The First Descendant

The First Descendant offers a fresh take on the genre, combining elements of successful projects from the past with its own innovations, and could become a worthy competitor to any of its current analogs. Did I like the game - yes, but the game takes time, but given the good start, the developers have every chance of taking their place among the giants.

While the game functions well enough thanks to its proven system and solid foundation, it still shows some shortcomings in various aspects. These can be understandable considering it is still in pre-season, but the game needs to demonstrate something significant in the next update to prove its long-term service potential.

The graphics are good, the matches are very good, the variation in play style is impeccable and there is plenty to do at any time. Even though there are obvious weaknesses and a slightly greedy shop.

The First Descendant is to Warframe/Destiny 2 what Palworld is to Pokémon/Valheim: a game that draws so heavily on rehashed concepts that it's difficult to extract any personality from it. This does not make it bad, on the contrary: it is designed to be robust and to keep the player invested in its SF universe thanks to the spare parts stolen from its colossi of competitors. Formidably effective, The First Descendant arrives after the war without throwing any stones at the edifice.

The First Descendant had lots of potential, but now we know it’s just a mediocre shooter. The gunplay is fun, the descendants and their skills are nice to have, but a boring story, generic mission designs and big performance issues tarnish the reputation.

A great community-focused PvE shooter that is held back by aggressive and manipulative monetisation. If those dodgy tactics can be ignored, players will find a lot to like, but that is a big if.

If you're bored of Destiny 2, you now have an alternative, albeit it's not as good.

The First Descendant is still not Destiny at its best or a new revelation in the genre, a very pretty time eater. The game is able to attract the audience with cute graphics and beautiful character models, but it doesn't offer anything radically new. In an era of high competition, this is clearly not enough.

At its core, The First Descendant is a solid looter shooter, but that's about it. The limited number of activities, which are quite similar, a botched storyline, awkward dialogues, and excessive grind weigh it down. The characters, while fun to play, are generic. Despite these issues, the game can still be entertaining, and many of the problems mentioned could be resolved quickly. However, the predatory monetization strategy chosen by Nexon won't disappear. Even so, it can be ignored, allowing you to enjoy the game if you can look past all the surrounding clutter and focus on the simple thrill of holding down the trigger.

The First Descendant does not yet feel like it could become a serious competitor to the big names in the genre. Perhaps the game will surprise us with more endgame content that will satisfy our looter-shooter needs. So far, my experience has been mixed.

The First Descendant is a game that could be great, if it wasn’t for its localization, monetization model that wants you to spend money to speed up timers or skip the long grind to unlock characters, and various performance issues. It’s a game that I have a lot of fun with, but it certainly won’t be for everyone due to its variations in quality. However, I hope the development team rectifies what issues they can, because The First Descendant could become a staple in the looter shooter genre if given enough time.

I am nothing but conflicted regarding The First Descendant. It’s a Modern Prometheus of parts and ideas that looks and plays wonderfully when it works. However, the Dr. Frankenstein who assembled it is clearly profit-driven and has a bit of a reputation for its microtransactions. Throw in the equivalent of a Dell Dimension 8400 for a server and things look grim. I don’t expect The First Descendant to get a lot of support in the time it’s around, and I’ll enjoy it for what it is, but I won’t make the mistake of believing it will hold much attention outside of a small, dedicated player base.

The First Descendant is neither bad nor outstanding. It doesn't do anything particularly well, but it doesn't do anything insanely badly either. A mid-range shooter that is outshone by the greats of the genre.

The First Descendant has great gameplay and characters trapped under predatory monetization, nonexistent story, repetitive mission design and an unholy amount of grinding.

The First Descendant is a bland dish presented on exquisite plating, whose stunning boss fights and interwoven upgrade systems are overpowered by shallow missions and grim monetisation. Nexon doesn’t invite you to a power fantasy, it sells you one by letting you pay to skip tiresome progression mechanics.

The First Descendant has all the building blocks of a fantastic looter shooter, but they’re buried under a pile of monotonous quests, a terrible story, and an infuriating free-to-play model that has influenced its game design in the worst possible way.

I’m more than ready to put The First Descendant down and not come back for a while. Its character playstyles are fresh and interesting, but underbaked gimmicks, overly familiar ideas, and underwhelming encounters make it hard to recommend. I’m hopeful that The First Descendant can outgrow its need to imitate other games and eventually turn into something interesting in its own right. It’s a live service game and Nexon’s first shot at making something in this style, so there’s every chance it might turn around in future updates.

The gunplay, Descendant options, buildcrafting, visuals and graphics, action, cooperative systems, these all work hand-in-hand to make this an promising experience. It's just hampered in so many other places that make me frustrated and tired of playing.

At first glance, a solid, if not very creative loot shooter, where massive weaknesses in the mission design quickly become apparent. Added to that is a boring story, excessive in-game prices and hardly any motivation to stay on board in the long term.