Crimson Desert players would like to see more of protagonist Kliff, in a literal sense, as thousands are encouraging developer Pearl Abyss to add options that would allow them to remove visual elements of his armor and one part of his arsenal. It’s been a tough road for Crimson Desert to win players’ approval, but giving them more freedom in determining how Kliff appears on their screens could go a long way.
The release of Crimson Desert on March 19 was met with a sharp divide among players. As one of the most highly anticipated games of 2026, it carried some very lofty expectations. Although Crimson Desert‘s massive sales numbers have helped Pearl Abyss to the tune of a 27.76 percent stock market boost, player reactions at launch mostly fell into two camps, with one deeply invested in the game and the other left voicing criticism of its narrative and combat control scheme, though Pearl Abyss is already hard at work fixing the latter issue.
“One of the Worst Intros of All Time” Crimson Desert Fans Think the Start of the Game Is a Slog
Crimson Desert players come to an agreement that the game’s early hours are a painful slog to get through, with the intro taking forever to finish.
Crimson Desert Players Want More Visual Customization Options for Kliff
With one major problem being handled, a new complaint has arisen to take its place, as thousands of players are now requesting that Pearl Abyss give them the ability to make parts of Kliff’s equipment load transparent, giving them a better view of him as he shows off Crimson Desert‘s combat mechanics. One way in which Pearl Abyss could improve players’ visual experiences is by allowing them to toggle helmets as visible or invisible. This is a feature that countless other games have adopted in order to let players receive the benefits from headwear without blocking out the view of the player character’s face. Some players have reported that they’re already donning and doffing helmets manually, only equipping them just before combat so they can see more of Kliff’s face most of the time, but that’s a tedium that many players could do without.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Easy (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)
Another piece of equipment that some players have requested to see less of is the shield. There is a wide variety of one-handed weapons, two-handed weapons, and even pro wrestling-inspired unarmed fighting in Crimson Desert, with only a fraction of fighting styles requiring or even allowing the use of a shield. Regardless of that fact, Kliff always keeps his shield strapped to his back when it’s not in use, no matter what weapon he has equipped at the time. A lot of players would like to see the shield not be a permanent part of Kliff’s look, with some requesting the ability to unequip it entirely, opening up the possibility of a one-handed sword or axe fighting style that doesn’t rely on a shield for blocking and bashing.
The desire for more freedom in determining what Kliff looks like on the screen probably doesn’t come as a surprise to Pearl Abyss. In the days following the game’s release, many players sounded off about how they would have preferred to create custom characters in Crimson Desert over Kliff, with fans leaving derisive comments about both his generic medieval fantasy look and his silent lack of personality, which doesn’t give players enough insight to form any emotional attachments to him. While players can dress him in a wide variety of impressive armor pieces and unlock a barber shop that allows them to change hair, eyebrow, beard, and even tattoo options, Kliff and the other playable characters, Damiane and Oongka, still don’t have enough visual customization for many Crimson Desert players.
Regardless of whether Pearl Abyss gives in to these requests, Crimson Desert already seems to be headed in the right direction after some early post-launch woes. Despite receiving a slew of negative ratings from players in its first few days, the steady rise of Crimson Desert‘s user reviews on Steam and other platforms shows a positive trend that its developers no doubt wish to see continue improving as time goes by.
- 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
