At first glance, the mechanics may seem simple, as it is based on what we have seen in all the games of the genre: blocking, dodging, counterattack system, strong blow and light blow. But the title takes this combination to a completely different place, as it integrates a system similar to the one we can find in Black Desert Online when it comes to launching skills, known as “super armor” and “iframe”.
In the first case we have a protected ability, which will allow enemies to hurt us but will not cut off our character’s animation, allowing us to launch a devastating attack to finish them off. On the other hand we have the iframe system, which basically offers the player the ability to become immune while casting a long ability that cannot be cancelled, such as character grabs and throws.
How combat works in detail
As we have explained, the fundamental idea of combat is to offer the player the ability to attack, defend and dodge, but by including skills that have both aspects we mentioned above, the game becomes much more versatile. Firstly, we have the simple hits, which are the legendary R1 and R2, light and forceful, while we can also dodge, run, jump and even kick our enemy to cut off their animation and destabilize them.
Like many other games, Crimson Desert It has a perfect blocking system, as well as a series of skills that we will not be able to completely block since they will completely drain our stamina bar and leave us completely exposed by having an animation in which we will see the character exhausted.
But this is where what we have previously called “super armor” comes in, and these combos will allow us to receive reduced damage from enemies but being able to attack them instantly after finishing the skill.
To all this we must add the grab system, which will allow us to grab a medium-sized enemy (including humanoid bosses of the same height as our character) and throw it to the ground with an attack that will leave it immobile for a while, enough time to land a blow that will practically finish it off.
This is what the boss experience is like in the new Pearl Abyss game
In almost every game that features an action combat system of this type, we can find a very important mechanic, the boss system that will stand in our way to continue the story. We have been able to see four of what will be the strongest enemies in the game, a swordsman who is extremely fast (Reed Demon), a kind of Viking who is incredibly strong (Stag King), a Yeti-like monster that has devastating attacks (Whitehorn) and a giant stone hermit crab (Rockcrab Queen).
The first boss mentioned had mechanics in which it was necessary to try to find the perfect moment to hit or grab him, since after hitting him the enemy disappeared in a cloud of smoke. The second boss is a little easier for those who are used to games like Dark Souls, since it is based on dodging and performing attacks when he does not have the shield raised, since this will make him counterattack us.
On the other hand, the third boss can be a bit tricky if we don’t use the “super armor” system, since with just one hit he’ll send us flying through the air and take away quite a bit of our life (the character’s Ragdoll animations are quite funny). And finally we have the hermit crab, a boss in which it is necessary to look for certain vulnerabilities in order to remove his armor and finish him off.
What makes Crimson Desert a unique game
There are plenty of titles that try to achieve original combat with extremely fluid gameplay, but not too many that manage to make combat that is a little more difficult than normal fun. Crimson Desert It’s a game that manages to mix all of these elements and offer the player a truly new experience. We were able to try out the PS5 version, and although it still needs some polishing, after an hour of testing we can say that it felt like only ten minutes had passed.
The game is entertaining and we are looking forward to seeing how its open world will be presented, since so far we have only been able to try out some bosses without being able to explore the map.