Nexon’s game focuses on cutting-edge graphics and customization, but it will have a lot of work to do to stand out in the arena of Destiny and The Division
One of the attractions of Summer Games Festival in 2024 it was the action shooter and role-playing game The first descendant, from Nexon. The game is coming soon to PC and PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles and I was able to play a few games there in Los Angeles.
Scheduled for release in early July, The First Descendant is the next ‘looter-shooter’ looking to grab a slice of the market explored by Destiny AND The division, games that set the standard for online shooters, with MMO-style progression and frequent content updates. After spending some time with the Korean game Nexon, however, I don’t think it will be such an easy task, especially given the success of the game’s most recent expansion. Destiny 2, The final form reached the community in June.
Check out the trailer for the game shown at the Summer Game Fest:
At Summer Game Fest, I played with a level 40 character and it was pretty easy to figure out what was going on in the game. The game supports cross-platform play, the famous ‘crossplay’, and I played on PC, with keyboard and mouse, but there were also players on the server playing on PlaStation and Xbox. The game will also include cross-saves and cross-progressions, meaning you can continue your campaign, with everything saved, on any platform.
The map seems very large and you can see many regions, which players can explore alone and in cooperation, even using a climbing hook to expand the possibilities of navigation in the scene. It was also possible to change the difficulty of the world, something similar to what happens in Division 2, For example. It’s a game made with the latest version of Unreal Engine 5 and the graphics are really nice, but they didn’t captivate me enough to take away the feeling that it’s a bit generic. Perhaps it’s a visual style that will gradually win over players, who will spend hours and hours with their characters in The First Descendant games.
There are countless opportunities to change the character’s appearance, including various tricks and other interesting components, but from what I understand, almost everything is paid for with micro transactions. It is worth remembering that The First Descendant will be playable for free, but it would be good for the producer to balance the paid content, even if cosmetic, as in the case of Warframesanother great free ‘looter shooter’, otherwise it will make a bad impression on players.
Well, brands and microtransactions aside, let’s get to the point: the focus of the game is ranged combat, with many different weapons and models. My character was equipped with an assault rifle, a ray rifle, and a rocket launcher, all with very different functionality. The combat is strategic and also involves special abilities: my character had electric powers and was able to camouflage herself, set up ambushes and deal more damage to enemies – it was really cool to play with her, but these are the basics of the genre and I hope they are the final version of The First Descendant manages to offer more to make the game stand out in this hotly contested genre. Another element that seems promising are the colossal bosses, battles against huge bosses that will require a lot of coordination between players.
Speaking with the developers, it was clear that there are big plans for the game, which will have nineteen different characters, across classes and specializations. More characters are expected to be added in the future, and Nexon is also considering including a Scion inspired by Brazilian players. “We would like to add some Brazilian elements to our characters, we know that Brazilian fans really like music“, the director told me Minseok Joo after the test. “So the next character will have something to do with music, but this is a fantasy game, so there are no nationalities involved.“, said the director, who plans to update the game’s characters on a monthly basis.
I still don’t know if The First Descendant has what it takes to conquer the shooter community, although Nexon is working hard to offer a game that will please both veterans looking for something new in the genre and new players, who may feel intimidated by all the years of “lore” and metagames of the more established games in this segment and may find in The First Descendant a “looter shooter” of their own.
The good thing is that you won’t have to wait long to download the game and decide for yourself: playable for free, The First Descendant arrives on July 2 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Terra
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
