Pearl Abyss’s new open-world action-adventure game Crimson Desert has enjoyed a fairly positive reception, with one major caveat: Some PlayStation 5 users are saying the game looks really, really bad on Sony’s current-gen console. Specifically, these players complain of blurry graphics that make it hard to enjoy the game’s beautiful scenery and keep track of what’s happening in combat.
The good news is the source of the problem seems to have been identified, and it’s a fairly easy fix. The issue seems to be the game struggling with the PS5’s 120hz mode when connected to a TV that doesn’t support 4K120. If you’re playing Crimson Desert on PS5 and everything looks like a blobby, melting mess, follow these steps to fix the issue:
- Open the settings menu on your PS5
- Select “Video Output”
- Turn the “Enable 120Hz Output” setting off
Pearl Abyss’s PR and marketing director Will Powers cosigned this method in a recent X post, agreeing that TVs lacking support for 120Hz output are likely the source of the problem.
“My assumption is this,” he wrote in response to a player complaint. “You’re using one of the modes that requires a 120hz TV, without having a TV that supports it.”
I haven’t changed any settings within the game; it’s just like this without any textures, but on my friend’s PS5 Pro the game looks beautiful with great textures. Please report this to the developers. pic.twitter.com/ROfR8w4VKp
— Vanilson Pereira (@pereiravanilso1) March 20, 2026
Digital Foundry’s John Linneman also weighed in on X, confirming that the issue only pops up if the PS5 is connected to a TV without 4k120 support.
“It only occurs if your TV does not properly support 4K120,” Linneman explained. “If it does, then you’re get[ting] full 4K. This is a problem specific to displays that support 120hz input but only at lower resolutions.”
Crimson Desert is already earning a reputation for making players rage-quit due to the challenging opening portion of the game and its confusing tutorial. But players with melting, Kronenberg-esque graphics are obviously going to have an even harder time. If you’re a PS5 player who’s struggling to see the forest or the trees in Crimson Desert, give the 120Hz mode trick a try. It won’t make the game’s tutorial any better, but it’ll certainly make it easier to see which enemies are coming at you.
If you’re still struggling to master Crimson Desert, check out GameSpot’s Crimson Desert guides hub.
