Crimson Desert is almost upon us, and we’re now getting a sense of what it is all about and how, exactly, this ambitious open world action adventure works. IGN’s recent Crimson Desert preview, for example, is packed with fresh details, and we even have a big interview with one of the developers. But one talking point that has emerged over the last day is Crimson Desert’s ‘fast forward’ button, which lets you speed through dialogue — and it turns out there are plenty of people who have a lot to say about it.
X / Twitter user Jake Lucky posted footage of fast forward in action, showing how it speeds up dialogue in cutscenes in a tweet viewed over 1.1 million times. “One of the features I really liked in Crimson Desert is you can fast forward through dialogue while still being able to understand the context, it’s not a jump skip, but a time save,” Lucky said.
One of the features I really liked in Crimson Desert is you can fast forward through dialogue while still being able to understand the context, it’s not a jump skip, but a time save pic.twitter.com/g3KiQVUxEE
— Jake Lucky 🔜 GDC (@JakeSucky) March 4, 2026
Some reacted negatively to the feature. “You’re… playing an RPG, but you’re happy you can skip dialogue?” said one person. “I’d like to play an FPS, but can we have a button that lets me skip the shooting?”
“Hey when you only got five hours to play it sure is nice, plus not every dialogue was something I needed the full story on (like rescuing a cat off a roof),” Lucky responded. “To each their own.”
Negative comments kept on coming, however. “Skipping dialogue in an RPG is kinda crazy, imo,” said another. “Unless it’s a second playthrough.”
“If you need to ‘time save’ it means you’re not really liking what you’re playing….” another said.
However, there are some who are praising the feature, and highlighting other games have had similar features.
“People keep making fun of this. But I’ve played the game,” Swany Plays Games said. “When you die to a boss or need to reload a save, or want to do a second playthough. It’s nice to be able to skip dialogue…
“It isn’t ‘TikTok’ brain. When you have a game this big, you see a ton of repetitive cutscenes. You don’t need to watch the dialogue for a cutscene you’ve already seen seven times (for example turning in a bounty). I actually wish they had a skip button and not just fast forward. Having the option to skip or fast forward isn’t a bad thing.”
The mention of Crimson Desert as an RPG rekindles memories of a recent debate over how the game should be categorized. Let’s start with developer Pearl Abyss’ official description of its own game:
Crimson Desert is an open-world action-adventure game set in the beautiful yet brutal continent of Pywel. Embark on a journey as the Greymane Kliff and restore what has been lost. Explore uncharted lands, fight against threats that stand in your way, and discover the wonders the world has in store.
Pearl Abyss does not call Crimson Desert an RPG here. It’s an “open-world action-adventure” game. Will Powers, director of marketing at Pearl Abyss America, recently told fans not to expect RPG elements in terms of decision-making and choice and consequence as it relates to your character in Crimson Desert. The sheer amount of things to do in the world will facilitate the role-playing part of the game instead, which players will form through “head canon.”
“You choose the type of character you want to play as in terms of your progression within the systems in the game,” Powers explained. “And then through head canon you’re having this very different experience than other players because of the scope and scale of the game. You’ll be distracted by something, you’ll go on this quest line, you’ll have an experience that’ll be radically different than someone else, even though they’re playing the same game and the same canonical storyline that you both are going through.”
And after the debate over whether Crimson Desert is an RPG or not went big online, Powers himself explained why Pearl Abyss doesn’t want to call it an RPG, even though it’s perfectly happy for fans to do so.
“Open world questing and action sandbox for sure,” Powers tweeted. Then, in response to someone who said it should be made clear that Crimson Desert is not an RPG to avoid mismanaged expectations, Powers said: “honestly…. it’s not my place to dictate someone else’s experience. If because of good amount of RPG elements in the game, they want to call it an RPG… Sure. I’m just explaining why WE don’t call it one.”
We’ve got plenty more on Crimson Desert, including Powers’ reaction to people who have accused Pearl Abyss of “hiding” console footage. Crimson Desert is due out March 19 priced $69.99. Pearl Abyss recently confirmed it does not contain a cosmetic cash shop nor microtransactions of any kind.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
