Black Desert on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information
Played by over 20 million Adventurers - Black Desert Online is an open-world, action MMORPG. Experience intense, action-packed combat, battle massive world bosses, fight alongside friends to siege and conquer castles, and train in professions such as fishing, trading, crafting, cooking, and more!
Black Desert is a mmorpg, massively multiplayer and open world game
developed and published by Pearl Abyss.
Released on May 24th 2017 is available only on Windows
in 11 languages: English, French, German, Spanish - Spain, Japanese, Russian, Thai, Turkish, Traditional Chinese, Portuguese - Brazil and Spanish - Latin America.
It has received 86,022 reviews of which 63,848 were positive and 22,174 were negative resulting in a rating of 7.3 out of 10. 😊
The game is currently priced at 9.99€ on Steam.
The Steam community has classified Black Desert into these genres:
System requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
- Processor: Intel Core i3 (4th Generation)
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: GeForce GTX 970, Radeon RX 480
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 80 GB available space
- Additional Notes: 80GB HDD (SSD recommended)
User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
Oh, bdo... If you're considering playing this game, you need to understand that the minimum time spent to get your bearings is probably around 80-100 hours. If you're writing a review and you haven't logged the time, it's not really helpful. However, it is absolutely true that if you don't like complex (and convoluted) games, this game is not for you, period. This game is extremely peculiar, in so many ways. You either enjoy that kind of stuff, or you don't. I played a lot some years ago, I lost the account, I rejoined the game a couple months ago, started from scratch. And my brain melted and seized repeatedly, even though I was already familiar with most of the game mechanics from before. Thankfully I joined the right guild, they saved me so much time trying to figure things out or having to look things up. This is NOT a game for everyone. This game is NOT easy, unless all you want to do is relax, pick some flowers, catch some horses, decorate your house, or do fishing or alike. And I know quite a few players like that. They just enjoy the game for the scenery, doing quests, or doing ONLY fishing. It has a very steep learning curve, from the UI through understanding how things work, through constantly doing maths (especially if you choose to do lifeskilling). You don't have to engage in PVP. The game has a very rich PVE, and you don't have to do the endless grind to enjoy most of the content. And there is a LOT of content. If you do want to PVP, expect so much grind it will make santa cry. That said, the combat in the game is nothing like you've experienced before, in a good way. It's really, really good and complex. The graphics, environment, even ambient sounds or sunsets - really amazing. Sunset in the desert, beautiful. City goes quiet, crickets come on, sun goes down, it's really enjoyable, and the different zones offer completely different ecosystems. Character creation, great. Customization, pretty great. Being able to just explore and even get lost (on the open ocean or the desert), great. Unless you're a hardcore player, there is always something to do in the game that's new and interesting. And they also add a lot of content and seasonal events, continuously. Is it F2P? Kinda. You can get away with it, but you don't really want to. It is NOT a P2W game. It is however pay for convenience and pay for looking at really pretty things all the time. In-game armor, even some end-game stuff, is terrifying. You will want to spend money on an outfit. However, they're giving away so much stuff these days that you don't need to spend money on that. Not really. The monthly "subscription" is about $15, and you can easily get it on sale for half off or more - worth every penny. I have spent about $80 total and got pretty much everything that's essential to your sanity (including 3 month subscription), and I still have $20 credit left. It would be super-easy to blow a lot of money in the game, they make a lot of cute/adorable pets, outfits, beautiful boat skins and carriages, horse equipment, etc. However, it is not necessary, and you can get a lot of that stuff on the marketplace for in-game money. Anyway, I feel like the $60 I've spent is accurate for the value of purchasing this game. The bad: * UI is super clunky and weird, takes time to get used to. It's really weird. Once you figure it out, easy peasy, but it's a steep learning curve. * Some RNG stuff is really, truly bad & annoying. Not a deal breaker, and they're addressing a lot of that stuff right now. * Random weird shit will happen to you, like getting stuck in an alchemy tool, or your horse trips on a boulder and dies. or randomly walks off the cliff on it's own for no reason. It's part of the game, we just LOL at that stuff, like people having fishing chairs on their heads. Yes, after all those years, it's still buggy. To me, it's part of it's charm at this point. Nothing serious has affected me bug-wise, except mixing the main questlines (between LOML and mainland) * Not doing the quests in order (if you're a new player) is suicide. DO NOT START A NEW CHARACTER ANYWHERE BUT VELIA! It is also imperative to do the MAIN QUESTS first and foremost, and then get distracted with everything else. Main quests are what unlocks a lot of the stuff in the game. I absolutely hate that part (the convoluted code spaghetti that is BDO - they really need to revamp the entire quest system), as I returned and made new char in LOML, which ended up being a massive time sink in trying to figure out what and why things aren't working as they should (progression for example). If you start in Velia, the on-boarding is amazing (quests and progression, introduction to lifeskilling, etc). If you start anywhere else, good luck, you will ragequit. They should not be allowing new players to start in the other two zones, period. * There is a LOT of crap in the game. Like, stuff. Loot, items, lifeskill stuff, upgrade stuff, quest stuff, all that stuff multiplies like crazy and you won't know what is what for a long while. Stuff it in the warehouse, worry about it later. I feel like the amount of stuff in the game is way too much, and they either should shrink it (as if) or re-vamp the inventory system to provide some automation. There is also a lot of reading involved when it comes to items, each one comes with it's own essay and it's not always helpful. It's definitely a downer for me, although once you get used to everything in-game, you get a hold of it over time. Just don't try to figure everything at once. You'll blue screen. The good: If you get over the initial hump, and you don't mind being patient with a convoluted system that takes a while to understand, the game can be very rewarding. I've played most of the MMOs at some point, starting with EQ beta. This one is by far the most engrossing fun MMOs on the market IF you like complex games. Unfortunately the steep learning curve kicks people out way before they had a chance to actually play it. I was a returning player and it took me a month to get to a point where I felt I have a hang on things again. It's a marathon, not a sprint. It's a game where it is understood that some things will take you months, chipping away one thing at a time. There is also a lot of AFK or semi-afk activities you can do that generate income, which is great for people who are busy and don't have time to grind all the time (like myself). You can also level up through those activities. You can setup workers on farms pretty early on, which cost close to nothing (you do need to feed them, but if you setup a worker on grain node, you can make beer immediately and thus feed the said workers - so costs you close to nothing to get your little empire going), you can do things like pound the corn batches (that your workers gather for you) semi-afk and sell the corn flour on the MP. This part is really helpful for people like me who do NOT have the time to grind constantly for money. I leave the character fishing overnight, and I'll do other lifeskills semi-afk as I work on other things (you know, RL). I do have to say that the game IS very Asian - and I mean it in the nicest way possible. I even have the Korean voiceovers turned on, it's so much better than the English version. There are a lot of very Asian cultural quirks in the game, even though they try VERY hard to be a "western" game - and they do succeed most of the time. Which is fine by me, but it might be a turn-off for some people who don't necessarily understand that culture. BDO is really very much it's own thing. You'll either love it or ragequit, there is no ambivalence possible, lol.
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Been playing for years, game is more like a 2nd job but one you enjoy. Combat is very unique in a way that many other games dont have. Game can be overwhelming when you just start out, but once you find your own way to play the game it gets more fun. It's not a race, its a marathon.
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I have a hard time reviewing this game to others. Not because I don't love the game, but because it is not for everyone. ----- tl;dr If you don't like grind-heavy games; this game is not for you. If you like rich, open-world MMOs with awesome graphics and a combat mechanic that stands far above any that I've experienced in not only MMORPGS, but in the RPG genre overall, then this game MIGHT be for you. If you enjoy games that reward you for playing, instead of punishing you/holding you hostage for not playing, you will at least appreciate the game. ----- My Review: I rate games based on how much value I get from them, based on a ratio of cost to enjoyment. This game has a retail price of $12.99 CAD, and I have put in over 1700 hours. In contrast, I have spent $100+ on AAA games that have given me less than 40 hours of enjoyment, and then had the audacity to charge me for DLCs. By my metric of value, Black Desert always delivers. So how do they make money off a $13 game? This is where a lot of people will complain: "Pay-to-win" I have no problem with pay-to-win. It puts money in the developers' pockets, so they can continue to work on the game. It doesn't affect my personal journey with the game if others want to spend their money. In fact, it actually means that I don't have to. By having a cash shop, I don't need to pay for a membership every month. For just $13 down payment, I can play the game how often I want, and I never have to worry about my account getting held hostage until I make another payment. Most other MMOs require you to pay anywhere from $12-$18 every month. If you decide to suspend your subscription, you can no longer play your game. This business model is archaic in my opinion. It feels like if I don't play, I'm losing money. If I had to pay $12 per month for BDO, I would have spent $576 on the game so far based on today's date. On the topic of Pay-to-Win, Black Desert is more like "Pay-to-Convenience". You don't actually need the items. You would need to pay an astronomical amount of money to actually gain any advantage. The only item that I would actually consider a "necessity" is the campsite, which allows you to fix your gear and buy potions/buffs without needing to go back to town, saving you minutes. At around $50 (one time purchase) for the campsite, the game is still under the price of most games. I got my tent at 50% off when there was a sale, so I paid even less. Overall, I have probably put around $350 into the game. I bought the campsite, an item that allows you to summon your horse from anywhere, and numerous cosmetic outfits for my characters. I paid because I wanted to, because the game provides me enjoyment, and I want to support it. It didn't require me to subscribe, and hold a knife against my throat if I refused to pay for a month when I need to take a break. I enjoy grind-heavy games. I enjoy business models that reward the time you spend in game, instead of punishing you for not playing.
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I spent $1.00 on this game, and got this in-game fish costume. Then, I proceeded to fish (with the in-game fish costume on) for 228.3 hours. The fish costume makes you look like a fish.
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Black Desert is so beautiful! I must give it a very positive review for the following reasons: [*]It's incredibly colorful, there are endless activities which you can try to do in the game. [*]It has a lovely story which you can follow (there are 10000s of quests) but it hasn't got an ending. The game regularly gets new content and it is constantly changing as it is being improved, developed. [*]It has beautiful graphics and an amazing soundtrack. Wherever I go, I just want to stop and stay there for a while until I can completely listen to the songs. Sometimes I don't even want to actually play this game but only listen to the wonderful songs in it. [*]The game (and its story) never ends and there isn't a well-defined goal. It gives you complete freedom, you have to find the activities which you like the most. [*]The world of Black Desert is vast. I haven't even explored half of it. You will always find secrets (which can actually be a purpose of playing it). [*]The community is extremely friendly. Throughout my gameplays, I have only received heartwarming words and helpful suggestions. Players often give up their own goals just to help. [*]The game has a functional anti-cheat. I have never seen cheaters or even unfair players. [*]I think the sentences Enjoy your journey not just your goal and Best Day Online describe this game fairly and accurately. I will also try to describe when Black Desert might not be an ideal game for you: [*]It is quite time-consuming. If you often don't play it for long periods of time (e.g., months), you might find that the game has considerably changed or you have missed a lot of important opportunities. Activity is key in Black Desert. [*]The game is complex and it takes time (this means years) to learn how to play it and to get gear. It supports slow and gradual progression. You won't get everything in the beginning. [*]Don't expect a shooter game-like experience or overly modern elements. This game is set in a medieval fantasy world (which is one of the reasons why I love playing it). You use some kind of sword most of the time. In order to reach distant places, you usually travel on a horse. Getting the appropriate horse is also beautifully detailed process. [*]It is grindy and certain outcomes depend on random factors. You have to accept the fact that sometimes you are lucky, sometimes you are unlucky. [*]And finally, probably the most important: If you tend to compare yourself to others too much or you have a competitive mindset, this is most likely not your game. In Black Desert, you will always find people who are far ahead of you. You simply don't have a chance to reach them because they have spent several years on improving their character and skills. Fairly, you will also have to spend the same amount of time and make the same effort. Black Desert is an ideal game to be played solo, at your own pace, but it can also be played together with friends, which is also so wonderful. I also recommend that you join a guild which shares your interests. There are endless social activities to do and magical places to discover, or just try watching the beautiful stars at night while you're visiting an oasis in the desert. You can even learn to compose and play your own music.🌸
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The information presented on this page is sourced from reliable APIs to ensure accuracy and relevance. We utilize the Steam API to gather data on game details, including titles, descriptions, prices, and user reviews. This allows us to provide you with the most up-to-date information directly from the Steam platform.
Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.
Last Updates| Steam data | 02 April 2025 22:08 |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 30 March 2025 09:22 |
| Steam price | 03 April 2025 20:46 |
| Steam reviews | 02 April 2025 08:02 |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about Black Desert, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about Black Desert
- SteamCharts - Analysis of Black Desert concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck Black Desert compatibility
Online players
15,337
Developer
Pearl Abyss
Publisher
Pearl Abyss
Release
24 May 2017
Platforms