Nexon’s free-to-play The First Descendant could be the looter shooter that many players are waiting for. It’s not Destiny, but comparisons can easily be made, and it’s not Gears of War either, but the action elements and style are not completely dissimilar. A cooperative element allowing up to four players gives it a nice twist, very useful to take on the giant bosses, so there’s style, there’s potential, but is there substance in this Unreal Engine 5-powered journey?
Descendant of the Looter Shooter
The First Descendant tries to be a sci-fi epic with exciting characters and massive enemies, and starts by taking you through some stylish cutscenes and a selection screen with the three characters available at the beginning: Viessa, Lepic, and Ajax, from over a dozen to pick later on as you unlock them, and some of them counting with Ultimate versions. Bunny is this cheerful character that joins you during your first mission, with some impactful twists, and ends up being your first unlock as you progress through the campaign, potentially one of your favorites as well.
The futuristic character design may be drenched in genre tropes, but some of them end up being quite eye-catchy, female heroes often sporting silhouettes that are deliberately made to look good in screenshots, high-end armor and all that. There are hints of Warframe in there as well, if we look closely enough, which is a good influence in anyone’s book.
Heroes obviously come with unique sets of passive and active skills, a mandatory system that is going to shine especially when playing in cooperative mode. Having some friends for the ride and trying the different synergies is fun, exploring the true potential of each character that is somewhat hidden behind the constraints of a solo run.
Regarding gameplay and gunplay – which ends up being a significant part of a looter shooter – The First Descendant seems to deliver on the basics and more, being quite enjoyable at times. Playing with Viessa, she has introduced herself as a fun, easy to pick up and play character, with the compulsory dodge roll, a trio of weapons (rifle, shotgun, sniper rifle) that pack enough power but also the recoil giving some of these the traditional kick in early game, along with ice abilities that mix up the options. Bunny, on the other hand, is a hero focused on electricity attacks, so each one should bring something interesting to the table, even more when facing the often huge bosses with clever weak points and mechanics.
Heroes also have a grappling hook to help navigating the levels, and this is an interesting and very useful tool. Not only it allows you to reach places you otherwise wouldn’t be capable of, skilled players will use it to spice up the battles by maximizing mobility and making enemies feel lost and constantly on the lookout for your position. It’s definitely fun to use and a nice addition that doesn’t just look good, it adds to the gameplay.
Mission structure is fairly familiar, starting with the hub where you can pick your next missions, upgrade your gear and characters with mods, check their mastery rank, visit vendors, and the like. The levels are fairly linear and feature a very familiar loop of running through some empty areas, dealing with some mobs, doing it over and over, eventually reaching some very impressive bosses and enjoying it a lot. It can get repetitive, some missions are just filler that become boring after a few minutes and makes you dread for some specific types where you have to fend off waves of enemies, but luckily the gameplay is good, fast, enjoyable, customization is quite decent, but be warned – this is a game that is designed around the grind.
It will take you hours to grind some mods, and you may still not get them for days on end. You need them to become stronger, but the drop rates are the usual pain and designed to keep you around, trying and trying, eventually falling for the fairly exciting gameplay and tempted to drop some cash into the in-game store. As it was to be expected for a free-to-play game, there are microtransactions including the usual skins, boosters, and the like. This is how The First Descendant is monetized, and some convenience items are naturally available for purchase – do it the regular way, and the grind is going to be extremely long.
First and Foremost
The First Descendant is a solid looter shooter with some exciting moments that falls into repetition due to its grind, something that is somewhat expected but still tiresome. It could easily be a premium title if the monetization had been worked out in other ways, so now we have a free-to-play game that offers many hours of entertainment, but that could also potentially outstay its welcome faster than it should. It looks terrific at times, with good character design and some interesting bosses, although the downside is that it can often be another one of those advocates for the “grey and dull” environments. Gunplay feels fast and enjoyable, but grind and monetization may end up being the factor that will keep it from ascending to the next level.
Score: 7.5/10
Pros:
- Unoriginal but stunning character design
- Some solid gunplay and boss fights
- Enjoyable cooperative mode
- Exciting speed and grappling hook use
Cons:
- The grind is real
- Gameplay ultimately becomes repetitive
The First Descendant review code was provided by the publisher. You can read MP1st’s review and scoring policy right here.