Alec Newman, who plays Kliff in Crimson Desert, has shared how the game’s story kept shifting during development, and his experience shows how unclear direction affected both performance and final reception, especially since he spent five years recording lines without fully understanding where the story was heading.
In a conversation on the Friends Per Second podcast, Newman described the entire process as a “roller coaster,” explaining how the project changed tone, focus, and even core character identity over time, which made it difficult to build a consistent performance across such a long recording cycle.
A five-year process with no clear story direction
Newman said the early phase of development felt uncertain, since the team did not present the full scope of the game for nearly two years, leaving him recording dialogue without knowing the bigger picture.
“For the first year and a half or so, it was just a demo, as far as I knew… It was nearly two years into recording that they sort of said ‘Well, we’re going to start recording in earnest now,’ and I went, what the hell do you mean?”
— Alec Newman
He added that the team initially focused on world-building elements like factions and locations, but they did not clearly explain what the story was actually about, which made it hard for him to connect emotionally with the character.
Character changes and shifting priorities
Newman revealed that his character Kliff was originally named MacDuff, and the shift in identity came well into development, which reflects how often the narrative direction changed during production.
“When Kliff stopped being MacDuff… I just kept pushing and pushing and pushing about story and character as much as I could.”
— Alec Newman
He also pointed out that the writing team kept adjusting the focus, which made the project feel like a TV series that kept moving its central theme, and this constant shift limited how much depth he could bring into the role.
Story struggles now visible in reviews
Newman acknowledged that players have noticed the uneven storytelling, even though they appreciate the game’s scale, world design, and voice acting, which suggests the gameplay experience carried more weight than the narrative itself.
“Whilst they love some of the voice acting and the characterization, the boon of this game is clearly the size of the open world.”
— Alec Newman
He explained that meaningful emotional moments for Kliff appear later in the game, especially around his connection with the Greymanes, but those elements were introduced gradually and remained limited.
Developers admit story could have been better
Pearl Abyss CEO Heo Jin-young has also admitted that the story did not reach its full potential, which aligns with Newman’s account and reports from developers who claimed that the narrative remained undecided until late in development.
Even with these issues, Crimson Desert still draws players into its large open world, where exploration and gameplay systems keep engagement high despite the story’s inconsistencies, and that balance explains why the game continues to receive mixed but generally positive reactions.
