Black Desert Online Critic Reviews (2024)

71 44%

Black Desert Online is ranked in the 48th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.

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Cody Gravelle

Game Rant

Top Critic

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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Kevin VanOrd

GameSpot

Top Critic

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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Mike Williams

USgamer

Top Critic

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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Steven Messner

Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Top Critic

Unscored

Mar 11, 2016

It's exciting to play an MMO that understands the importance of building a world worth living in, not just erecting a corridor of static set pieces to run through on your quest for power.

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Giuseppe Nelva

DualShockers

Top Critic

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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Lucas White

PlayStation LifeStyle

Top Critic

6 / 10.0

Aug 30, 2019

As someone who generally enjoys mindless grinding, there was some comfort in making my way through Black Desert’s massive landscape. But when there are other options that feel more polished, thoughtful, and creative, it’s hard to recommend Black Desert unless the absence of a subscription fee is a key factor.

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Victor Grunn

GamingTrend

Top Critic

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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Asher Madan

Windows Central

Top Critic

Mar 11, 2019

Black Desert is an expansive game, but Pearl Abyss needs to fix its technical problems on Xbox One.

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70 / 100

Nov 14, 2020

Oftentimes, someone’s enjoyment of an online game is dependent on the people around them and if you find yourself having more fun when you’re surrounded by like-minded people, I recommend checking out Black Desert Online. Veterans of Black Desert who are looking for an upgrade should definitely consider Black Desert Online: Prestige Edition considering everything that’s included in the package. While the price tag may be a bit much for new players, it’s also a great way to set up a noob for success provided they have some guidance beyond the in-game tutorial.

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Chris Wray

Wccftech

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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Patrick Anderson

COGconnected

Top Critic

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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Ian Cheong

The Escapist

Top Critic

Mar 18, 2016

Black Desert Online wants to be distinct from other MMORPGs, but it isn't different enough in the ways which really matter. The game's few innovations aren't enough to make up for its myriad shortcomings, making it come across as just another MMORPG.

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Haley Perry

COGconnected

Top Critic

60 / 100

Aug 29, 2019

Ultimately, Black Desert on PS4 is very user-friendly, and looks fantastic when running at a premium performance level. But while Black Desert’s aesthetic prowess and customizable sandbox experience is an achievement in the world of MMOs, it’s not a game that offers enough enticement in the minute-to-minute gameplay — or even in the grander, month-to-month scope of things — to leave me thirsty for more.

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Garri Bagdasarov

PlayStation Universe

Top Critic

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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John Cal McCormick

Push Square

Top Critic

6 / 10

Aug 27, 2019

Black Desert is rougher than a badger's behind, and the simple combat won't blow anyone's skirt up, but the game does have upsides. The world is fleshed out and fun to explore, the side activities are more amusing than the campaign, and the character creation is superb. This is the sort of game that will undoubtedly appeal to a small subset of people who are more than happy to accept the uglier technical issues as the admission price to a well realised world full of things to do.

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Abel Martín

Generación Xbox

Top Critic

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

Aaron Riccio

Slant Magazine

Top Critic

Mar 30, 2016

Those desperate for a way to stay busy will find a seemingly inexhaustible number of grains of gameplay here.

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William Murphy

MMORPG.com

Top Critic

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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Corey Hoffmeyer

Screen Rant

Top Critic

Mar 4, 2019

Black Desert Online is highly addictive and layered but it does not offer much in originality.

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Black Desert Online Critic Reviews (2024)

FAQs

Is Black Desert Online grinding? ›

Black Desert is a grinding game. But a huge grinding game. There are so many little things you can do to optimize the grind, ranging from trivial to incorporate and utilize, to so incredibly obscure that I wouldn't even bother.

How much money does Black Desert Online make? ›

Within nearly a decade, Black Desert Online has earned €2 billion (or $2.17 billion) in lifetime revenue. Pearl Abyss revealed the milestone for its big MMO, which has also locked in 55 million players across PC, consoles, and mobile.

Can you play Black Desert without grinding? ›

If you want to get good gear you will need to grind. But for some casual play and exploring there is no grind needed. If you want to progress past soft cap you will need to grind a certain aspect in the game to make any sort of money. Either life skilling or killing mobs pick which one works for you and stick with it.

What is the most op class in Black Desert? ›

S-Tier - the most powerful classes in BDO. They have massive damage output and the best survivability. They're the best classes to use on high-level farming spots.

What is the best class to start in Black Desert? ›

Overall, Guardian is a well-rounded class for a beginner, as it can serve you throughout the early-game grind to the end game. However, it is recommended to use Succession for PVP and Awaken Guardian for grinding in PvE.

What is the best solo PvE class in BDO? ›

Guardian is probably the most recommended class in BDO and for good reason. Guardian feels like a tanky and slow class in the beginning, but once you get to the end game content, she does incredibly well. Guardian's Awakening is the perfect choice for endgame PVE grinding.

Who owns Black Desert Online now? ›

Starting today, Black Desert Online is now self-published by Pearl Abyss. It's been five years since our first adventure took off in North America and Europe on March 3rd, 2016.

Is Black Desert Online the best MMORPG? ›

PEARL ABYSS' BLACK DESERT WINS 'BEST MMO,' 'BEST MOBILE MMO', AND 'BEST EXPANSION' IN MMORPG. COM'S 2023 PLAYER CHOICE AWARDS.

Is Black Desert remastered better than Black Desert Online? ›

BDO Remastered is an improved version of the original Black Desert Online game. It features better graphics, a new controller scheme, and other optimizations. The main changes in the remastered version revolve around graphics and performance.

What is the fastest way to level up in Black Desert? ›

Power leveling is when a high-level player kills monsters while you are in a party and standing nearby. You will get EXP from the monsters killed and can level very quickly. Powerleveling can take as little as 2 hours to get to level 56 if the person helping you has high AP and you use all available EXP buffs.

What is the max level in Black Desert? ›

Black Desert Online is unique because it does not have a level cap. However, players are still highly encouraged to gain experience for their characters.

Is Black Desert Online demanding? ›

While the entry level specs are quite forgiving, in order to max out your graphics while playing BDO and pass the recommended system requirements test, your rig will need something a lot more powerful. In fact, your computer needs at least a GeForce GTX 970 or a Radeon RX 480 alongside an Intel Core i5-650.

Is Black Desert Online skill based? ›

Skill is the most important factor in combat. In Black Desert, the more you level up the more skills you can learn.

Should I get into Black Desert Online? ›

If you enjoy a range of activities including questing, killing enemies, farming, fishing, trading, PvPing, guild combat and hunting down world bosses then you will likely enjoy what Black Desert Online has to offer.

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