Crimson Desert dialogue fast-forward feature splits the RPG community

Crimson Desert remains one of the most anticipated upcoming games, but not every feature Pearl Abyss has included is landing well. After hands-on previews went live, one mechanic in particular sparked a heated debate online – the ability to fast-forward through dialogue.

"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."

Some players welcomed it, but the majority of commenters reacted with skepticism or outright disapproval. For many, story is the backbone of an open-world RPG, and the idea of speeding through dialogue feels fundamentally at odds with the genre.

One commenter put it sarcastically:

"You're… playing an RPG, but you're happy you can skip dialogue? I'd like to play an FPS, but can we have a button that lets me skip the shooting?"

Another added:

"Skipping dialogue in an RPG is kinda crazy, imo. Unless it's a second playthrough."

Others tried to make sense of why the feature exists at all.

"I... huh, so if the story isn't that interesting maybe this speeds it up to the combat part but at the same time why not just skip the cutscene entirely? Also if the story is good, why would you speed it up?"

One user offered a blunter take:

"TikTok has ruined this generation lmao."

The discussion spread well beyond a single post. A separate thread echoed the same frustration:

"Skipping dialogue??? Fast forwarding even??? What is the point of playing a story title if you're not even invested in what's happening?!"

There is an argument to be made for the feature – players short on time or doing a second playthrough might actually find it useful.

It'll be worth seeing how Pearl Abyss balances the dialogue fast-forward system with the rest of Crimson Desert.

Crimson Desert is set to launch on March 19.