If Crimson Desert appeals to you because it combines a huge fantasy continent, demanding action combat, cinematic quests and freeform exploration, the best next game depends on which part matters most. Elden Ring is the closest choice for dangerous discovery and build experimentation; The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is best for authored stories; Dragon’s Dogma 2 delivers the most tactile, unpredictable journeys; Ghost of Tsushima offers the cleanest cinematic swordplay; and Red Dead Redemption 2 is the strongest slower, immersion-first alternative.
This guide explains the trade-offs instead of treating every open world as interchangeable, so you can choose the game that matches the specific experience you want after Crimson Desert.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
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| 1 |
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Elden Ring (PS5) (European Version) | $34.00 | Buy on Amazon |
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Elden Ring, 1 PS5-Blu-ray Disc | $74.33 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Demon's Souls - PlayStation 5 | $39.45 | Buy on Amazon |
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What makes Crimson Desert distinctive
Crimson Desert is positioned as a vast open-world action-adventure set across the continent of Pywel. Its appeal comes from several systems working together: varied combat, multiple playable characters, quests, NPCs, discoverable locations, ancient puzzles and side activities. That combination creates a broad target for comparisons. One player may be chasing acrobatic fights, while another mainly wants a world large enough to reward unplanned detours.
Pearl Abyss announced a worldwide launch for 19 March 2026. The game is listed for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, Apple Mac, Epic Games Store and ROG Xbox Ally, with both physical and digital releases shown on the PlayStation listing. The recommendations below compare design and atmosphere rather than promising identical platforms or editions; check the current store page for the version available to you.
#1 Best Overall
- Collaborating with George R.R. Martin to create the ELDEN RING mythos has been a genuinely delightful experience and a source of wonderful inspiration. The team is working hard to ensure that the world of ELDEN RING will be a fascinating place for players to explore, filled with peril and wonder from its furthest reaches to its lowest depths. This is a FromSoftware title through and through, rich in fantasy and RPG action. We sincerely hope you look forward to it.
- Building the world of ELDEN RING with Miyazaki-san and his team was a treat! The graphics, mythos, and action-RPG gameplay will deliver an unforgettable experience. I can’t wait for people to see what ELDEN RING has in store for them.” Said George R.R. Martin.
“Reclaim power and reach beyond in an ambitious new open-world action-adventure.” — PlayStation, Crimson Desert product page
Quick comparison
| Game | Best fit | Main similarity to Crimson Desert | Main difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elden Ring | Players who want challenging exploration and build freedom | A large world that rewards detours, hidden routes and difficult encounters | Less cinematic and less quest-directed |
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | Players who prioritize story, dialogue and character depth | A huge fantasy map filled with authored quests and consequential discoveries | Combat is less acrobatic |
| Dragon’s Dogma 2 | Players who want physical, emergent combat | Exploration, climbing and unpredictable encounters can create personal stories | More class-and-party-driven |
| Ghost of Tsushima | Players seeking polished cinematic swordplay | Responsive melee combat, stealth options and a carefully presented open world | Grounded samurai theme rather than broad fantasy creatures and systems |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | Players who value realism, travel and a living world | Emergent encounters and detailed environments make simply moving through the map meaningful | Much slower and not a mechanical match for rapid fantasy combat |
Choose by the part of Crimson Desert you want to keep
- Most demanding discovery: Elden Ring.
- Most substantial narrative payoff: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
- Most physical and unpredictable encounters: Dragon’s Dogma 2.
- Most focused sword-fighting presentation: Ghost of Tsushima.
- Most convincing everyday world: Red Dead Redemption 2.
The rest of the guide explains how those labels translate into moment-to-moment play, including where each recommendation deliberately diverges from Crimson Desert.
Elden Ring: best for challenging exploration
Why it is the clearest match
Choose Elden Ring when the heart of Crimson Desert for you is leaving the main road, finding something unexpected and deciding whether you are prepared to fight it. Its open world is built around discovery and difficult encounters rather than a constantly signposted checklist. The result is a strong sense of personal route-making: a side path can become a new objective, a dangerous opponent can force you to rethink your approach, and experimentation with different builds remains central to progression.
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This is the recommendation for players who want the world itself to create tension. You are not simply moving between quest markers; you are reading the environment, judging risk and deciding when to return with a different setup. That structure complements the exploratory side of Pywel without requiring every discovery to be explained immediately.
What feels different
Elden Ring is less cinematic and less quest-directed than Crimson Desert. Its storytelling is more willing to leave context implicit, and its major objectives may not arrive with the same direct presentation as a character-led action adventure. If you expect a tightly staged sequence of set pieces, the game can feel deliberately opaque.
Combat is also the punishing option in this list. Difficulty is not a short segment around a handful of bosses; it is part of how the world communicates danger. Treat defeat as information about timing, positioning or preparation rather than as evidence that exploration was a mistake.
Pick it if
- You enjoy learning enemy patterns and accepting repeated attempts.
- You want freedom to experiment with character builds.
- You prefer environmental discovery to a heavily guided quest order.
- You want the most challenging interpretation of open-world exploration in this group.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: best for story and character depth
Why it fits narrative-first players
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the strongest alternative when your favorite part of Crimson Desert is the promise of a densely written world populated by memorable people. Its huge fantasy map is organized around authored quests, dialogue and long-running character relationships. Detours are valuable not only because they reveal new places, but because they deliver narrative consequences and emotional payoff.
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The game suits players who want an open world with a strong sense of authorship. You can still wander, but the most distinctive experiences come from following stories that develop over multiple encounters. Decisions, conversations and local problems give individual regions their identity, making the map feel like more than a set of combat arenas.
What feels different
Its combat is less acrobatic than Crimson Desert’s. If you are looking for rapid movement, spectacle and a highly physical action sandbox, this is a change of emphasis. The reward is a deeper focus on dialogue, investigation and quest structure.
The most useful physical-product wording is The Witcher 3 Complete Edition, which groups the core game with its major expansion content. Edition names and availability can vary by platform and region, so confirm the contents before buying.
Pick it if
- You remember the characters and conversations in a game more than its fastest fights.
- You want a large map where side quests can carry the weight of main-story content.
- You prefer a directed narrative arc inside an open world.
- You are comfortable trading acrobatic combat for written depth.
Dragon’s Dogma 2: best for tactile, emergent combat
Why its encounters feel personal
Dragon’s Dogma 2 is the best choice when you want the physicality of an encounter to matter. Climbing or grappling with enemies, improvising with a party and reacting to situations that do not unfold exactly as planned can turn a routine journey into a story you remember. That emphasis overlaps with Crimson Desert’s promise that exploration and combat are connected rather than isolated activities.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsIts seamless world supports a different kind of discovery from Elden Ring. The surprise often comes from how a group, enemy or terrain feature interacts with your current situation. A fight can change because of positioning, party behavior or an opportunity you notice in the environment.
Rank #3
- Discover where the journey began - Experience the original brutal challenge, completely remade from the ground up. All presented in stunning visual quality with enhanced performance, this is the world of Boletaria as you have never seen it before.
- Become the Slayer of Demons - Venture to the northern kingdom of Boletaria – a once prosperous land of knights, now beset with unspeakable creatures and ravenous demons. Meet strange characters, unhinged and twisted by the world around them, and unravel the unsettling story of Demon’s Souls.
- Face the world’s greatest warriors in ferocious PVP combat - With online invasions adding to the danger of your quest. Or play cooperatively by summoning allies to aid in your fight against the demons. Active PS Plus subscription required for online multiplayer.
What feels different
The structure is more class-and-party-driven. Instead of treating the hero as a single universal combatant, the game asks you to think about roles, companions and coordinated improvisation. That can make preparation and party composition as important as individual reflexes.
If you want every fight to be a clean solo duel, this may feel less focused. If you enjoy adapting to messy encounters and letting companions contribute to the outcome, the difference is a major strength.
Pick it if
- You want enemies that can be climbed, grappled with or physically manipulated.
- You enjoy party-based improvisation rather than a purely solo structure.
- You like journeys that generate stories through unexpected events.
- You value tactile interaction more than tightly choreographed presentation.
Ghost of Tsushima: best for cinematic swordplay
Why it works for combat-focused players
Ghost of Tsushima is the focused recommendation for readers who want responsive sword duels wrapped in a polished cinematic presentation. Its open world supports both direct combat and stealth, giving you more than one way to approach an objective while maintaining a clear thematic identity.
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What feels different
The setting is grounded in samurai history and presentation rather than a fantasy continent populated by a wide range of creatures. That makes it a closer match for grounded melee combat than for Crimson Desert’s larger systemic sandbox.
Exploration is present, but the experience is more tightly curated. You should choose it for the quality of its swordplay, stealth options and cinematic pacing, not because it reproduces every type of side activity or fantasy encounter.
Pick it if
- You want sword fights that feel immediate and readable.
- You like switching between stealth and open confrontation.
- You prefer a coherent historical theme over a mixed fantasy bestiary.
- You want an open world with a strongly directed cinematic tone.
Red Dead Redemption 2: best for world immersion
Why it belongs on the list
Red Dead Redemption 2 is the tonal alternative rather than the mechanical one. Choose it when what you really want from Crimson Desert is the feeling of inhabiting a world: traveling through detailed environments, noticing small changes and allowing unscripted encounters to interrupt your plans.
Its strength is realism-first immersion. Movement, travel and everyday activities have more weight than they would in a rapid fantasy action game. The world can feel active even when you are not pursuing a major mission, which makes an unplanned ride or roadside encounter part of the experience rather than empty time between objectives.
What feels different
The pace is substantially slower, and the combat is not a substitute for fast, acrobatic fantasy fighting. The game asks for patience and attention to place. If you want constant mobility, spectacular abilities or a dense chain of combat challenges, another recommendation will fit better.
Its value is in accumulation: travel, observation and emergent events gradually build a convincing sense of life. That makes it a useful choice for players who describe Crimson Desert as an exploration fantasy but are less concerned with matching its combat systems.
Pick it if
- You enjoy slow travel and environmental detail.
- You prefer realism and believable routines to overt fantasy spectacle.
- You want emergent encounters to interrupt a planned route.
- You are willing to trade combat speed for immersion.
How the five games differ by play style
| Priority | Best choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Combat difficulty | Elden Ring | The world is built around dangerous encounters and repeated learning. |
| Quest and character writing | The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | Authored stories, dialogue and character depth drive the experience. |
| Physical, emergent encounters | Dragon’s Dogma 2 | Climbing, grappling and party improvisation can reshape a fight. |
| Cinematic melee | Ghost of Tsushima | Responsive swordplay and stealth are presented with a polished dramatic focus. |
| World simulation and travel | Red Dead Redemption 2 | Realism, movement and unscripted events make the world itself the attraction. |
A practical decision path
- Start with your tolerance for difficulty. If challenging fights and repeated attempts sound exciting, start with Elden Ring. If you want a gentler entry into open-world action, consider the story-led or cinematic options instead.
- Decide whether quests or systems matter more. Choose The Witcher 3 for dialogue and authored consequences; choose Dragon’s Dogma 2 for physical systems and improvised party play.
- Choose your preferred tone. Ghost of Tsushima keeps the focus on grounded samurai drama. Red Dead Redemption 2 moves further toward historical realism and slow-burn immersion.
- Set expectations about direction. The more you want the game to tell you where to go and why it matters, the better The Witcher 3 or Ghost of Tsushima will fit. The more you want to make your own route, the stronger Elden Ring becomes.
- Check your platform and edition. Crimson Desert is listed for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, Apple Mac, Epic Games Store and ROG Xbox Ally, with physical and digital releases. Availability, editions and stock for the other games vary, so verify the current listing for your hardware and region.
Common mismatches to avoid
- Expecting Elden Ring to explain itself like a cinematic adventure. Its exploratory design is intentionally less quest-directed.
- Choosing The Witcher 3 for acrobatic combat. Its advantage is narrative density, not matching every movement option.
- Assuming Dragon’s Dogma 2 is a solo duel simulator. Party roles and emergent interactions are fundamental to its identity.
- Treating Ghost of Tsushima as a full fantasy sandbox. It is a tighter, grounded swordplay experience.
- Starting Red Dead Redemption 2 when you want constant action. Its slower pace and realism are the point, not a defect to be bypassed.
Which game should you play first?
For the closest overall substitute for the exploratory challenge implied by Crimson Desert, start with Elden Ring. It preserves the feeling that a large world can hide danger and reward curiosity, while giving you extensive room to experiment with builds.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchChoose The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt instead if your priority is to become invested in characters and quest outcomes. Pick Dragon’s Dogma 2 when the most exciting part of the idea is physical, unpredictable combat with companions. Ghost of Tsushima is the targeted choice for elegant swordplay and cinematic delivery, while Red Dead Redemption 2 is the deliberate change of pace for players who value a living world above fantasy-combat speed.
Quick Recap
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