The large family of looter shooters is preparing to welcome a new member with The First Descendant. After several beta phases, including one in which we were able to participate last September, the Nexon title is taking the plunge on July 2. The opportunity to dive in again, to see the evolutions of the gameplay, but above all the quality of the content offered at launch.
This test was carried out on PC and Xbox Series via a code provided by the publisher
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We left The First Descendant on a rather positive and optimistic note. With a fairly solid base, technically rather successful, which made a good impression. And the final result is pretty much similar, so we'll allow ourselves not to dwell on it too much. The foundations of any looter shooter are there, the weapons have a good feeling, and there is diversity in the gameplay. Whether in the arsenal of weapons and their customization, or in the abilities of the characters, there is plenty to do.
The problem is that when you want to release a service game like this, a good base, no matter how successful it may be, is not enough. You need a little something extra, whether it's in the variety of missions, immersion in the storyline, crazy artistic direction. Or anything that allows you to stand out. And unfortunately for him, Nexon's title is seriously lacking in this area.
Shoot without thinking
Take for example the story missions, which represent the vast majority of the gameplay loop. They are absolutely basic. Pick up an item at one point, take it to the other, eliminate targets, secure a point. The collection is complete, with often bland voicelines to spice things up and remind you that there is technically a story behind all this.
So we mechanically shoot at everything that moves, clean the area without thinking too much, telling ourselves that it will be better next time. But nothing works. The missions follow one after the other, without any difficulty to report. And the defects that loomed in the distance during the betas come galloping back.
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Since enemies are still desperately easy to take down, and very passive. That small delay, which can be anywhere from one to three seconds, where a spawned target is immobile and becomes easy prey waiting to be shot at, is probably the worst enemy in the game.
The open world has been somewhat filled out, but it remains sadly flat. And takes very little advantage of what is at its disposal. For example, your character is armed with a grappling hook, to more easily access high areas and improve his mobility. But the level design almost never uses it, playing very little with verticality. So yes, there are more elements in the decor, but we don't really have the impression of gaining in exchange.
As for the story, it had no chance from the start. Because it's impossible to have the slightest immersion in a scenario with such flat lines of dialogue, but which still try to beat the world record for exposition per minute.
Aggressive, but not in the right way
So yes, The First Descendant has the advantage of being a
free to play. And it will only cost you your time if you decide to try it, to see if it can suit you. But it is difficult to get fully involved in it, as the whole thing is not attractive. The gameplay loop is extremely short, and the boss fights where a nice little idea has slipped in are far too rare to last. Especially since in a good service game, everything is done to encourage spending.
In addition to the usual battle pass, allowing you to unlock a horde of skins and cosmetic accessories, the monetization of the title seems very aggressive. The slightest character to unlock is an opportunity to pay. It is possible to obtain them by hand, but this quickly turns into a path of suffering, as the game requires you to farm a horde of specific materials for the slightest unlock. Which would not be (so) problematic in a game where chaining missions is fun.
Especially since other titles of the genre easily achieve this. Often less technically successful, but more fun, and that's the main thing. There may be a world in which Nexon takes the time to improve all of this, delves into certain structural problems to try to rebuild. But we've seen enough service games evolve in recent years to easily see a pattern, unfortunately too predictable. With a game that will have a decent start, a little money will come in, then the bare minimum will be done as long as it allows profits to be maintained.
The First Descendant Review
The First Descendant is not a bad game, and there is nothing to be ashamed of. We are in the presence of an extremely conventional looter shooter, which respects all the codes of the genre, perhaps even a little too much. A few good ideas, too rare, are not really enough to make you want to dive again and again into the gameplay loop that quickly becomes repetitive and tedious. Too bad, because there is probably better to do. And it will be difficult to be optimistic about its future.
The strong points
- A solid looter shooter base
- Visually quite successful
- A good feeling of the weapons
- Some nice boss fights
The weak spots
- Dull missions
- A flat storyline, not helped by forgettable dialogues
- A difficulty that is too often absent
- The perfect service game forgotten in a few months
Understanding our rating system