.

Open up your TV picture settings AFTER you get to the PS5 main landing page. See if the HDR is switched on in your TV settings. It's probably Dynamic Tone Mapping. It should be ON in your TV picture menu
Then turn off the TV settings, Go to Video Settings in the PS5 console settings menu, head down to the HDR setup section and follow that to the end to calibrate

Then boot the game. Go to THEIR HDR settings section and calibrate that.

Then go to Quality graphics mode. I think that's the best for a 50/60hz TV because balanced mode relies on a 120hz TV panel.

See how it is then picture wise.

You may have to then adjust your TV colour, brightness, contrast and whatnot a little bit to see where it all ends ups.
Problem with this game is that it was built primarily for high PCs and the consoles were an afterthought

 

[Noodles]

Let me know if you need a hand with settings. Happy to help.

Quick look at your TV via the link. Perfectly fine 4K with HDR. It's a 50/60hz panel so you should be turning OFF the 120hz mode in the game and in the PS5 Video settings. Theres a 120hz panel mode there too. Switch it OFF
You've got HDR, so it should start automatically on your TV with any HDR content played. What it sounds like is that you've not set up the HDR black and white settings in the PS5 video settings menu.

Open up your TV picture settings AFTER you get to the PS5 main landing page. See if the HDR is switched on in your TV settings. It's probably Dynamic Tone Mapping. It should be ON in your TV picture menu
Then turn off the TV settings, Go to Video Settings in the PS5 console settings menu, head down to the HDR setup section and follow that to the end to calibrate

Then boot the game. Go to THEIR HDR settings section and calibrate that.

Then go to Quality graphics mode. I think that's the best for a 50/60hz TV because balanced mode relies on a 120hz TV panel.

See how it is then picture wise.

You may have to then adjust your TV colour, brightness, contrast and whatnot a little bit to see where it all ends ups.
Problem with this game is that it was built primarily for high PCs and the consoles were an afterthought

You’re a star! Followed your guide and it’s improved things significantly. Think the main thing that made a difference was changing to HGIG (is that right?) and then recalibrating my HDR settings both in-game and in the PS5 settings. I honestly can’t even tell a difference between Balanced and Quality though… maybe if I had a side-by-side comparison I would, but for now I’m much happier with how things are looking. Thanks again dude

 

[TheWildEye]

You’re a star! Followed your guide and it’s improved things significantly. Think the main thing that made a difference was changing to HGIG (is that right?) and then recalibrating my HDR settings both in-game and in the PS5 settings. I honestly can’t even tell a difference between Balanced and Quality though… maybe if I had a side-by-side comparison I would, but for now I’m much happier with how things are looking. Thanks again dude

Ah, wasn't sure you had HGIG on the TV HDR options. Yep. That's better than Dynamic Tone mapping HDR for games. Otherwise it's much harder to avoid blown out highlights and crushed blacks
Glad it looks better for you mate.

 

[apsmith21]

Anyone collected a cat pack yet?

 

[TheWildEye]

Anyone collected a cat pack yet?
View attachment 613448

Hahaha, have you got them looting for you yet.
Walking around hugging a cat to my chest, well heck money can't buy that. Who needs a story.

 

[Noodles]

Genuinely got so sick and bored of this game yesterday that I deleted it from my PS5, and now I wake up to see they've released a new update that fixes most of the things which were annoying me about it

Wish developers would stop releasing unfinished games, especially super ambitious ones such as this. It could've been amazing had they took a few more months to iron things out and make it more user-friendly, but instead it's just frustrating to play imo and has left a bad taste in my mouth

 

[TheWildEye]

Genuinely got so sick and bored of this game yesterday that I deleted it from my PS5, and now I wake up to see they've released a new update that fixes most of the things which were annoying me about it

Wish developers would stop releasing unfinished games, especially super ambitious ones such as this. It could've been amazing had they took a few more months to iron things out and make it more user-friendly, but instead it's just frustrating to play imo and has left a bad taste in my mouth

Damn, sorry it didn't work out. Honestly, once it clicks it really does become second nature. I get it though, the multiple control configurations are totally schizophrenic and exhausting to begin with, I dunno, maybe because I was playing alongside my 15 year old son- we both have separate saves - when he's round I usually sit and watch him, bugging him, constantly commenting on his playthrough.
I think watching him tackle & master the controls within a few minutes (Gen A are literally savants on consoles these days), probably really helped me with my struggles going through on my playthrough - old man / 47 and definitely working on 2 brain cells + living with zero coordination. Also he trolls the sh*t out of my game which makes me more determined to push through.

Honestly. The game is truly rewarding after that weak first two/three chapters. Once you've set up the Greymane camp, that's it. Up to you then.

Believe me, I feel responsible for recommending it to you so vehemently. Sorry mate. I do stand by what I said though and also agree wholeheartedly that games need to be finished and QA tested to death before release to avoid this kind of polarity with gamers.

I do genuinely think that it's good you've bought it digitally, at least you can re-upload it after a while and give it another whirl. The Devs are smashing out the major patches twice a week. Maybe in a few more weeks of patches you might change your mind. Im about 15 hours in now (I'm a super slow player) and I promise you, I kind of went through the same annoyances, but then it started to click in and that faded away. The great game 100% there. It's just trying to breath underneath unnecessary baggage.

 

[Noodles]

Damn, sorry it didn't work out. Honestly, once it clicks it really does become second nature. I get it though, the multiple control configurations are totally schizophrenic and exhausting to begin with, I dunno, maybe because I was playing alongside my 15 year old son- we both have separate saves - when he's round I usually sit and watch him, bugging him, constantly commenting on his playthrough.
I think watching him tackle & master the controls within a few minutes (Gen A are literally savants on consoles these days), probably really helped me with my struggles going through on my playthrough - old man / 47 and definitely working on 2 brain cells + living with zero coordination. Also he trolls the sh*t out of my game which makes me more determined to push through.

Honestly. The game is truly rewarding after that weak first two/three chapters. Once you've set up the Greymane camp, that's it. Up to you then.

Believe me, I feel responsible for recommending it to you so vehemently. Sorry mate. I do stand by what I said though and also agree wholeheartedly that games need to be finished and QA tested to death before release to avoid this kind of polarity with gamers.

I do genuinely think that it's good you've bought it digitally, at least you can re-upload it after a while and give it another whirl. The Devs are smashing out the major patches twice a week. Maybe in a few more weeks of patches you might change your mind. Im about 15 hours in now (I'm a super slow player) and I promise you, I kind of went through the same annoyances, but then it started to click in and that faded away. The great game 100% there. It's just trying to breath underneath unnecessary baggage.

I already re-installed it

Last straw for me yesterday was all my settings that I spent hours messing around with were reset when I loaded the game up again later that day... it still seems to be an issue even after today's update, so I've just left them as is for now.

See, I was going to blame my age (less patience and my muscle memory isn't as great as it once was), but I'm 8 years younger than you, so there goes that excuse

Nah, not your fault at all dude. I'd watched enough gameplay to make up my mind both before and after you recommended it, and I was still on the fence even then, but fomo got the better of me!

I'm only on chapter 2 anyway, so will take your advice and focus more on the story now... well, at least til the part you mentioned in chapter 3

Glad you're having a blast with it! Hopefully I eventually feel the same in about 10 updates time lol

 

[TheWildEye]

I already re-installed it

Last straw for me yesterday was all my settings that I spent hours messing around with were reset when I loaded the game up again later that day... it still seems to be an issue even after today's update, so I've just left them as is for now.

See, I was going to blame my age (less patience and my muscle memory isn't as great as it once was), but I'm 8 years younger than you, so there goes that excuse

Nah, not your fault at all dude. I'd watched enough gameplay to make up my mind both before and after you recommended it, and I was still on the fence even then, but fomo got the better of me!

I'm only on chapter 2 anyway, so will take your advice and focus more on the story now... well, at least til the part you mentioned in chapter 3

Glad you're having a blast with it! Hopefully I eventually feel the same in about 10 updates time lol

I honed my gaming stubborness on From Software Soulsborne games.
Thought it was a good idea to start with Sekiro when it came out and I got hooked on that style.
Sadly. They probably also destroyed my patience (and soul)

 

[Noodles]

I honed my gaming stubborness on From Software Soulsborne games.
Thought it was a good idea to start with Sekiro when it came out and I got hooked on that style.
Sadly. They probably also destroyed my patience (and soul)

I've never even attempted to play Soulsborne for that exact reason. Sekiro did have me tempted though! Games like Animal Crossing are more my jam nowadays

 

[TheWildEye]

I've never even attempted to play Soulsborne for that exact reason. Sekiro did have me tempted though! Games like Animal Crossing are more my jam nowadays

Even Animal Crossing makes me want to smash my controller these days, mainly due to that damn Tom Nook Son of a B*tch.

 

[Noodles]

@TheWildEye You still playing this? I'm finding it a lot more enjoyable after the updates, and there's apparently more to come! Controls still p!ss me off, but that's supposed to be one of the main things they're working on simplifying. I honestly don't think I've ever played a game of this scale before though, and I don't just mean in terms of the map size, but also the amount of actual things you can do and interact with... it's almost like playing a new game every day lol. Most games with huge maps just fill them with emptiness, whereas there's literally something around every corner in Crimson Desert. I decided to go to the edge of the map the other day, expecting there to be nothing of much interest there, but instead I was met with some weird plant enemies I'd never encountered before, a waterfall with a hidden chest, and a hut with civilians that needed freeing - this was literally all within a few yards of each other! I'm still only on Chapter 3 because I keep getting sidetracked with exploring lol.

 

[TheWildEye]

@TheWildEye You still playing this? I'm finding it a lot more enjoyable after the updates, and there's apparently more to come! Controls still p!ss me off, but that's supposed to be one of the main things they're working on simplifying. I honestly don't think I've ever played a game of this scale before though, and I don't just mean in terms of the map size, but also the amount of actual things you can do and interact with... it's almost like playing a new game every day lol. Most games with huge maps just fill them with emptiness, whereas there's literally something around every corner in Crimson Desert. I decided to go to the edge of the map the other day, expecting there to be nothing of much interest there, but instead I was met with some weird plant enemies I'd never encountered before, a waterfall with a hidden chest, and a hut with civilians that needed freeing - this was literally all within a few yards of each other! I'm still only on Chapter 3 because I keep getting sidetracked with exploring lol.

I am mate. Still plugging away in awe at the world they've created here. The content is bloody staggering really. Its shocking the amount of interesting things to discover they've built into the game at every bend in the road. It's mental. Picking up skills that augment the skills, on top of the skills that I already have has properly fried my noggin.
I'm loving the Abyss Gears infrastructure. You might have come across some of them by Chapter 3.
Building a gear load out that suits my tastes but still being able to respec it when I like is both hilarious and overpowered nonsense. They even built in a trading and stocks algorithm in the game. Crazy bstards
It really sums up the game. I can't help but love it.
Finding myself still actively engaged after 60+ hours doesn't happen too often. Unless it's a From Software game (yep, I'm one of those toolbags ) usually I'm done at 30+ and onto the next thing.
That's probably why I love Roguelike indie games and Metroidvanias - Binding of Issac, Slay the Spire, Dead Cells, Hollow Knight, Silksong - they've got that sense of wonder and discovery but still have the insanely addictive pull of a slot machine. I swear this has all of those genres mixed into a deep RPG.
It isn't perfect at all. The controls suck, the UI is confusing for me at 60 hours as it was at 5 and the dialogue is trash, yet its got that intangible something that no one can put their finger on.
The amount of jank vs the amount of fun is about just right.
Some beggar grabbed my leg whilst I was on a building in Demeniss City and I swear, he pushed me to my death. Deliberately!
What sicko developer builds that tiny little piece of code into the ai on a random beggar in the game? Brilliant

Glad you're enjoying a bit more now mate. It's certainly a grower.

Edit: 3rd major patch dropped today. Changes another load of stuff for the better. Devs are on fire.

[Updates] Patch Notes Version 1.03.00 (Revised: 2026/04/11) | Crimson Desert

Fellow Greymanes,Here are the fixes and improvements that have been added this patch. Major UpdatesThis patch adds the Weapon Display option, option to change the minimum font size, new skills for each character, and more. Additionally, further control and UI-related improvements have been appli...

crimsondesert.pearlabyss.com

 

[Noodles]

I am mate. Still plugging away in awe at the world they've created here. The content is bloody staggering really. Its shocking the amount of interesting things to discover they've built into the game at every bend in the road. It's mental. Picking up skills that augment the skills, on top of the skills that I already have has properly fried my noggin.
I'm loving the Abyss Gears infrastructure. You might have come across some of them by Chapter 3.
Building a gear load out that suits my tastes but still being able to respec it when I like is both hilarious and overpowered nonsense. They even built in a trading and stocks algorithm in the game. Crazy bstards
It really sums up the game. I can't help but love it.
Finding myself still actively engaged after 60+ hours doesn't happen too often. Unless it's a From Software game (yep, I'm one of those toolbags ) usually I'm done at 30+ and onto the next thing.
That's probably why I love Roguelike indie games and Metroidvanias - Binding of Issac, Slay the Spire, Dead Cells, Hollow Knight, Silksong - they've got that sense of wonder and discovery but still have the insanely addictive pull of a slot machine. I swear this has all of those genres mixed into a deep RPG.
It isn't perfect at all. The controls suck, the UI is confusing for me at 60 hours as it was at 5 and the dialogue is trash, yet its got that intangible something that no one can put their finger on.
The amount of jank vs the amount of fun is about just right.
Some beggar grabbed my leg whilst I was on a building in Demeniss City and I swear, he pushed me to my death. Deliberately!
What sicko developer builds that tiny little piece of code into the ai on a random beggar in the game? Brilliant

Glad you're enjoying a bit more now mate. It's certainly a grower.

Edit: 3rd major patch dropped today. Changes another load of stuff for the better. Devs are on fire.

[Updates] Patch Notes Version 1.03.00 (Revised: 2026/04/11) | Crimson Desert

Fellow Greymanes,Here are the fixes and improvements that have been added this patch. Major UpdatesThis patch adds the Weapon Display option, option to change the minimum font size, new skills for each character, and more. Additionally, further control and UI-related improvements have been appli...

crimsondesert.pearlabyss.com

I only just discovered you can swap out Abyss gear yesterday... not that I've actually got to that point yet, but saw a video online that briefly mentioned it and I was like "WHAAAAT?!". Like you said, the dialogue is trash and I couldn't even tell you what the story is supposed to be about, so I've been putting off missions and therefore haven't even got to that point in the game yet lol. Will try to focus on those more tonight... that's if I don't get distracted by something off in the distance that I want to explore

 

[NateDog]

I ended up dropping this after a while. I had been excited for it for ages but it just didn't click with me. Some very interesting systems in place but unfortunately I couldn't shrug off the feeling that every time I came across certain features that it was just taken from another title without much thought as to the necessity of it, and I thought I'd be perfectly fine with a game not having much in the way of characterisation and plot but it seems I wasn't. Think I had a bad taste in my mouth from the forced online activation too and the physical version not actually having the full game on disc. I'm glad it seems to have built up a big following and a group that's getting a lot out of it though. Might be one I return to down the line.