After playing Crimson Desert, it truly puts into perspective what this game could have been.

I know it's not necessarily fair to compare development teams, but Pearl Abyss has shown how listening to player feedback and truly wanting an enjoyable player experience can create something really special. I won't go into a list of all the things they've done, but something that truly stood out to me early on was when they removed a bug that players had been enjoying and turned it into a feature with a cooler animation. I can think of a few instances where Arrowhead counted certain creative solutions as bugs or unintentional features and fixed or removed them even though players were enjoying them and it didn't break the game. Meanwhile day 1 bugs are still in the game and I die to them almost every time I play. I love both games, but after seeing the love that Pearl Abyss has for Crimson Desert and their playerbase, it makes me mourn for what Helldivers 2 could have been with a Development team like that.