- The best Crimson Desert speedrun yet has still lasted up to 11.5 hours, nearly two months after launch.
- The RPG features a vast open world that takes dozens of hours to explore and enjoy.
- Therefore, speedrunners are struggling to trim down more time to finish the campaign.
Pearl Abyss brought together its MMORPG prowess to craft a successful single-player RPG venture never seen before. Crimson Desert turned out to be so vast that many players were still spending hours wandering and settling in the starter town multiple weeks after release.
Now, a speedrunner has beaten the entire experience in less than a dozen hours, which is over 50 times faster than an average story-focused playthrough you’d see on HowLongToBeat.
Why it matters: Crimson Desert’s speedrunning is still in its infant stages, but even the best players in the scene have barely been able to finish the RPG around the 11-12 hour mark.
The current world record on Speedrun.com shows Harpo669 finishing the entire experience in 11 hours, 26 minutes, and 14 seconds. The fan from Quebec, Canada, livestreamed his entire experience on YouTube, taking a huge sigh of relief after setting the world record.
The only other entry on the leaderboard is by a fan called GuryDub from the US, who finished Crimson Desert in 12 hours, 20 minutes, and 3 seconds. The lack of speedrunners is understandable since very few even want to attempt to speedrun such a huge open world.
These two speedruns are incredibly impressive, given that many players who rush through Pywel still spend over 50 hours on it.
For context, the main story takes around 62.5 hours, while sidequests bring the playthrough to 126 hours. Completionists reportedly spend as many as 251 hours exploring every nook and cranny of the war-torn continent of Pywell.
Therefore, it may take multiple dedicated speedrunners constantly trimming their timing to achieve better results in the future.
On a side note, multiple findings tease that Pearl Abyss is preparing a huge map expansion for Crimson Desert, which may throw another wrench for speedrunners.
Do you think we will see future speedrunners trim down the 11.5-hour mark significantly in the future, or is that milestone a bit too much to aim for in Crimson Desert? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, or join the discussion on the Tech4Gamers forum.
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Shameer Sarfaraz has previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, he loves to devotedly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games. Besides his passion for breaking news stories, Shahmeer loves spending his leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited his articles.
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