This one small mod makes Crimson Desert a must-buy game

I'm not one to download mods on a first playthrough. It feels like heresy. Even if a game is dreadful, it feels like I'm insulting the developers by downloading a mod and trampling all over their intentions with third-party alterations. Crimson Desert in its native form isn't going to make many lists of the best RPGs, but I gave it my all, and after a few hours, I got so frustrated that I broke my rules - and I'm glad I did.

Crimson Desert has received a mixed reception from critics and general audiences alike, but in reality. It's not absolutely terrible, just okay. The story takes a back seat for some solid gameplay, and specifically, its excellent combat system. It has more flair than substance, even if the combos do give it a lot of depth in style. Visually, it's stunning, but there's one hurdle I kept stumbling on: the stamina system.

Where The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild uses stamina as a limitation that makes the world feel bigger than it actually is, and Elden Ring throws away stamina between fights, Crimson Desert highly limits you to the point it feels purposefully annoying. Early on, gliding feels like it wasn't intended as an option, chewing away at that stamina at a pace that even Sonic would think was too fast. Kliff stumbles around like an old smoker, running for about five seconds before falling flat on his face. It makes the intro period even more frustrating, alongside the bizarre sequence of events that the narrative pretends to offer.

I had had enough. I quit the game and turned to Nexus Mods to find any solution that could make things even a little easier for me. Luckily, I found this simple mod that only runs 200KB in total, and which gives me infinite stamina. A quick two-second download later (plus a few moments finding my game folder) and I booted up Crimson Desert again. I was hopeful; I was praying it would work well.

And it did. Crimson Desert's open-ended freedom is highly limited by the stamina mechanic, so removing that frustration allows me, and now you, to enjoy Pywel without wanting to dive into a Black Bear's sword. Jumping off Howling Hill after establishing the new Greymanes camp and then gliding across without worry or concern massively improves it. I went from tearing my hair out to thoroughly enjoying my time.

Of course, it's not perfect. Bizarre fetch quests that you see go back and forth, regular crashes, visual glitches, and the aforementioned backseating of the narrative do still dampen the experience, which is a shame because I was very optimistic about this game pre-launch. However, there's no denying that this mod has changed my mind about Crimson Desert, so much so that I actively recommend it now, especially to gameplay-first players.

If you're looking to buy a copy, I'd recommend grabbing it from Fanatical for $59.49 / £46.74 at Fanatical, using the code 'FANATICAL15' to get a 15% discount. If you were thinking of getting it, you may as well get it cheaper.

I'd love to stay around and chat, but in all honesty, I have a lot of things to sort out in Pywel, so I'm going to dive into Crimson Desert now. I already have over 20 hours in just a week since launch (that's a lot for me, okay?), and I can't wait to spend more time in it.