Crimson Desert's lead voice actor says even he didn't know where the story was going during development

Crimson Desert is one of the biggest games out right now, closing in on 5 million sales in under two weeks. It has consistently sat at the top of Steam charts and, after starting with mixed reviews, has climbed to a Very Positive rating. At its core, the game has been a genuine success for Pearl Abyss, with the studio actively working to improve the experience as much as possible based on player feedback.

Where the game stumbles, though, is its story. CEO Heo Jin Young even acknowledged that the studio's focus leaned more toward gameplay, admitting they could have done a better job with the narrative. As it turns out, the confusion players feel about the game's undercooked story isn't limited to those playing it. Even Kliff himself felt the same way.

Alec Newman, the voice behind stoic protagonist Kliff in Crimson Desert, sat down with the Friends Per Second podcast to talk about the creative process behind the character and the journey of bringing him to life. From Alec's words, it is safe to say that it took the game a long time to find its footing.

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"Nearly two years into recording, they sort of said, 'Well, we're going to start recording in earnest now." And I went, 'What the hell do you mean? We've been doing this for ages!" Newman called the experience very different compared to some of his other works. For much of the development, he said, the developers gave him only broad character notes before they got serious about the direction they wanted to take the story. "I kept just saying, 'Yes, but what is happening?" Newman added.

Even the game's core themes took time to come together. The Greymanes and the idea of family, which form the backbone of Crimson Desert's story, weren't clearly defined in the early days of production. "After about two and a half years, they decided they really wanted that to resonate. I don't want to say they started panicking, but they were like, 'Oh yeah, we really want this. We really want Kliff to care about his comrades,' and I said, 'Well, he does, but you haven't written that monologue.'"

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Newman compared working on Crimson Desert to working on a TV series where the focus kept shifting throughout production. That said, he was clearly grateful for the opportunity and has been happy to hear players' reactions to the game's world. He did note, though, that the moments where Kliff could show real depth were fewer than they could have been. "As a Scotsman myself, I know what that means. But it's very, very hard to play 150 hours with somebody who doesn't give anything away ever."

That said, this is not unusual in game development, and it often takes a long time before ideas come to life. The same was the case for Crimson Desert, which, despite its ups and downs with a story that leaves players wanting more, shifts the focus to gameplay, where much of the attention was clearly placed, and it shows.