The First Descendant review – a soulless looter shooter crippled by microtransactions

The First Descendant’s sci-fi characters in oversized or latex ‘armour’ make a strong impression as they hop about and pepper robots with elemental attacks. The game’s beta tests raised eyebrows in the monetisation department but none of it was particularly alarming. But now that the free-to-play game is out, it’s evident that the final version only fuels Nexon’s reputation for turning wallets into cheat codes.

Let’s start with the positives. Characters, called Descendants, feel great to control and offer plenty of buildcrafting possibilities thanks to unique abilities, an assortment of modules, and a clear upgrade path for weapons and gear. Moving around and grappling through stages feels responsive, even during heated firefights. Outside launch outages and frame dips, the game runs fine and co-op missions take under a minute to set up. The First Descendant’s gorgeous environments and excellent lighting follow suit on the surface, packing in plenty of little details. 

The First Descendant features a decent variety of weapons with different stat modules to collect and enhance. They may not be as memorable as Halo’s assault rifle but these guns sound and feel distinct enough to keep combat interesting. While its icons being near-identical to Destiny 2’s is a tad suspicious, there’s no harm in taking notes on satisfying combat and upgrade systems. The character Bunny is eerily similar to Tracer and D.Va from Overwatch and is another instance where the game blurs the line between inspiration and straight-up copying the source material.

A descendant of the looter shooter formula

Had The First Descendant paired its live service title with a decent storyline and passable mission design, it would have a solid foundation to work with. Unfortunately, the game stumbles on both fronts. What’s more concerning is how The First Descendant’s positive aspects are bogged down by its monetisation. Its elaborate crafting system is invalidated by purchases that range from single-use colouring kits to $100 Ultimate Descendant bundles. 

Nearly every hours-long grind for Descendant and weapon unlocks can be trivialised by spending Caliber purchased with real money. While you get to pick from one of three starting characters, your next character unlock is determined by percent-based RNG drops. Monetisation itself isn’t inherently evil but 3% drop rates and Clash of Clans-like research timers feel scummy when players prance about in $70 Ultimate skins right from day one.

Like the dialogue in a Godzilla x Kong movie, The First Descendant’s sci-fi story feels like filler material between its Void Intercept boss fights. It mimics Evangelion on the surface but captures none of its depth. Words like Vulgus, Ironheart, and Colossi are strewn about like confetti with little to show for themselves. The passable localisation doesn’t do the story any favours either. Voiced dialogue is a nice touch but cutscenes are sparse, showing up only after clearing an entire region. Its Destiny 2 Patrol-like missions feel like filler too, with limited variety that becomes apparent across the game’s stunning environments. You’ll quickly spot patterns of defence, infiltration, and collection missions with minor aesthetic tweaks. 

Void Intercept battles attempt to break the monotony

This ‘sameness’ extends to the enemies, with a cookie-cutter variety that makes Destiny 2 and Warframe’s far more memorable in comparison. While foes have distinct designs and attacks, they’re reduced to bullet sponges outside minibosses that need to be taken out in exactly the same way. Fire at orbs to break a boss’ immunity barrier often enough and you’ll quickly tire out. Minibosses appear in instance-based dungeons which, once again, have you run through the same blend of missions in sequence. The open world areas are basically mission stages glued together without secrets to unravel outside the occasional chest. What about the endgame, you ask? Hobble through missions you’ll know better than your own hand by that point but at a harder difficulty, simply to unlock better gear.

Fortunately, Void Intercept battles are appropriately Kaiju-like, with hulking monstrosities you can take down solo or with a team. The story pushes you towards them when you’re not at the recommended level, meaning you’ll need to focus on the boss’ weaknesses to take them out. For instance, swapping out components to maximise toxic resistance and electric damage made it easier to bring the poisonous Devourer down. Your character’s powers are on full display here, from direct damage to status effects and heals keeping all playstyles relevant during a battle. Each fight has its unique flow, from attack patterns and frenzy phases where weak points and strategies shift. It’s disappointing that this commitment to immersion isn’t found anywhere else in the game.

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. It’s as though Nexon decided to make a polished game, strip away what makes it compelling, and repurpose it to capture whales with deep pockets. It doesn’t invite you to a power fantasy, it sells you one by letting you pay to skip tiresome progression mechanics. The lack of an intriguing story or clever level design is one thing, but making it deeply unfulfilling to participate in the core loop for better gear makes it hard for me to recommend The First Descendant.