Kliff actor wanted cohesive Crimson Desert story, but devs prioritized open-world gameplay

In Crimson Desert, gamers can spend hours exploring the vast open world of Pywel. Still, players expecting a structured narrative may struggle to follow the plot. In a new interview, the actor playing the hero Kliff reveals how he lobbied for a more coherent Crimson Desert story.

Alec Newman appeared on a Friends Per Second podcast, as discussed by This Week in Video Games. He confirms rumors that the jumbled narrative didn’t take shape until long after Pearl Abyss began development. Newman explains, “In fact, for the first year and a half or so, it was just a demo as far as I knew.”

When Kliff's recordings finally started, the lack of direction in the Crimson Desert story became obvious. Newman expressed his frustration, asking for his character’s motivation to be more clearly defined. Eventually, the developers focused on the Greymanes mercenary group. The actor believes that the “idea of family and trying to bring something back together” is the heart of the game.

Kliff's robotic persona

As reviews have noted, varied open-world gameplay overshadows that theme. Gamers find themselves consumed by activities that have no connection to a central campaign. While completing these tasks, Kliff appears as a stoic figure that players guide around Pywel. Newman recognized that the character seems detached and requested adding more humorous lines.

The Friends Per Second interview legitimizes earlier leaks from two Pearl Abyss developers. On the Bind social network, they divulged how the plot wasn’t finalized until shortly before the Crimson Desert release date. Like Newman, the employees wanted the quality of the writing to be given higher priority.

In a recent investor Q&A session, the studio's CEO, Heo Jin-young, commented on the criticized storyline. He said, “I think it would have been nice if we could have done a better job with it.” Nevertheless, Jin-young is proud of Pywel’s massive scope and the deep gameplay that has contributed to rising player counts.