The Way Forward for a Genre

SBFord

The Way Forward for a Genre

For the past six weeks, Bill Murphy has been whiling away too many hours in Black Desert Online. Though he's nowhere near his goal of level 50, it's high time he sticks a fork in this review process and puts a score to Daum Games and Pearl Abyss' open world MMORPG. Where will the magic number land? Read on for our final review.

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Binny45

There is SO much to do in this game. It can be a little overwhelming, but I think that comes from how deep some of the features of this game really goes. Haven't been this intrigued in a long time.

fed79

The good MMOs of the past kept your interest for at least six months, most often years. This game has a lot of content but their greed in the cash shop, both prices and pvp benefits, and the end game focus on really pot popping, gear>skill pvp is what will reduce player numbers like in Korea. I expect a year from now the score will be much lower once more people realise this. Right now everyone just gushes over the activities and graphics, but this isn't a true sandbox and these activities will get boring over time once people realise also there's no point without the pvp, and the pvp is designed to steer you to the cash shop.

Azaron_Nightblade

No, what’s important to know going into Black Desert is that the whole game is "end-game". To me, even if I don't really do well or participate in sieges and PVP - the simple act of exploring, working the markets, and building my empire and family is worth the entry. But then, I've never been an "end-game" minding player. I'm about the journey, and that is something BDO has in spades.

Well said, Bill! I couldn't agree more! I don't think I'll be hitting 50 anytime soon.

holdenhamlet

I'll never buy the game unless they change the monetization model.

How much have you spent in the cash shop so far? I understand that you got a press pack for free which included a pet I believe. Assuming you didn't get it for free, how much have you spent?

"The base price of $30 is an absolute bargain for Black Desert. And while the cash shop has seen its ups and downs, it’s all fairly benign, even the “Ghillie Suit”"

The ghillie suit might seem benign to you because you can't even be attacked. You're not looking to compete at endgame in any way shape or form, so things like needing 3 pets don't bother you either (which are very handy when you're grinding for hours).

As for the game being revolutionary or pushing the genre forward, I'm not seeing it. It has tons of side activities and it looks pretty (minus the pop-in). Like, if I take off your rose-tinted glasses and translate the following:

"I was making beer in my Velia cottage, to keep my workers happy (or drunk) and working. I then saw that my guild began a quest to collect crafting materials, and wound up wandering around the countryside looking for maple and ash trees, only to be attacked by wandering bears in the dark of night. I had no lantern to light my way, and I’m pretty sure my Ranger peed her pants (or was that me?). I then had to go eat dinner, so I went to my study and began reading a book while I went AFK in order to work on my knowledge level. I managed to get some time later in the evening and decided to chase down some Black Spirit quests to progress the story a bit. When real-life night came, I didn’t log out. I parked my ranger with empty bags near an uncrowded fishing spot and let her make me money while I slept."

Translates into:

I was clicking some boxes on menus, then I went and did a guild pick-up 10 of whatever quest. I afked a bit. I then did some more quests. Then I afked all night with my computer on because that's a good way to make money in this game.

^ This is not compelling me to buy the game.

****

There is so much talk of people "not getting it", "throwing away preconceived notions", etc, it all reminds me of a cult to be frank. When you get down to the specifics, the middle of the game "looks pretty and has lots of side activities". Now, this IS different, but it doesn't require taking drugs or meditating on the meaning of life or anything to see.

****

I think the game is really interesting in that it shows there's a huge demand for a 3-D graphic-intense version of Stardew Valley. Personally, I'm not one of those people, but I think a future dev would do well to look at what players are enjoying in this game and reproducing it, without the invevitable PVP endgame.

sniperman248

BDO was fun while the hype lasted, I enjoyed the grind, I enjoyed the aspects of the game and its beauty but in the end when all the flashy feel of its a new game and I wanna play wears off, you realize there isn't as much as people say there is to do, rest there are several Artisan skills, yes the combat is really nice and different, and there's "pvp" and the so called gvg. But basically what i'm saying is i've done those before I played gw2, and I don't want another gw2. Overall tho I agree 8/10 for the game. But sadly its not as good as it should have been hyped up to be, because unless they fix the xp grind from 51 to 55, then its gonna create a burn out effect for alot of people. This is the West and Pearl Games needs to get the xp rate on par.

Mikeha

Black Desert is just a really good game that a lot have been waiting for.

Scot

So now we start to have reviews. Here is about the time you should be thinking, is this game for me? If you jumped in before this and since then left, you only have yourself to blame.

Azaron_Nightblade

DMKano said:

Very fair review fland I agree with it while you are in honeymoon phase the game is definitely an 8.6/10

However once you reach 52/53 + right now and are doing the end game gearing and PvP, it's nowhere near as good.

Getting beyond +15 is a niche experience and the vast majority of players will quit before they see any of their gear getting to +16 even.

Bottom line - very fun and very engrossing early on, falls off the cliff once you hit end game pretty fast and becomes a very niche game where a higher +number in gear means everything

Well, in this week's patch they've already reduced the number of black stones required to "force enhance" gear, and they've stated they're looking into the gear disparity issue. As Bill said in his reviews, they've been very good so far at listening and addressing western concerns. One of the first things they also did was up the chat limit from a 100 characters to 350 because (justly) people thought it was way too short.

josko9

I find it odd that you gave the best score to longetivity, which is perhaps the biggest BDO's shortcoming. There isn't nearly enough content to compete with other big MMOs in the West. I mean there is a reason why half BDO's population is already gone. Once you get to level 50 (which is very quick), you're basically done with the game.

This game is grinder's heaven. For all those interested in Lore, Story, Dialogue etc., they should stay as far away from the game as they can. For all those interested in PvE endgame stay away as well, what little BDO offers in the way of World Bosses is very uninspiring and underwhelming.

PvP seems like the only endgame concept BDO offers. But is it any good? Well, not really, but it's at least decent. Considering there are huge balancing problems (which will only get worse in the future), the game still manages to shine sometimes with it's action combat.

I don't think BDO has any future here in the West, they can't retain players with their current mindset. I hope I'm proven wrong, but so far it really doesn't bode well for them. Either way for 30€ the value is pretty good. Think of it more of an MMO for the time-being (distraction, secondary MMO), rather than MMO you'll play for years (primary MMO).

koljane

8.6 is just lol !!!
Only magazine i take relevant when it comes to review gave it 7.2.
Question is how much is to pay for the score on mmorpg?
You guys are a disgrace !

Azaron_Nightblade

koljane said:

8.6 is just lol !!!
Only magazine i take relevant when it comes to review gave it 7.2.
Question is how much is to pay for the score on mmorpg?
You guys are a disgrace !

"Wow! These guys don't share my opinion! They HAVE to be bribed. That's the ONLY way something like that could ever be possible!"

Mardukk

Revolutionary game. Couldn't agree more with the review. However there are a great deal of people rushing to grind level and gear while ignoring all of the rest of the systems in the game. They then come to these forums and bitch about the game. That's a you problem.

Complainers, have fun returning to your linear quest hub themeparks. Where all there is to do is quest, instance dungeon instance pvp with a shallow tacked crafting system.

rodarin

240 hours is a bit disingenuous. I know you admitted to being AFK all the time, so how many hours have you actually PROACTIVELY played? 20, 30, 40, 100?

Hours played is how many many people judge the 'playworthiness' of a game. When they see people claiming they have played a game for hundreds upon hundreds of hours they naturally think it has a lot to do. Which may or may not be the case. Especially when your 'longevity' score is based on those AFK hours. Thats like claiming the if you log into EVE 10 minutes a day just to make sure youre grinding knowledges it has longevity. Or logging into Lotro for 30 seconds a day to spin the lottery wheel.

Now BDO might pull and ESO and actually get better after release, but we wont know until that happens, and unlike Zenimax, it looks like Daum/Pearl Abyss is going to do their best to milk as much money from their cash shop as they can with items that are clearly more than 'convenience'.

The biggest problem is it isnt a straightforward game. It isnt 'grind X amount of hours you get x amount of rewards'. It has a massive grind AND it has a whacked RNG system. Typical of Asian 'grinders'. There are no rewards for 'difficult' challenges or game play approach. You either grind to make enough whatever to be able to buy an RNG item you hope lets you hit the lottery. while that does keep SOME people from obtaining things too fast it will for sure discourage more people to simply stop trying after going around and around in circle.

If they keep adding content (without adding the need/suggestion) to but more from the cash shop they might hold on to more people than normal, the AFK advancements will also appeal to a lot of people, but those people will eventually realize EVERYONE can AFK advance so theyre really not gaining any ground with all those hours they show on their counter.

Its one of those games that has almost zero goals. You can spend hundreds of hours in it and still be 'casual' but surely not competitive at all. BECAUSE everyone can do everything with almost no limitations there is no specializations. And eventually all the 'casual' AFK stuff you can do everyone will be able to do. But with no real economy that is probably moot anyway.

It seems to be a decent foundation for an MMO with a lot of systems and decent approach the biggest problem is it doesnt carry some of them far enough or carries some too far. And trying to balance in game currency with cash shop currency seems to be something they have zero grasp on.

khameleon

There are more in game tutorials in this game than any ive ever played, it has videos that explain everything and also a WIKI built in to it lol. The reviewer must not know how to use them or something.

Game is the best MMORPG in a decade at least IMO and deserves a 9.5 compared to any other MMORPG out there.

Distopia

Mardukk said:

Revolutionary game. Couldn't agree more with the review. However there are a great deal of people rushing to grind level and gear while ignoring all of the rest of the systems in the game. They then come to these forums and bitch about the game. That's a you problem.

Complainers, have fun returning to your linear quest hub themeparks. Where all there is to do is quest, instance dungeon instance pvp with a shallow tacked crafting system.

Those are my thoughts as well on most of these posts. It also seems like many view the merits of a game based on what it takes to belong to the top tier of players in a competitive sense. Hardly something to base a review score on in an MMORPG.

Sirmatthias

Black Desert Online is compared to Spirit Airlines. Sure its cheaper but you will need to pay for any sort of convenience.

Blinkenn

"It’s this broad range of things you can do in the game, or while not in the game, that keeps me coming back"
This was my feeling as well, when playing Everquest 15 yrs ago.
Maybe the popularity of BDO allows for the re-emergence of true classic MMORPG gameplay, and a real EQ3! I can hope, can't I?

UnleadedRev

The game is ruined by a weak story, weak quests, horrible dialogue and crap voice overs. Also ruined by gender locked classes, horrible looking gear and a cash shop.

Iselin

"so many of us here clamor for something new and unique to hit the market. It’s here now. Black Desert Online is one of the freshest takes on the MMO in years, and it deserves to be played."

Couldn't agree more. That alone is worth the price of admission for anyone who loves MMORPGs.

We can dissect it and find some of our pet features lacking, but the game as a whole feels very different in a good, true MMORPG kind of way.

Whether you rush to the "end" and get bored quickly, as some always do, or take your time, try all the classes and sample the many activities it offers beside grinding mobs for XP, it's worth every penny of that $30.

hallucigenocide

it sure looks nice but that's about all it does for me. i don't see my self playing this title anytime soon.

2xEXP

This game really snuck up on me. I was burned out of the current crop of mmo's and was actually at the point of poking around in Project99 and other old school titles to stir up some interest again.

Then this game surprised me and came along. Since I don't follow mmo's like I used to (having been burned way too many times in the past by pre-launch hype) I came into this game with virtually zero expectations. I watched 2 or 3 Russian BDO youtubes and that was it.

But it was enough to pique my interest. I plunked down $30 and jumped in.

I had a very strange love/hate relationship with the game in the first few days. There were aspects of the game I instantly loved (the control, the graphics, the sense that there was a lot out there in the game world to do) and there were aspects that I found off-putting (the intro has a terrible voice-over, inventory space is an early issue, and it's not at all clear what you are "supposed" to be doing, oh and I found the chat channels to be toxic).

For a few days I'd play, then leave. Play then leave. I recognized BDO as a sort of fused/evolved Dragon's Dogma (which I loved when it was new on PS3) and a bit of TERA (the live combat ui) and almost like being at street-level in a game like Civilization (all the reasource mgmt you can do), plus more. Also, the in-game font and some of the style choices harkened back to my old Lineage 2 days, although much more polished of course. Plus something else.

The most intriguing and also the most off-putting thing for me was that I wasn't even sure what I was "supposed" to do. After years of railing againts theme park games I found myself a bit lost when genuinely provided freedom of choice.

Something about the game got into my mind. I stopped playing other games. I turned off all the public chat to get rid of the toxicity. I stopped worrying about what I was "supposed" to do and decided to just let my character live in the world. I started to figure out the in-game systems like nodes, and trade managers, and life skills, and knowledge, and crafting, and food, and ... on and on. I found myself going days without fighting things (unless I was gathering meat, a la Monster Hunter), even though I do love the combat system.

In short, after a strange love/hate first week, I now find myself - weeks later - enjoying this game in a way that I have not enjoyed a game since my very earliest days playing online rpg's (Phantasy Star Online in 2001/2 and the early days of WoW in 2004/5). I am loving just living in the game world, slowly improving my character.

I am unconcerned about level cap pvp. I am not even in a guild. I am not anti guild, per se, but at this point I am still overwhelmed with possibilities such that I see no need to compound things with overt social interaction. It may be months before I even consider a guild. I do occasionally interact with others on a truly local, in-person level, but that's it.

Months from now I imagine many of the pvp bleeding-edgers will still be around but I bet many will have long since burned out. And that's fine, if that's what drives them as gamers. By then there will likely be a new game to grind to max and then grind for advantage in, or they'll return to a previous game as new pvp seasons start up. Meanwhile, slowly, I'm starting to understand how to earn silver in more meaningful ways, and I see the sales notices in my system chat. It won't be much longer before I can start decking out my character in very good gear, across all slots. I suspect that when the time comes and I join a guild, with some help and some practice, I will eventually be a useful part of some guild's pvp activities. I have background in mass pvp going all the way back to L2, so it does not scare me.

But after all these hours (online and AFK fishing), my "main" is only 25 and my original main, now my "alt" is just 20.

I am totally cool with that.

I actually feel sorry for the players that read all the guides, found the most "efficient" way to level, and then rushed to 'end game' to participate in the "real" game, because they have robbed themselves of what I believe to be the best part of this game: just being in it.

But that's me, and perhaps also the topic creater / reviewer's sort of view. Your mileage may certainly vary, and that is totally cool too. I think it's great that BDO makes multiple paths of enjoyment viable. That's a credit to its design.

Ligi

Very reasonable review and score. Other sites should at least have the decency of playing the game for several weeks before scoring an mmorpg. I am thinking about those early reviews that gave 50, 70 to BDO cripling the score on metacritic very unfairly.

BDO just need to solve the end game for caribean players, they dont need to make the same mistake has EVE online did. If that is acomplished, we have a game for several years with a very high retention rate .

carvalho677

Completely agreed, as someone with over 200 hours, this game suprises me for the best. It just tries to run away from the usual stale formula seen in so many MMO's (and succedes) that it's hard not to enjoy it. If one can overcome the obvious flaws like the pop ins and the overpriced cash shop, this game can be something to be entertained for months. Even if one is not a fan of OWPvP (which has a big emphasis in higher levels) you've already got your money worth by then.

Sirmatthias

I need to try before I buy on this one to truly try it out but I haven't gotten lucky with a friend pass

eddieg50

I am not unhappy I bought the game but I stopped playing a few weeks ago. If there is a game that is in need of in-depth tutorial's it is this game, I do not really want to play a game where I have to constantly look for youtube videos which than kill the immersion. What where they thinking? this is not ESO where you can go the guide in game and figure it out. This is also a very grindy game which can become tiresome it also feels claustrophobic. I have a feeling they will keep adding better features to the game and perhaps in a year it will be better