Live service gaming is a tricky beast, particularly for new games entering an already saturated market. In a world where established battle royales and looter shooters already exist, with dedicated install bases, how do you stand out?
In comes The First Descendant, the new free-to-play looter shooter from Nexon Games aiming to stake its place in the live service zeitgeist. Over the course of 45 minutes, I had the chance to go hands-on with the game and feel out if it indeed sets itself apart. And while there’s plenty to praise with The First Descedant’s aesthetic and content roadmap ambitions, the overall gameplay loop ultimately left me unconvinced if it’ll find an audience to resonate with.
A Sci-Fi World
In terms of gameplay, The First Descendant isn’t trying to do anything revolutionary, instead leveraging familiar systems and mechanics and marrying them to a grand sci-fi narrative. In this regard, Nexon makes an interesting pitch, with the aesthetics of the world, and in turn its character designs, visually striking. Environments are a visual treat with enough biodiversity between regions to keep things interesting. But it’s the individual character designs that truly draw the eye.
“…Nexon makes an interesting pitch, with the aesthetics of the world, and in turn its character designs, visually striking.”
While I didn’t get to directly engage with any of the main story quests, the setup is seemingly ambitious, with main missions tied to individual descendants. It’s a decent enough hook, with 19 separate characters available at launch to play as. Time will tell if the quality of the storytelling ultimately comes together.
Treading Familiar Ground
