Crimson Desert’s region of Pywel is vast, a continent brimming with mystery, adventure, and plenty of opportunities to drop enemies with pro wrestling finishers. But what lies beyond the borders of Pywel? Instant death, delivered by 150 metric tons of mammalian adventurer-squashing marine life. From hell’s heart, this whale shall smash thee.
Highlighted by Intelligent-You-7002 on Reddit (via Questlive.in on Instagram), Crimson Desert’s method for keeping players in Pywel is one of the more imaginative invisible walls we’ve seen in gaming lately. We’ve also verified this ourselves–painfully–and you can see the sudden demise of a wayward adventurer in our video below.
The concept isn’t new, as many open-world games use everything from automated turrets to near-instant death to keep players on the golden path, but we’re fairly confident no open-world game has ever used whales to body-slam players out of forbidden territory before.
Now available for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, it feels like players are only just starting to scratch the surface of what’s possible in Crimson Desert. One nifty example is a new use for the Blinding Flash that’s unlocked early in the game, as it can be used to stun enemies and reveal new areas to explore by burning through obtrusive vines. One player discovered that you can also use it to cook meat, adding another layer to its functionality.
After a recent controversy surrounding the use of AI assets in the game, developer Pearl Abyss addressed the situation and said that it is currently busy with a “comprehensive audit” to replace these items after they were “unintentionally included” in the game. The game also received a new update this week to help ease its difficulty, but the main thing that fans are asking for currently is for Crimson Desert to have permanent mounts.