The First Descendant preview – fun and responsive looter shooter

When you think of Looter shooters, what games come to mind? Prior to Summer Game Fest, I would think of games such as Borderlands, Destiny, The Division, Warframe, and Anthem. While most of those titles have been successful in one way or another, Anthem is a cautionary tale of a developer having high goals but failing to meet expectations.

Now, Anthem’s failings weren’t entirely due to their own arrogance but rather the publisher trying to push the game in a certain direction that the community did not agree with. By the end of the game’s short life, the developers were starting to bring it back. With these aspects in mind, Nexon’s The First Descendant looks to learn from its predecessors’ mistakes and create a fun looter shooter experience that many can enjoy.

At Summer Game Fest, we got the chance to meet with Nexon to preview their upcoming game The First Descendant. Due to an overlap in our schedule, we arrived slightly late to the meeting. From what we were told, the beginning of the meeting was just the developer giving some insight on the game and what to expect upon when it launches in July.

For the demo, guests were allowed to choose what gaming pod they wanted to play at. These pods had different types of play styles, most featured either PS5 or Xbox controllers. The two stations in the bag were set up to be played using a keyboard and mouse. Since I’m still adjusting to using a keyboard and mouse, it took a bit to get accustomed to. Luckily the controls weren’t overly complicated.

The First Descendant Demo

After jumping into the demo, we were given the chance to look at the characters and customize their outfits. After customizing the character’s outfit, backpack, and weapons, we set off on a mission.

Players were given the chance to play with one another but most wanted to do their own thing. Because of this, we loaded into the quarantine zone. Loading into the snowy zone, we could see the beautiful world design from the start. Each object felt like it was alive in the world, not a generic piece of art that was just there.

While exploring, it felt like you could reach out and touch something and it would respond appropriately. Despite being in a sci-fi world, you can tell how much detail the developers have put into the game. From the gun muzzle fire to the bodies falling, you could tell that hundreds of hours have been put into the game.

Solo or Co-op

The First Descendant does feel like it is a game meant for co-op gameplay but it does still feel like someone could play solo and still be able to conquer the world. Sadly, during the demo, we were not able to complete the mission because we got stuck.

Now this wasn’t a gameplay bug but more so a skill issue. Yes, I am admitting that I need to get better with keyboard and mouse. Despite failing to finish the mission, it was still fun to have a challenge and take on different enemies.

While playing there was only one issue we noticed: one of the times we respawned, we respawned with no ammo. Upon dying again, that issue was fixed but it still was a small annoyance.  Sadly, the one mission wasn’t enough to give us a good idea about the game’s overall gameplay but did give us a bit of a teaser of what we can expect.

After wrapping up our preview and recapping we found that overall The Last Descendant is more fun and responsive than its competitors Destiny, APEX, Borderlands, and The Division.

The First Descendant is set to launch on July 2nd across Windows PC (via Steam), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, and PS5.