MMO Black Desert Online's new expansion trailer shows off spirits and monsters galore

Black Desert Online, that Korean MMORPG you might remember for having a really detailed character creator that everyone lost their minds over a few years ago, debuted a new trailer for its upcoming expansion Land Of The Morning Light at Summer Game Fest tonight. Said expansion, which is out on Wednesday June 14th (hey, that's soon!) is Black Desert's biggest expansion yet, taking players to a new region inspired by Korea's medieval Joseon era. Do I know anything about Black Desert? Hell no. But can I appreciate a boss fight with a many-tailed fox spirit? Hell yes. Always.

The press release is putting a different foot forward, however, highlighting Imoogi, a boss released after launch who can only be challenged once players have beaten all the other bosses. This includes aforesaid fox spirit, a ghost lady, a tiger lord, a pig king, and so on - you can see some of them in the trailer. Imoogi's name means "giant snake" or "huge serpent" so I think he's some kind of horse monster? Oh wait, you don't think he's that big lad in the header image do you? The one of a giant snake or huge serpent of some kind?

The questline is non-linear, so if you get stuck on the pig king you can have a crack at the vengeful ghost instead, and isn't that a tactic we've all used to get through Sunday morning after a heavy Saturday night? Interestingly, Black Desert is taking this opportunity to add a new boss challenge mode called Boss Blitz. The idea is that once you defeat a boss you can fight them again at customised difficulty levels to rank in weekly charts - which is noted as a move away from monster grinding.

I've done a few Kill Ten Boars missions in my time, so reduced grinding in an MMORPG is something I can get behind, although I suspect grinding bosses might actually still be grinding? In any case, while I repeat that I know next to nothing about Black Desert Online, I do think it looks real purdy, especially some of those new blossom-stuffed areas in the expansion. If you're already a player you can look out for the new hashtag content on June 14th.

NotE3 and Summer Game Fest 2023 is over for another year. You can find out all the latest news by visiting our E3 2023 hub, or you can catch up with our round-up posts of everything that was announced at Summer Game Fest, the Xbox Games Showcase, the PC Gaming Show, Day Of The Devs, and our top highlights from the Wholesome Direct.