Recent graphical updates for Crimson Desert on PS5 have proven insufficient. The game continues to suffer from severe frame rate issues, particularly after the integration of FSR in its “60 FPS” mode. Publishers notably withheld console review copies before release, leading to a period where only PC version reviews were available online.
PushSquare’s editorial team even opted against reviewing the PC version, purchasing the game on PS5 instead to conduct a fair assessment.
The findings were disappointing: the publication awarded the game a score of 6/10. Key criticisms included:
- Significantly poor performance on PS5;
- Graphical glitches on PS5 Pro;
- A near-complete absence of player quality-of-life features;
- The game often feels like an early access title.
On the base PS5, performance mode exhibits constant screen tearing and an extremely blurry 1080p resolution. While the 30 FPS quality mode offers a more stable image, texture quality remains low. The situation isn’t much better on the PS5 Pro, where frame rates can dip below 20 FPS in large camps.
“PSSR practically grinds to a halt when you’re inside a building, attempting to render light and shadow details against various wall textures. This results in horrific artifacts and distractingly unnatural lighting; even character models take on an unsightly metallic sheen, indicating a severe flaw in the upscaler’s implementation.”
The publication PlayStation Country (also scoring 6/10) similarly criticized the game’s controls and optimization:
“In the fifth chapter, there’s a boss fight where the frame rate on PS5 drops so severely that it becomes unplayable for me.”