‘No Mode Is Properly Optimised on Base PS5’: Crimson Desert’s Console Performance a ‘Mixed Bag’

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Crimson Desert is a remarkably ambitious game, and it’s commendable for how far it tries to take open world game design.

As we mentioned in our review of Crimson Desert for PS5, the game has some performance issues on both the standard PS5 and the PS5 Pro. While these problems likely won’t completely spoil the fun for most players, it’s disappointing that such a captivating game is held back by them.

Digital Foundry’s newest video clearly shows the performance problems with Crimson Desert on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. Their detailed analysis reveals that the game doesn’t run as smoothly as players would hope.

The review immediately notes that the PS5’s three graphics options all have drawbacks.

Performance Mode aims for a smooth 60 frames per second, but it often experiences dips in frame rate. The image also appears blurry due to the game rendering at a 1080p resolution.

So, Pearl Abyss added a 4K option in the latest update, which is cool. Digital Foundry tested it and said it actually does make the game look better. But, heads up, it really tanks your frame rate. Basically, prettier graphics come at a performance cost.

It’s clear that Pearl Abyss didn’t bother to optimize the game to run at a smooth 60 frames per second on the standard PlayStation 5, which is a disappointing beginning.

“The reality is that no mode is properly optimised on the base PS5,” the review continues.

The review highlights several visual problems present in all three graphics settings—Performance, Balanced, and Quality. These include noticeable shimmering on reflective surfaces like water and flawed shadows indoors. Overall, the experience is described as inconsistent and uneven.

While Quality mode could offer the best visuals on regular consoles, it limits the game to 30 frames per second. Reviewers noticed a definite improvement in graphics, particularly in how characters look.

Balanced mode aims for a steady 40 frames per second, but you’ll need a display that supports VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) to get the most out of it.

All three gameplay modes experience occasional slowdowns and visual problems. Because of this, Digital Foundry found that there was always some kind of negative trade-off.

The PS5 Pro, Sony’s more powerful new console, offers a significant improvement in graphics thanks to its upgraded graphics processing unit (GPU) and a new, enhanced upscaling technology called PSSR 2.

The Pro’s Performance mode delivers graphics quality similar to the standard PS5’s Quality mode—highlighting just how much more visually impressive Crimson Desert looks on the higher-end console.

Despite improvements, the game’s performance still isn’t ideal. Our testing shows that the biggest issue is the CPU, which struggles to keep up. This is especially noticeable in crowded areas like towns and cities, or during intense moments, where the frame rate can drop dramatically – sometimes by as much as 50%.

This technical issue is hard to resolve without significant improvements to the game’s performance, and it’s unclear if Pearl Abyss will invest the necessary effort for console players.

Digital Foundry doesn’t suggest using the PlayStation Pro’s Quality mode, as it only runs at 30 frames per second and doesn’t offer much improvement over other visual settings.

For the best gaming experience, a VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) display is highly recommended. If you turn off v-sync and set the refresh rate to 120Hz in Performance mode, you can achieve very high frame rates, potentially up to 105 frames per second.

However, even with the frame rate unlocked, significant performance drops still occur due to the CPU. In fact, unlocking the frame rate might actually make these drops more noticeable, as the difference between smooth gameplay and these dips becomes more extreme.

Even on the PS5 Pro, noticeable frame rate drops happen in all graphics modes. While Balanced and Quality modes aren’t severely affected, they still experience occasional dips, which leads to the biggest issue highlighted in our review…

According to Digital Foundry, Pearl Abyss appears to be avoiding truly optimizing the game by simply offering a lot of different settings instead.

Although the PS5 Pro is clearly the best option for playing Crimson Desert, the game still has several performance issues that need to be fixed.

Pearl Abyss has shown a commitment to rapidly improving the game based on player feedback. Hopefully, after fixing the biggest problems with how the game plays, they’ll focus on making it run better on PlayStation 5 and PS5 Pro.

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2026-04-01 20:37