Since its launch, Red Dead Redemption 2 has been considered something of a standard for realism in the gaming industry, with fans regularly posting clips online showcasing how even the normal behavior of the game’s NPCs translates into something that looks authentic. One NPC eating a plate of food, for example, might actually consume that food, with the plate growing increasingly empty with every bite. Another NPC might be sawing a wooden board into pieces, with each piece clearly being separate from the rest. Red Dead Redemption 2 was clearly meant to be a world players could live in that would feel believable and real, even if they don’t notice half of it as they’re trotting through town on the back of their horse. However, Crimson Desert has now come along with its own take on realism, and while it’s different from what RDR2 does, it still poses a challenge.
Yes, Crimson Desert has jetpacks and dragons, and to some, the idea that it has a realistic world might sound like nonsense on account of that. But realism is far more nuanced than the contents of a game’s world. Yes, Red Dead Redemption 2 might feel real because it grounds its believability in the mundane, with every animation and interaction designed to mirror real life as closely as possible. However, Crimson Desert approaches realism from a completely different angle, making it something that isn’t just seen, but actively discovered and experienced. That doesn’t make it any less realistic, only realistic in a different way.
Crimson Desert Review: A Remarkable Open World That Often Asks Too Much
Crimson Desert offers one of the most impressive worlds in gaming, but the deeper you go, the more it asks you to meet it on its own terms.
What Video Game Realism Is and Isn’t
Realism in games is often mistaken for accuracy, but the two aren’t always the same. A game doesn’t need to mirror real life perfectly to feel real. What matters more is consistency, believability, and how well the world holds together under scrutiny. When characters behave in ways that make sense, when environments react in expected ways, and when small details reinforce the illusion, players begin to accept the world as something that feels real, even if it doesn’t resemble true reality. Realism, in that sense, is less about recreating the real world and more about convincing the player that what they are experiencing could exist within the rules the game has established.
Who’s That Character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
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At the same time, realism isn’t about limiting what a game can be. Fantasy, exaggeration, and even absurdity can still feel authentic if they follow a clear internal logic. A world with dragons or impossible technology can still feel real if it responds to the player in ways that are consistent and intuitive. Where games tend to break that illusion is when interactions feel arbitrary or restricted in ways that clash with what the world suggests is possible. Realism, then, is not defined by how closely a game resembles real life, but by how naturally it allows players to engage with and understand the world in front of them.
Red Dead Redemption 2’s Realistic World Still Bends the Rules
If realism truly does come down to how closely a game resembles the real world, then count Red Dead Redemption 2 out. It’s not possible to slow down time in real life with something like Dead Eye, lock on to multiple targets, and then automatically unleash perfect shots at those targets. It’s not possible to get shot multiple times and then eat some canned food or a tonic to be back to full strength in seconds. It’s not possible to carry as much as Arthur does, with his inventory capable of holding dozens of weapons, piles of animal pelts, tonics, food, and valuables all at once without it affecting his movement in a big way. Even its law enforcement and crime system isn’t realistic at times, with witnesses able to identify crimes from odd distances and lawmen appearing surprisingly fast in remote areas.
Why are those things allowed to exist while Red Dead Redemption 2 is labeled “realistic”? Because without them, it wouldn’t be a game. It would be tedious, boring, and, more than likely, frustrating. To keep players entertained, developers have to bend the rules at some point, even in a world that is otherwise incredibly detailed. The key is knowing where to draw that line. In Red Dead Redemption 2, those concessions rarely clash with the rest of the experience because they support the player rather than break the illusion. They smooth over the friction that real life would introduce, while everything around them continues to reinforce the sense that the world is alive and believable. That balance is what allows the game to feel realistic without actually being bound to reality.
Crimson Desert’s World Has Something Red Dead Redemption 2’s Doesn’t
That’s ultimately where the argument that Crimson Desert challenges Red Dead Redemption 2‘s idea of realism has a foothold. RDR2‘s sense of realism comes down to visual detail and animation, presenting itself as a world that feels like people actually live in. In essence, it’s all about selling the illusion of authenticity through realistic animations, interaction speed, and intentionally slowing the player down. Crimson Desert, on the other hand—while it does have incredible visuals, believable animations, and it does everything it can to slow players down—manifests its realism in how players interact with it.
Whereas Red Dead Redemption 2‘s realism is more of a backdrop, Crimson Desert‘s comes down to something players can actually put their hands on and experiment with. Almost every building in the game can be entered, almost every tree in the game can be chopped down, and almost every place visible can be visited. Players can climb structures that most games wouldn’t allow them to, enter spaces that seem only decorative, and even speak and build a relationship with every single NPC in the game. That difference gives Crimson Desert a leg up on Red Dead Redemption 2, making its version of realism less about how closely it mirrors real life and more about how convincingly it reacts to players.
If realism truly does come down to how closely a game resembles the real world, then count Red Dead Redemption 2 out.
If players see a bucket in Crimson Desert, they can probably pick it up. If there’s a cow roaming a nearby pasture, they could run over to it and ride it if they wanted to. If there’s a closed window on a building, they can more than likely open it to enter that building unseen. If there’s a pedestal they need to rotate that doesn’t have handles, they can even jam their sword into it and use it as a handle instead. Ironically, that does make Crimson Desert feel more like real life, because all of those things are theoretically possible in the real world—although riding random cows isn’t recommended.
So, Crimson Desert might not replace Red Dead Redemption 2 as the benchmark for realism, but it does show that there’s more than one way to achieve it. One creates a sense of realism through careful detail and lifelike behavior, while the other is more about player freedom and a world that responds in believable ways. Both approaches work, just in different ways. Even so, Crimson Desert‘s approach stands out because it consistently rewards curiosity, giving players the sense that the world isn’t just there to be looked at, but actually interacted with as one would with the real world.
- 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
