On the surface, Crimson Desert and GTA 6 might not have a lot in common. Tonally, that’s correct, as the two titles go for very different vibes and settings in their story, visuals, and art styles. But beauty is only skin-deep, as they say, and as I look a little deeper beneath the surface, I can’t help but feel like they’re going to have a few similarities.
With GTA 6 quite a long while away from its final release, I began to wonder if Crimson Desert could allow me to muster a bit of patience, leading me to think about how very different titles have more in common than you’d think. For starters, they feature multiple playable characters in a seamless open world that has a lot to do and discover in it.
Their stories are meant to be engrossing while their worlds are meant to be distracting, pulling you in a different direction than the one you intended to take when you settle down for some playtime. It’s a design philosophy that we’ve seen quite often over the years, with GTA 5 being quite a good showcase of how that formula works.
It’s quite simple, really. Just give players a massive world to explore, and all the agency they need to craft their own journey to the narrative’s climax, making fond memories along the way. It’s worked very well before, and with Crimson Desert all set for a March 2026 release, I believe that Pywell is quite an acceptable destination to live out my RPG fantasies while I wait for GTA 6 to drop after years of waiting for it.
Perhaps you’re not convinced? That’s all right. Allow me to take you through why I believe Crimson Desert is going to be a balm for my impatience in what is now the final leg of a long wait for Rockstar’s upcoming blockbuster release.
The Size and Scope of Pywell
Everything I’ve seen of Crimson Desert so far, recent showcases included, points to Pywell being an absolutely ginormous map. With five distinct regions, each with its own underlying theme and residents that reflect those themes, I can already see myself spending hours losing myself in its biomes, hunting down objective after objective while Klyff’s narrative adventure takes a backseat.
That’s already an open world that wins in my book, and the sheer amount of cool things to do in Pywell already has me cracking my knuckles in preparation for some very long gaming sessions next month. The traversal mechanics look sublime, and getting to ride a horse, glide on your own wings (sort of), or hop onto a massive dragon to soar across the lands gives me the impression that they’re all there to ensure that we’re less likely to miss out on all that this mysterious land has to offer.
It takes me back to GTA 5 and the way in which we always had a vehicle at our disposal, and could choose to obtain one based on the situation at hand. Need a quick way to weave between vehicles on the road? Get your hands on a motorcycle. Need to take to the skies for a mission? You could get your hands on a plane, no problems. I don’t see why GTA 6 could be any different, and that’s the first intersection I could think of when it came to comparing it with Crimson Desert.
In both titles, traversing the massive world you’re let loose in isn’t a matter of spectacle, or the need to add something in just because it’s cool. They’re effective tools to convey scale, and ways to give players a means of transport that would suit their tastes, or perhaps their needs in any given situation. They’re also a way to encourage exploring the world without a plan, letting the thrill of discovery become its own reward aside from useful items and loot that could enhance your character’s abilities.
But a massive world can feel very empty if there wasn’t a lot of meaningful stuff to do in it. Klyff is going to be stretched thin during his time in Pywell if the showcases are any indication. There are Greymanes to track down, old comrades to assist, areas to liberate, rival factions to contend with, activities like fishing and the like, old ruins to explore, and the Abyss and its mysteries to uncover.
Once again, GTA 6 is poised to take a similar approach, letting its players loose in a world where they can choose to do anything they decide to do. Like GTA 5, I’m almost certain that the city we’re set to explore comes with so much to do it can be hard to believe that a duo (or a trio, perhaps?) of characters are capable of tackling it all.
When seen through that lens, it’s easy to see how Pywell can be a suitable placebo for the impatient explorer in me who simply can’t wait to see what shenanigans Lucia and Jason get up to in Leonida. And that brings me to another area of similarity between GTA and Crimson Desert: the inclusion of multiple playable characters.
Experiencing the Greymane Saga
The reveal that Klyff was not the only Greymane I would be playing as in Crimson Desert had me over the moon. I love open worlds that have different people exploring them, the potential for variety and crafting varying builds being a huge draw for me.
GTA 5’s trio of protagonists were so distinct from each other, their personalities often clashing over the course of the story, while switching between them was quite seamless and also fun as you never knew where your character was going to be when you made the switch. Although that title’s combat left little room for variation thanks to the franchise’s more grounded setting, I liked that I could get creative with their loadouts and inject a bit of variance into my experience.
It worked simply because characters were not just different skins of one main protagonist. Crimson Desert might fall flat if its playable characters are too similar to Klyff but that isn’t the case. His companions are already showing off their own unique ways to get across Pywell while their combat abilities seem distinct enough to make them stand out from Klyff quite significantly.
I’m expecting that while their traversal animations might be different, the principles are going to be the same. However, I do think that their combat potential and areas that can only be explored by one or the other are going to be a part of the experience, making them feel distinct and perhaps even making me care about their stories too.
I’m hopeful that the game’s enemy and boss designs reflect their unique skill sets, making a few of them easier to tackle if you choose to take them on as a character other than Klyff. Although the developer has asserted that the main story is going to revolve around Klyff for the most part, I’m still excited to see if the three-pronged approach to its protagonist is going to be handled as well as it was in GTA 5.
GTA 6 already has two playable characters, and is likely going to let you switch between them at will as it wouldn’t make sense not to. It’s another thing that it shares in common with Crimson Desert, and is a factor that’s going to be a part of me enjoying another important facet of both experiences: the combat.
A Fight for Survival
We know that Jason and Lucia are going to have their backs to the wall in GTA 6, which obviously leads to a lot of sticky situations where diplomacy might not be enough to save their hides. But can GTA’s more grounded take on combat involving guns find common ground with Crimson Desert’s fantasy trappings? Yes, as it turns out.
Klyff might not rely on guns and grenade launchers for the most part, although the mech that was showcased recently has me wondering if Pywell is more technologically advanced than it’s letting on. We also know that building Klyff’s arsenal and skill set is going to be a journey on its own, with the freedom to mix and match your abilities to suit your own playstyle.
The two games might be wildly different in the tools you’re given to deal with your opposition, but the underlying principle is a common factor. They’re about starting from scratch and building your characters in a way that makes sense to you. That’s always a joy to behold in games that get it right and Crimson Desert looks like it’s giving you all the tools you need and more to make the most of its combat system.
It’s a great way to scratch the RPG itch that’s already beginning to set in as the days go slowly by until it’s finally time to travel to Leonida in November.
Different Games, Similar Aims
On paper, Crimson Desert and GTA 6 look like wildly different titles among the best of what 2026 has to offer. But look beyond their thematic influences and you see design philosophies that aim to present a very specific type of experience.
While I’m cautiously optimistic about Crimson Desert, I do think it’s a viable stop-gap solution for fans who can’t wait for GTA 6. It might even stand out as a fantasy-themed take on Rockstar’s own gameplay loop if the developer has indeed cooked as well as it seems to have done.
They’re both games that are going to have us pouring hours into them once we set foot into their worlds, after all. I’m excited for both of them, and I can’t wait to take on whatever Pywell has to offer over the course of this year. But for now, I must be content with patiently crossing the days off my calendar until I can join Klyff’s effort to rebuild the Greymanes.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
