Black Desert Online is set to receive its biggest expansion yet, called Land of the Morning Light. This new expansion will introduce a massive Korean-inspired region to the MMORPG. Pearl Abyss, the developer behind the game, has several other open-world adventure titles in development, including Crimson Desert and DokeV. Screen Rant attended a special hands-on preview for the expansion to learn more about what the new area has to offer.
The MMORPG has undergone significant expansion in recent years, both internally and externally, with several recent expansions and the release of Black Desert on Xbox and PlayStation consoles. However, the Land of the Morning Light is one of the most impressive expansions yet. It is a new, standalone island that is narratively explained as a port that has just opened to outsiders. The area is inspired by the Joseon Dynasty, the longest dynasty in Korean history, and draws from real-life locales and folklore to create a wholly new experience. Players can even choose the island as their starting zone, which is a rarity for the game.
Land of the Morning Light differs from past expansions in several ways, particularly in its larger focus on storytelling. As players explore the island, they will encounter over 100 minutes of cutscenes and over 5,000 lines of dialogue, which is much more than any previous release. There are eight different stories told across 15 chapters, which center around eight folklore-inspired bosses. These bosses serve as a replacement for the game’s typical monster zones, which are completely absent on the island. For all the new plotlines, players are accompanied by new character Dolswe, an informative, loyal, and often humorous companion.
After completing a few preliminary region quests, players can choose which story they would like to begin, and each one must be completed before the next one can be started. Screen Rant’s preview offered enough time to play through one of the eight narratives in its entirety, and the tale of the Songakshi, a ghost who has been terrorizing a village out of grief for her dead fiancé, was chosen. This entailed a lot of exploration of the lush landscape, delving into the history of the two lovers, a uniquely spooky boss battle, and a branching choice of how to solve the haunting problem.
While players can reach each of the Black Desert expansion’s boss fights through narrative means, they can also jump straight into them via a new mode called Boss Blitz. Here, players can tackle each of the eight epic battles – the brutal overlord Golden Pig King, Black Death-inspired Oduksini, the undead Changui, wraith Bari, vengeful ghost Songakshi, the ferocious leader Bamboo Legion Lieutenant, giant cat Sangoon, fox spirit Gumiho, and goblin king Duoksini – and place on a leaderboard based on the time it takes to defeat them. During an overview presentation, developers also teased a ninth boss that can be unlocked and a tenth for global release, the serpent Imoogi.
2023-06-05 17:00:05
Article from screenrant.com