Black Desert Online Reviews

Black Desert Online is ranked in the 48th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
9 / 10.0
Apr 11, 2016

And conquer I shall, even if for the first time in so many years, a MMORPG finally restored that sense of awe and adventure that I thought irremediably lost. For the first time in almost a decade, the world of a game finally managed to make me feel small again, and boy, this feels so good.

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8.6 / 10.0
Apr 7, 2016

Listen, I've rambled on for about 1500 words here, and several thousand more in preceding weeks. You don't need me to tell you any more about this game than what you can learn by simply picking it up. I will say this though: 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.

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85 / 100
Mar 15, 2016

A gorgeous world that feels truly alive, Black Desert Online is a solid entry into the sandbox subgenre of MMOs. Benefiting from having been launched in a major market for a year before coming to the West, it offers an open world to explore, and an especially deep tradeskill and trading system mixed with an action-oriented combat scheme.

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8.5 / 10.0
Mar 15, 2016

I am still playing, which is always a key for games, and will be reporting more when I hit end-game and see what's available. There will always be more to do in the Black Desert.

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8.5 / 10.0
Mar 17, 2016

It combines high-quality textures, voice acting (albeit not that great), action combat, an expansive world and open-ended leveling with a major focus on player interaction. Instead of trying to reinvent the MMO, Black Desert Online has focused on things that work for other games and it puts a fresh spin on them.

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8.5 / 10.0
Apr 15, 2019

Black Desert is a game that after 3 years is more alive than ever, with new game modes, and a renewed technical aspect that will please both new and veterans.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

83 / 100
Mar 22, 2016

Black Desert Online has the potential to be a truly legendary MMORPG. There are so many interesting elements to it, each of which could provide you with many hours of enjoyment.

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8.3 / 10.0
Nov 22, 2020

Black Desert Online remains one of the most complete and immense MMORPGs today. New contents continue to be added to a title with many possibilities that does require enormous time and dedication to be taken advantage of.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

Chris Wray
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Jun 3, 2016

Black Desert Online is the most refreshingly unique MMO around. Introducing many new game mechanics and ways to play in a world that's so exquisitely designed, with characters, building, monsters and even the weather all working together to make the best looking MMO to have ever been released, BDO is only really let down by the game's unwillingness and/or inability to properly explain its mechanics. The post-launch updates have been great so far and there's no reason to think the game won't keep improving.

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8 / 10
Apr 13, 2016

Black Desert Online succeeds as a sandbox massively multiplayer online game with deep character customization, and a combat system that rivals most action oriented games. The world feels alive, and is a visual marvel as well, just don't expect anything revolution regarding story telling.

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8 / 10.0
Mar 31, 2016

Black Desert Online struggles with many of the weak points unique to MMORPGs, but rewards resilient players with unique, fascinating role-playing systems. If you're looking for a new MMO, Black Desert Online is well worth a try.

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Mar 7, 2016

Black Desert Online has some aspects that make it better than your average MMO, but could still use work.

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8 / 10.0
Mar 5, 2019

Black Desert on Xbox One delivers the full experience of the MMORPG in a streamlined way that works.

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7.5 / 10.0
Aug 30, 2019

Black Desert does a lot right but a lot of it is hard to experience with little to no tutorial and technical issues that never really let up. It's clear that the current generation of console just isn't quite up to handling a game of this magnitude, but even so Black Desert provides an epic and frequently beautiful MMORPG experience.

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3.8 / 5.0
Aug 29, 2019

Black Desert is a beautiful looking game with plenty to offer, it just has a bit of a learning curve and some rather annoying design choices. In a lot of ways, I could see it being a fun game you casually play and enjoy with a friend or your guild, but it doesn't seem to have the same inviting feeling Final Fantasy XIV or ESO have. This is a shame, though a lot of things can be fixed with patches. Plus, the core concept is at least fun enough to make it worth the initial investment.

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7.5 / 10.0
Mar 13, 2019

It's cool to be the hero you were meant to become in a pretty world, but Black Desert is lacking in the meat of other classic MMOs and requires a hefty grind.

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7.4 / 10.0
Apr 29, 2016

Black Desert Online is impressive on the technical standpoint, and sets a new standard for MMOs. On the other side the character progression is heavily based on grinding and the structure is complex and somehow overwhelming. The game has a well designed gameplay and a solid endgame; the fans of the genre should definitely give it a try!

Review in Italian | Read full review

7 / 10
Apr 1, 2016

Much of Black Desert Online is a convoluted mess, but few games let you create a virtual life this absorbing.

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Apr 8, 2016

An absolutely beautiful MMO from developer Pearl Abyss. The beauty is backed by a complex sandbox MMO that offers a lot of freedom, but doesn't explain its systems to players all that well. If you're into starting up a second fantasy life and have the time to spend learning the mechanics, Black Desert Online might be the game for you.

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Mar 10, 2016

Pearl Abyss' Black Desert Online is an incredibly detailed, visually gorgeous MMORPG that succeeds at nearly everything but having a beating heart and soul.

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