Crimson Desert's bafflingly convoluted controls are already frustrating players: 'That’s basic f*cking video game functionality'

These days, it's rare to come across a game that feels bad to play. We've reached a point where you can hop into a new game in any established genre and largely be off on your merry way. But then I played Crimson Desert, which sees you fumbling across the keyboard trying to remember the correct combo just to use a fishing rod, open menus, or lock on to an enemy. As our reviewer Mollie Taylor said yesterday, do yourself a favour and just use a controller. It's still got issues, but it's miles better.

Thankfully it's not just me suddenly forgetting how to play games at the ripe old age of 25. In fact, the game's controls are one of the biggest issues I've seen players having so far online. In a post by the ironically named PressureCalm on the game's Reddit, they declare, "Whoever made these controls needs to be fired. Such a good and promising game was completely ruined by some of the worst controls and movement in modern gaming. "

Whoever made these controls needs to be fired from r/CrimsonDesert

While I consider that a bit drastic, I understand the frustration. Kliff is a burly bloke, sure, but he doesn't need to control like a tank, making simple tasks like talking to an NPC or picking up items off the ground a whole ordeal. That's not helped by the fact that you need to hold the button down for what feels like forever before Kliff will grab even one item. "I shouldn't need to spend 12 seconds picking up a handful of potatoes," another commenter writes, and I couldn't agree more.

A common issue I keep running into is jumping up and down when trying to collect ore I've just mined that's slid down a mountain. Why? Because the jump button is the same as the one to grab items and interact with people.

Fuckkkkkkkkkkk these controls from r/CrimsonDesert

In another thread, a player calls Crimson Desert "the big father of [The Legend of Zelda] Skyward Sword on steroids and with 600ms latency," and yeah, that's exactly what it feels like.

It wouldn't be so bad if you could rebind actions—"that’s basic fucking video game functionality," one commenter points out in the original thread. I'd remap sprint and crouch in a heartbeat. Well, I would if you didn't have to awkwardly spam the sprint button like it's GTA.

While exploring the massive map and solving puzzles is by far the most fun you'll have in Crimson Desert, the incredibly janky controls and movement certainly put a damper on it. I can only hope that Pearl Abyss gives the controls a complete overhaul, but maybe that's a tad optimistic.