Black Desert – Launched in Korea, Not Exactly Welcomed With Cheers
The graphical wonder Black Desert will be marketed to us in the West primarily through great trailers that reach the masses and through numerous screenshots. And what we see is certainly impressive. However, gameplay and game systems determine whether a game can embark on a victorious journey or not.
And here, Black Desert is still in its infancy, as we hear from the open beta. It launched in Korea with just 4 classes. One class was added in January, and three more are to follow.
The game system demands significant grinding effort from gamers. PvP is in the foreground. The content is still sparse. While what happens looks fantastic, even in Korea, it didn’t exactly set off on a path of victory. Already after the first few weeks, interest reportedly waned. There were murmurs that the publisher had to rush the release and that money had become tight.
For us in the West, this is music for the future. First, the game has to be fully released in Korea, then they will prepare it for China, Japan, and Russia before thinking about a Western version. In early 2016, it was said that this was extremely optimistic.
Update on February 14, 2016: Black Desert will launch on March 3, 2016. If you want to gain an impression of the game, you should check out the following articles:
- Which game is better? Black Desert and Blade & Soul in comparison
- Which founder package is right for me?
Conclusion: The design philosophy evident in Black Desert resembles rather unsuccessful games from the secondary ranks in the West. Grinding, open PvP, and an item system that is based on rediscovering the same items to craft them together or increase their durability are not systems that we associate with overwhelming mainstream success here. A game like Black Desert would need to take a pioneering role here to help us get accustomed to and friendly with these design decisions. At least the sandbox elements, parkour system, or crafting are promising.
An Asian MMO must first prove that it can bridge the Culture Gap between the two cultures.
Update March 19, 2016: Black Desert has been released in the West and has developed an astonishing hype. The game offers a new player experience with its strong “sandbox elements”, and fans seem to be embracing it.
