Some Crimson Desert players are not impressed by Kliff, having said as much across various discussion boards and social media platforms. While the stated reasons for this opinion vary by person to a degree, the broader conversations resulting from the criticism have been converging on the same point, one that invites scrutiny of Pearl Abyss’s decision not to offer a character creator in Crimson Desert.
The newest title from South Korean developer Pearl Abyss launched worldwide on Thursday, March 19. Crimson Desert sold 2 million copies in the first 24 hours, thus becoming the latest success story among at the intersection of big-budget, open-world, and single-player games. As is common with major releases, its debut sparked a wave of online discussion on a wide range of topics, including protagonist Kliff, who many early adopters appear to dislike.
Crimson Desert PS5 Players Are Struggling With Blurry Graphics, But You Might Be Able to Fix It
Crimson Desert is reportedly having some graphical issues on the PlayStation 5, with the problem affecting even the more powerful PS5 Pro model.
Crimson Desert Lacks a Character Creator Almost as Much as Kliff Lacks Personality, Day-One Players Say
While Crimson Desert‘s bombastic launch day was still ongoing, the internet spawned multiple populous threads and engagement-driving posts bemoaning the game’s protagonist. “Kliff is one of the worst AAA MCs in gaming history,” wrote Reddit user Sabawoonoz25 in a widely circulated complaint posted to the game’s largest subreddit. “No depth, silent as a book, never questions anything, nothing to connect to him, and looks like a conglomeration of every bad*** stoic gaming MC ever.” Echoing that sentiment, user WhyPlaySerious found Kliff’s persona so generic that they mockingly nicknamed him “John Desert.”
Who’s That Character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)
The decision to limit Crimson Desert to three preset playable characters at launch has proven particularly disappointing to some Black Desert Online veterans. Completely setting aside Kliff’s personality—or lack thereof—select members of this demographic were frustrated to learn Crimson Desert doesn’t let them make their own protagonist considering that Pearl Abyss’s previous title offers a comprehensive character creator that can rival the best in business, both within and outside of the MMORPG space.
Kliff Haters Are Seemingly a Vocal Minority of Crimson Desert Players
Although Crimson Desert debuted to mixed player reviews, there are currently no conclusive indications that Kliff or either of its other protagonists (Damiane and Oongka) significantly impacted its early adopter scores. Of the first 200 Xbox Store user reviews classified as “Most Helpful” on March 21, only three criticized the lack of a character creator, and just one made negative remarks about Kliff’s personality. None of the game’s 107 one-star reviews on Microsoft’s platform mentioned either issue. Likewise, among the first 200 “Most Helpful” negative Steam reviews analyzed by GameRant on the same day, only six were authored by players who deemed the lack of a character creator as a significant enough drawback to warrant a mention. Four others expressed disapproval of one or more of Crimson Desert‘s playable characters, while one Steam reviewer from the group criticized both Kliff’s portrayal and the absence of character creation.
Looking at professional Crimson Desert reviews, OpenCritic’s database contains 55 of them as of March 21, listing an average score of 79 and a matching 79% recommendation rate. Just two of them spotlight a “bland protagonist” or “boring characters” in their summary, conclusion, or both. None of the 55 reviewers emphasized the absence of character creation in a similar manner.
Pearl Abyss previously indicated a willingness to support Crimson Desert with post-launch content. While it has yet to commit to any concrete plans, the title’s early success increases the chances of such an outcome. If the current in-game character selection wheel and its two placeholder slots are any indication, some of that future content could include new Crimson Desert playable characters, which would likely not eliminate the ongoing complaints about the protagonists but could help ease them.
- 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
