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[NXGamer] Crimson Desert: PS5 1st Look Technical Analysis

Lunatic_Gamer

Lunatic_Gamer

Member


Crimson Desert had fallen onto PS5 and PC this weekend and made a big splash. Here in the first of my coverage videos I take a ride around the Crimson Desert on base PS5 for a performance review. I put the games 3 modes to test in visual settings, performance, ray tracing and more. Including why the may look blurry on your TV. Lets get into the desert and see what it delivers.
Click to expand...

Chapters
0:00 Introduction and summary of Black Space Engine features and Technology
1:31 Physical disc DRM
4:00 Blurr image, and 120Hz options TVs and how to fix and best settings
6:53 Modes compared and analysed including ray tracing, FX, resolutuon, performance and more
11:00 Performance mode cost, engine bugs noted so far, reductions made and 1st thoughts of Crimson Desert on PS5

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Guardian Monkey said:
They were sent a person with a preloaded pro. 😝 Dude from Korea showed up to John's house, he played the game some then the dude left with it. 😂 😝 😂
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saintjules said:
A person from the dev team flew to John's house with the Pro. But yeah seems it was only that version so far they used from PS5.
Click to expand...
lol what. That's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. Why not just fly them out to you and have them play the game in a normal controlled environment?
 
From what I have seen, looks pretty crap in performance mode. And the Series S is just bad overall. For the base non-S consoles, balanced and quality look decent.
 
Holy hell, Performance Mode looks like absolute fucking shite. Balanced and Quality look alright.

The upgrade on the Pro is huge and one of the biggest differences so far. The more we'll move late into the generation, the more pronounced the differences between the base model and Pro will become. The Pro is very much a modern mid-tier PC in terms of performance. The base model is something from 2020 and it's really starting to show.
 
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Gaiff said:
Holy hell, Performance Mode looks like absolute fucking shite. Balanced and Quality look alright.

The upgrade on the Pro is huge and one of the biggest differences so far. The more we'll move late into the generation, the more pronounced the differences between the base model and Pro will become. The Pro is very much a modern mid-tier PC in terms of performance. The base model is something from 2020 and it's really starting to show.
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Yea pro can definitely hang. I do kinda feel it's a shame that regular 5 owners don't have this for their performance mode.
 
Gaiff said:
Holy hell, Performance Mode looks like absolute fucking shite. Balanced and Quality look alright.

The upgrade on the Pro is huge and one of the biggest differences so far. The more we'll move late into the generation, the more pronounced the differences between the base model and Pro will become. The Pro is very much a modern mid-tier PC in terms of performance. The base model is something from 2020 and it's really starting to show.
Click to expand...
Perf mode on base ps5 has much worse settings compared to quality/balance mode, worse IQ and on top cant hold stable 60 anyways, hell it often dips below 50 even, totally useless imho. Its like woman choosing poor ugly short boyfriend/husband in hopes he at least will be faithful and him cheating on her anwyays :messenger_tears_of_joy: :messenger_tears_of_joy: :messenger_tears_of_joy:


Balanced cant hold stable 40 either and thats even in relatively non taxing small village/town areas , but at least iq and settings are visibly better.

30fps aka quality mode is only one that actually delivers on the promise, settings and iq above balanced mode and stable 30 fps basically all the time make it only proper mode- and lets not forget ps5 is by now 5,5 yo mashine so hard for it to expect running massive open word game at stable 60(or even 40) fps with decent IQ/settings, simply gotta take the safe option of 30 instead.
 
Lunatic_Gamer said:




Chapters
0:00 Introduction and summary of Black Space Engine features and Technology
1:31 Physical disc DRM
4:00 Blurr image, and 120Hz options TVs and how to fix and best settings
6:53 Modes compared and analysed including ray tracing, FX, resolutuon, performance and more
11:00 Performance mode cost, engine bugs noted so far, reductions made and 1st thoughts of Crimson Desert on PS5

200.gif

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200.gif
Click to expand...

🎮 Crimson Desert PS5 Analysis — Insane Tech, But Rough Edges at Launch

So early breakdowns of Crimson Desert are in, and… yeah, this is one of those "technically impressive but messy" launches.

🧠 The Engine Is Carrying HARD

Pearl Abyss' Black Space Engine is doing a LOT:
  • Ray tracing (GI + reflections)
  • Parallax occlusion mapping (POM)
  • Displacement-based terrain detail
  • Massive NPC density in an open world
  • Advanced water physics
  • 4K output modes + VRR / 120Hz container support
👉 This is legitimately one of the most ambitious engines this gen

⚠️ Immediate Problem: "Physical" Copy Isn't Really Physical

  • Disc version requires day-one patch to even boot
  • No offline play without server check
  • Essentially:
    "DRM on a disc"
    Click to expand...
👉 Big preservation red flag

📺 120Hz Confusion (Important)

A LOT of people online are misunderstanding this:
  • Game outputs in a 120Hz container
  • Doesn't mean it runs at 120 FPS
  • Enables:
    • 40 FPS mode (Balanced)
👉 Requires:
  • HDMI 2.1
  • Proper TV settings (Enhanced mode)
  • Correct chroma bandwidth config
Otherwise:
  • You're getting weird image issues / blur complaints

⚙️ The 3 Modes (And Their Reality)


🟢 Quality Mode

  • 4K output (from ~1440p base via FSR3)
  • 30 FPS (mostly stable)
  • Full RT + lighting + AO
👉 Best visual experience overall

🟡 Balanced Mode

  • 4K output (from ~720p base 😬)
  • Targets 40 FPS (120Hz required)
  • Reduced RT + AO + lighting
Issues:
  • Drops into mid-30s frequently
  • Heavy FSR3 artifacts:
    • ghosting
    • shimmer
    • trailing
👉 "Looks sharp… until it moves"

🔴 Performance Mode

  • 1080p base + TAA
  • Targets 60 FPS (fails often)
Major cuts:
  • RT basically gutted
  • AO heavily reduced
  • Geometry + detail downgraded
  • POM removed (flat surfaces)
  • Lighting looks wrong in places
Performance:
  • Bounces between 30–60 FPS
  • CPU + streaming stutter issues
👉 Worst mode by far right now


🧪 Technical Issues Noted

  • ❌ VRR appears broken (tearing still present)
  • ❌ Mode switching bugs (RT can break until restart)
  • ❌ Streaming / CPU bottlenecks
  • ❌ FSR3 artifacts are VERY noticeable
  • ❌ Performance mode lighting looks bugged

💡 Key Takeaways

The Good:

  • Engine tech is elite
  • World simulation is next-gen level
  • Quality mode looks genuinely impressive

The Bad:

  • Optimization clearly rushed
  • Performance mode borderline unacceptable
  • Balanced mode not stable enough
  • DRM decision is controversial

🔮 Future Outlook

  • Patches likely to improve:
    • performance mode
    • stability
    • RT consistency
  • PS5 Pro version (with PSSR2) expected to:
    • massively clean up image quality
    • reduce FSR artifacts

💭 Discussion Bait

  • Is this another "wait for patches" AAA launch?
  • Would you rather:
    • 30 FPS + high fidelity
    • or unstable 40–60 FPS modes?
  • Does DRM-on-disc kill physical collecting for you?
 
Represent. said:
Lmfao performance mode. Ugly as fuck. 60fps trash. Framerate warriors, this is how yall played the game? 😂
Click to expand...
why blame the consumers? this is on the devs for releasing quite possibly the worst looking 60 fps mode ive seen on consoles. i thought high on life 2 was bad but this is something else. absolute garbage.

no wonder they didnt ship any console versions to reviewers or DF. what a shady bunch of people. south koreans have disappointed me. maybe we chose to defend the wrong side.
 
PeteBull said:
30fps aka quality mode is only one that actually delivers on the promise, settings and iq above balanced mode and stable 30 fps basically all the time make it only proper mode- and lets not forget ps5 is by now 5,5 yo mashine so hard for it to expect running massive open word game at stable 60(or even 40) fps with decent IQ/settings, simply gotta take the safe option of 30 instead.
Click to expand...
i think its funny that they simply removed rt from the performance mode just like ac shadows did. meanwhile the worst engine of all time has lumen and nanite running at 60 fps 1080p.
 
SlimySnake said:
why blame the consumers? this is on the devs for releasing quite possibly the worst looking 60 fps mode ive seen on consoles. i thought high on life 2 was bad but this is something else. absolute garbage.

no wonder they didnt ship any console versions to reviewers or DF. what a shady bunch of people. south koreans have disappointed me. maybe we chose to defend the wrong side.
Click to expand...
Oh I absolutely blame the devs here. It shouldn't be this ugly.

However I'm kind of happy it is. Serves the 60fps or nothing console crowd right. Annoying motherfuckers

. They are definitely a company that cares about fidelity, I bet they didn't even want to make a performance mode. But they would have been crucified if they just had one stable, beautiful 30fps mode.

If they focused on one mode , they could have made it perfect.. But no… they need 3 modes. Each one of them a shell of what it could be

I think consoles should just have one, stable, amazing mode
 
Last edited:
Represent. said:
Oh I absolutely blame the devs here. It shouldn't be this ugly.

However I'm kind of happy it is. Serves the 60fps or nothing console crowd right. Annoying motherfuckers

. They are definitely a company that cares about fidelity, I bet they didn't even want to make a performance mode. But they would have been crucified if they just had one stable, beautiful 30fps mode.

If they focused on one mode , they could have made it perfect.. But no… they need 3 modes. Each one of them a shell of what it could be

I think consoles should just have one, stable, amazing mode
Click to expand...
Tags never fails on gaf.
 
Last edited:
RedC said:

🎮 Crimson Desert PS5 Analysis — Insane Tech, But Rough Edges at Launch

So early breakdowns of Crimson Desert are in, and… yeah, this is one of those "technically impressive but messy" launches.

🧠 The Engine Is Carrying HARD

Pearl Abyss' Black Space Engine is doing a LOT:
  • Ray tracing (GI + reflections)
  • Parallax occlusion mapping (POM)
  • Displacement-based terrain detail
  • Massive NPC density in an open world
  • Advanced water physics
  • 4K output modes + VRR / 120Hz container support
👉 This is legitimately one of the most ambitious engines this gen

⚠️ Immediate Problem: "Physical" Copy Isn't Really Physical

  • Disc version requires day-one patch to even boot
  • No offline play without server check
  • Essentially:
👉 Big preservation red flag

📺 120Hz Confusion (Important)

A LOT of people online are misunderstanding this:
  • Game outputs in a 120Hz container
  • Doesn't mean it runs at 120 FPS
  • Enables:
    • 40 FPS mode (Balanced)
👉 Requires:
  • HDMI 2.1
  • Proper TV settings (Enhanced mode)
  • Correct chroma bandwidth config
Otherwise:
  • You're getting weird image issues / blur complaints

⚙️ The 3 Modes (And Their Reality)


🟢 Quality Mode

  • 4K output (from ~1440p base via FSR3)
  • 30 FPS (mostly stable)
  • Full RT + lighting + AO
👉 Best visual experience overall

🟡 Balanced Mode

  • 4K output (from ~720p base 😬)
  • Targets 40 FPS (120Hz required)
  • Reduced RT + AO + lighting
Issues:
  • Drops into mid-30s frequently
  • Heavy FSR3 artifacts:
    • ghosting
    • shimmer
    • trailing
👉 "Looks sharp… until it moves"

🔴 Performance Mode

  • 1080p base + TAA
  • Targets 60 FPS (fails often)
Major cuts:
  • RT basically gutted
  • AO heavily reduced
  • Geometry + detail downgraded
  • POM removed (flat surfaces)
  • Lighting looks wrong in places
Performance:
  • Bounces between 30–60 FPS
  • CPU + streaming stutter issues
👉 Worst mode by far right now


🧪 Technical Issues Noted

  • ❌ VRR appears broken (tearing still present)
  • ❌ Mode switching bugs (RT can break until restart)
  • ❌ Streaming / CPU bottlenecks
  • ❌ FSR3 artifacts are VERY noticeable
  • ❌ Performance mode lighting looks bugged

💡 Key Takeaways

The Good:

  • Engine tech is elite
  • World simulation is next-gen level
  • Quality mode looks genuinely impressive

The Bad:

  • Optimization clearly rushed
  • Performance mode borderline unacceptable
  • Balanced mode not stable enough
  • DRM decision is controversial

🔮 Future Outlook

  • Patches likely to improve:
    • performance mode
    • stability
    • RT consistency
  • PS5 Pro version (with PSSR2) expected to:
    • massively clean up image quality
    • reduce FSR artifacts

💭 Discussion Bait

  • Is this another "wait for patches" AAA launch?
  • Would you rather:
    • 30 FPS + high fidelity
    • or unstable 40–60 FPS modes?
  • Does DRM-on-disc kill physical collecting for you?
Click to expand...

There will be a whole generation that won't be able to read anything if it doesn't have icons to let them know whether the sentence is positive or negative.
 
adamsapple said:
Not in Performance mode on base PS5/SX it isn't.

There, it looks like playing the game after applying a dollop of vaseline on your eyes.

Balanced looks pretty sharp tho.
Click to expand...
Yes it looks bad on ps5 base. I ended up getting it on PC as well and am streaming it via moonlight to my tv with hdr and an 4060 super and its night and day.
 
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