Crimson Desert dev says it 'takes time' to get used to the game's notoriously clunky controls, but advises players to 'think of it like riding a bike, it comes naturally after you learn it'

Crimson Desert dev says it ‘takes time’ to get used to the game’s notoriously clunky controls, but advises players to ‘think of it like riding a bike, it comes naturally after you learn it’ | PC Gamer Skip to main content Open menu Close main menu PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES US Edition UK US Canada Australia Subscribe Sign in View Profile Sign out Search Search PC Gamer Games Hardware News Reviews Guides Video Forum More PC Gaming Show PC Gamer Clips Software Codes Coupons Movies & TV Magazine Newsletter Affiliate links Meet the team Community guidelines About PC Gamer PC Gamer Magazine SubscriptionWhy subscribe?Subscribe to the world’s #1 PC gaming magTry a single issue or save on a subscriptionIssues delivered straight to your door or device From$1Subscribe now Don’t miss these Action Crimson Desert’s bafflingly convoluted controls are already frustrating players: ‘That’s basic f*cking video game functionality’ Action Do yourself a favour in Crimson Desert and play the game with a controller Action Crimson Desert launches to 239,000 players on Steam but ‘Mixed’ reviews, and it’s mostly because of how dense and cryptic the whole thing is Action Crimson Desert review: The Forza Horizon of action RPGs Action Crimson Desert guide: Tips, puzzle solutions, bosses, and confusing UI explained Action After 6 hours, Crimson Desert is one of the most overwhelming, chaotic, madcap videogames I’ve ever played—and I’m hungry for more Action If there’s one thing I’ve learned playing Crimson Desert for 75 hours, it’s that you should absolutely treat this game as a slow burn Action Here are 9 incredibly specific and petty beefs I have with Crimson Desert Action Crimson Desert has the most diabolical lock and key system I’ve ever seen Action Pearl Abyss announces Crimson Desert has sold more than 2 million copies in less than 24 hours, promises to ‘work to make improvements quickly’ Action After whiffing its release date by 5 years, Crimson Desert is putting out oodles of preview stuff as ‘We never want to be accused of hiding anything, because we have a lot of ground to make up’ Action Pragmata’s devs urge players to test out the demo beforehand to figure out whether controller or mouse and keyboard is best for them: ‘There are some people who find keyboard and mouse too tricky’ RPG Crimson Desert is the most hyped game I’ve seen in a minute Action How to use Blinding Flash in Crimson Desert Action Crimson Desert deluxe and pre-order special items are inaccessible for some, but Pearl Abyss is working on a fix PopularNEW: PC Gamer Clips!MarathonGDCBest PC gearQuizzes Games RPG Crimson Desert Crimson Desert dev says it ‘takes time’ to get used to the game’s notoriously clunky controls, but advises players to ‘think of it like riding a bike, it comes naturally after you learn it’ News By Andy Chalk published 20 March 2026 Practice makes perfect, eventually. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Pearl Abyss) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter PC Gamer Get the PC Gamer Newsletter Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday GamesRadar+ Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you’re going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. 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From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we’ve got you covered. Signup + Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Signup + An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter One of the more common complaints you’re likely to hear about Crimson Desert are to do with its controls, which some folks just don’t care for. Folks like, for instance, PC Gamer’s Rory Norris, who called the game’s control scheme “bafflingly convoluted.” Or Morgan Park, who said the game’s “true boss battle is wrangling its controls.” Or Mollie Taylor, our reviewer, who said you should use a controller instead of a keyboard because it sucks less (real ringing endorsement there), but warned that you’re probably going to end up accidentally punching your horse in the head a whole bunch anyway.You’ll find much the same on Reddit, although without the editorial constraint, which means you get succinct analysis like “absolute dog shit” and “whoever made these controls needs to be fired.” Yeah, it’s rough out there.One person who thinks the controls are just fine, though, is Will Powers, PR and marketing director for Crimson Desert developer Pearl Abyss.Article continues below You may like Crimson Desert’s bafflingly convoluted controls are already frustrating players: ‘That’s basic f*cking video game functionality’ Do yourself a favour in Crimson Desert and play the game with a controller Crimson Desert launches to 239,000 players on Steam but ‘Mixed’ reviews, and it’s mostly because of how dense and cryptic the whole thing is “Think of it like riding a bike, it comes naturally after you learn it,” Powers wrote on X (via GamesRadar) in response to a user who said the game needs simpler controls. “Just takes a minute.”In a follow-up, he clarified that he agrees about the controls, but was just “saying that it takes time to learn, but it comes naturally after you do.” (Image credit: Will Powers (Twitter))You’d expect Powers to defend Crimson Desert’s controls—he works on the game, after all—but he’s not entirely alon