The continent of Pywel, beautiful and brutal, where Kliff sets out to restore what was lost.

Look at the detail, criterion by criterion, and the tension jumps out. Art direction places Crimson Desert ahead of 92% of all games, right at the top, on two duels already, the firmest signal of the bunch. But next to it, controller feel and soundtrack drop to the bottom, ahead of barely a quarter of titles, while rediscovery stays in the middle. It all rests on one or two duels per criterion, so take it as provisional. Still, the gap already says something: a world that dazzles the eye before the controller or the music have made their case.

In open-world action-adventure, this is a tech-showcase profile, this studio knows how to paint panoramas that leave a mark. Whether the in-game feel keeps up with the spectacle remains to be seen.

So, who is it for? For you if you pick your games for what they put on screen, landscapes that stay with you. Much less if your first criterion is how it feels with a controller and a soundtrack that sweeps you along.