3 days ago
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Published Mar 20, 2026, 10:49 AM EDT
Sluggish and counterintuitive inputs are prompting players to ditch the game entirely
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It's been less than 24 hours since the launch of Crimson Desert, developer Pearl Abyss's follow-up to the wildly successful MMORPG Black Desert Online. And it's safe to say things are off to a rocky start. Reviews have been middling, and its Steam user score has already fallen to "Mixed" after nearly 6,000 reviews. While Crimson Desert already has plenty of admirers, a vocal group of players aren't happy about the game's unusually complex controls, which require multiple inputs for typically straightforward actions, like jumping or talking to an NPC.
"These controls have made it incredibly hard to enjoy as everything seems like a chore. Talking to NPCs should not be this annoying," wrote Steam user Lottie. "Complete garbage," Steam user ¥aeko wrote about Crimson Desert's controls. "This game somehow manages to overcomplicate what Black Desert had, and at the same time deliver less. SO many keys, for so little." Over on X, user ben wrote "Crimson Desert has the worst controls I've experienced in a game. It doesn't click with me. They need to rethink this."
It's telling that one of the most popular posts on the Crimson Desert subreddit is this riff on the Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare "press F to pay respects" meme.
Complexity isn't the only problem players have with Crimson Desert's controls. Some have pointed out significant input lag, where there's a noticeable delay between pressing a button and seeing the action happen on-screen. "Feels like every action happens after button is released. Not pressed," one Reddit user observed in a thread devoted to the game's wonky controls.
In Polygon's review, Marloes Valentina Stella breaks down Crimson Desert's "nightmare" control scheme in comprehensive detail. She writes: "While I'm all for complex control systems that take time to master, it’s only worth mastering control systems that are built on logic and intention. In Crimson Desert, I suspect the most basic interactions were made needlessly confusing to create an illusion of depth. There's really no reason why a single interaction prompt should not be sufficient to cut down a tree, or why a game needs three different mechanics to reach a similar outcome. The only aspect of gaming where an abundance of button combos usually works well is in combat."
At this time, Pearl Abyss has yet to announce any plans to allow players to remap Crimson Desert's controls. But given the widespread backlash, we wouldn't be surprised to see this change rolled out in a future patch.
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