Why Do Players Like Crimson Desert More Than Critics Do?

In this mailbag episode of Triple Click, Jason Schreier, Kirk Hamilton, and Maddy Myers field listener questions about game conventions, the gap between critic and player scores for Crimson Desert, invented video game languages, educational game revivals, console generational shifts, and hypothetical companion characters. The throughline is a sustained reflection on how different audiences—critics, casual players, enthusiasts—experience and evaluate games differently, and how those differences shape everything from review scores to convention attendance to what kind of book a podcast host might write.

The Crimson Desert Divide

A listener named Gray asked about the stark split between Crimson Desert's 77 Metacritic score and its enthusiastic embrace by many players. The hosts dug into why this happens. Jason, who played only an hour before bouncing off, described the game as one that "has every mechanic ever"—flying, gliding, puzzles, souls-like combat, a gigantic open world, endless side quests—but with a "total nothing burger story and main character." The writing felt incoherent, with quest objectives that just appeared without context. Maddy noted that the opening hours are "completely incoherent," with quests like "Go give money to the beggar" appearing with no narrative setup.