First Impressions of Black Desert Mobile

Black
Desert Mobile is an MMORPG which has soft-launched in several
countries across the globe. Unfortunately, it’s not yet available in the USA
but I was lucky enough to get some time with it.

I want to
say I haven’t had too much time with Black Desert on PC, so I won’t make too
many comparisons to the original. My experiences are focused on is Black
Desert Mobile a mobile game worth playing?

Customisation

Black
Desert Mobile brings over the insanely detailed customisation made famous by
the original Black Desert. You can customise everything about your character
including the usual features like the hairstyle, colour and shape.

What
makes this system special is that it has been optimised for touch screen.
Meaning you can click and drag on your characters face to change or manipulate
their facial features. There are many games that have customisation like this,
but Black Desert Mobile is one of the best.

All of
this customisation isn’t for nothing. There is a photo mode where you can emote
and show off the design of your character to other players. Not all players
will care about customising a character, but this level of detail will allow
players to create exactly what type of character they want.

Gameplay

Summarising
gameplay is difficult because Black Desert Mobile feels like several video
games. Graphically, it looks a lot like Dark Souls with the boss fights
requiring the same dodging and learning of the bosses attack patterns.

Gameplay-wise,
it feels like The Witcher with free roam and horses for travelling. But
the attack system implements the skill system used by many mobile RPGs. Where
each attack has a cooldown timer before we can use again it, meaning the user
to attack tactically.

I have to
warn you that there is an auto-play feature. I recommend you play with the
feature turned off because it takes you out of the gameplay. The auto features
are not all bad, as after you select a quest your character will make their way
to the quest location without the need for your input.

Unique Features

Black
Desert Mobile has a lot going on. I know loads of MMO’s nowadays have several
things to do besides the main story, but Black Desert Mobile is particularly
packed full of content. As well as the main story, PvE and several Raids, there
is also a camp to build and upgrade.

The camp is
your own bit of land, where you construct buildings, hire workers, and unlock
unique game modes. The buildings you create have uses beyond helping the camp
grows, you can also use them to refine Black Stones (which are used to upgrade
your gear).

There is
a lot of micromanaging involved in the camp. You may hire a lazy worker who
needs disciplining or you may need to change what jobs each worker is doing.
After you have established a happy camp, you can trade with other players for
resources and items.

Final Thoughts

I have not reviewed Black Desert Mobile because it is way too soon to review a game as large as this one is. It’s one of those games that players can spend a load of time in and not regret any of it. I can imagine that players will be desperate to show off their characters and creations for years to come.