The Ringer-Verse ‘Crimson Desert’ Is Like Everything Else and Nothing Else | Button Mash
Mar 18, 2026
Steve Ahlman, senior audio producer known for candid, critical takes on design and onboarding. Matt James, deputy art lead with deep hands-on playtesting insight. They debate Crimson Desert’s mystery, ambition, and visuals. They call out onboarding and UI friction. They compare influences, performance and platform concerns, and trade tips for easing the early hours.
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Forty Minutes To Learn Fishing Controls
- Matt recounts a fishing quest where unclear prompts and missing control cues cost him 40 minutes until he discovered the right hook input.
- That early baffling example exemplifies how small UI omissions make simple tasks tedious.
Discovery-First Design Creates Barriers
- The game hides mechanics and systems until discovery, so players repeatedly encounter new systems (banking, Abyss artifacts) far into play.
- That discovery model delights some players but creates barriers for others.
Puzzles Reward Deduction But Can Mislead
- Puzzles are frequent, often high-difficulty, and rely on game-specific logic; early abyss puzzles particularly lack signposting.
- Players who enjoy tough, obscure puzzles will love it; others may be stymied or resort to online help.