The First Descendant has made fairly a splash because it launched earlier this month. Nexon‘s looter shooter, dubbed “Warframe with waifus” by the better web, has achieved huge numbers on Steam and appears to have been typically well-received, however there are particular flaws.
These flaws could have confirmed deadly for my curiosity within the sport, and for those who’re acquainted with Nexon’s popularity, it received’t shock you that grind and monetization are on the coronary heart of the problems.
I had fairly low expectations entering into to The First Descendant, however my early impressions have been largely optimistic. I anticipated a low high quality senseless loot grinder, however I discovered a average to high-quality senseless loot grinder.
To make certain, there’s nothing significantly authentic or intelligent right here, however the gameplay loop stays satisfying. Missions are principally quick and easy, preserving you on a relentless prepare of fast dopamine hits, and the weapons really feel nice to make use of, largely owing to some very punchy sound design.
I didn’t get far sufficient to essentially dive into the total potential of builds, however between the number of weapons and equipment modules, I think you could possibly do lots to tweak and specialize every character. The potential for theorycrafting seems excessive.
I did discover some points which may get tiresome in the long run. Enemy AI is extraordinarily dumb; NPCs’ solely tactic appears to be slowly march ahead, making themselves into straightforward targets. Bosses all appear to have the identical immunity part mechanic in that they change into invulnerable till you destroy a number of small floating balls above them. However a minimum of within the brief time period, the sport was extra enjoyable than not.
The sexualization of the feminine characters will get lots of consideration, each from followers and critics. It wasn’t as unhealthy as I used to be anticipating, however it’s not not unhealthy. I’m undoubtedly damning with faint reward right here, however a minimum of all the feminine characters look like of the age of majority and have a minimum of one pores and skin the place they’re totally clothed, which appears like one of the best you possibly can anticipate from Korean video games within the present paradigm.
I’ve heard lots of hate for the story, however I feel it really works for what it’s. It’s mainly simply window-dressing, however it’s not likely making an attempt to be greater than that. I really respect the intense in media res method the place virtually nothing is defined. It feels immersive that the characters don’t pause in the midst of a conflict to clarify the total historical past of their world, and you may choose up the fundamentals as you go.
The characters are surprisingly well-realized by the admittedly low requirements of this fashion of sport, and I respect that most of the playable Descendants are launched as NPCs first, permitting you to get a way of their personalities earlier than you play as them. There’s additionally distinctive private quests for a minimum of some Descendants to flesh out their tales, which is an embellishment I actually respect.
The voice-acting is hit or miss, however a number of the actors appear to have had lots of enjoyable with their roles, and the interpretation is best than I’ve seen in most import titles (once more, low bar), excluding some odd stylistic quirks just like the much-lampooned “Commander Greg.” I assume that’s a case of one thing seeming like a believable fantasy identify in Korean however not in English, because it’s performed fairly straight.
So it’s hardly a masterpiece, however I feel the fundamental constructing blocks of the sport make for a very good time. Like Misplaced Ark earlier than it, it’s undoubtedly junk meals gaming, however there’s a spot for that.
My issues with the sport primarily stem from the mechanics round unlocking characters.
My skill to take pleasure in RPG and RPG-adjacent video games is closely depending on discovering a category/character that I like, and I usually must reroll a number of instances to search out one which I’m pleased with. I’ve all the time resented when video games lock me into a personality and require me to grind or pay to attempt something new. It instantly killed any likelihood of my ever having fun with Marvel Heroes, and it’s rankled each time I’ve encountered it since. The First Descendant isn’t any exception.
TFD at the moment options fourteen playable characters, not counting their final variants, however to begin you possibly can select solely one in all three, and people three all so aggressively vanilla that I half imagine they have been designed to be boring so that you’d be pushed towards the money store sooner.
Missing a extra interesting selection, I picked Ajax, a tank character who principally simply summons shields. To be truthful, he’s very highly effective. I just about steam-rolled all content material by merely bunkering down behind my shields and choosing enemies off at leisure. But it surely didn’t make for a really thrilling playstyle.
You do unlock a second character, a glass cannon speedster named Bunny, early within the story with little effort, and I had hope she would impress the place Ajax didn’t, however I discovered I didn’t a lot take pleasure in enjoying her, both. I can undoubtedly see how she may very well be enjoyable for some folks, however I discovered her frenetic playstyle exhausting.
That leaves me with two unappealing choices: grind for an indeterminate size of hours as characters I don’t take pleasure in to unlock one I do, or fork over money to unlock somebody new now.
What’s actually killer about that is there’s no ensures that I might take pleasure in no matter character I do unlock, no matter methodology. There’s sufficient selection among the many playable characters that I’m fairly assured I’d like a minimum of a pair (although the truth that I’m 0 for two thus far is regarding), and a few appear interesting on paper, however I simply received’t know for positive till I attempt them.
If I had the potential to attempt earlier than I purchase, I’d strongly think about simply forking over the money, however I’m not keen to take the gamble sight unseen. Equally, I may be extra inclined to grind, however RNG being what it’s, there’s no means of understanding what number of hours it could take, and that’s too daunting a prospect after I’m already struggling to benefit from the sport on my present characters.
In idea I can see the enchantment of character-collecting video games like this, and I’ve usually stated I’m extra occupied with grinding for brand spanking new abilities or playstyles than for strict numerical gear upgrades, however there must be a means for me to get into a personality or construct I take pleasure in proper off the bat. Not having that simply kills video games for me.
I additionally don’t respect that the Descendants are organized into completely arbitrary tiers, with some being considerably tougher or dearer to unlock. Even the most cost effective are over $10 in my forex, which appears steep. Let’s not even get into the bonkers costs for final variants, which might run round $100, and simply take consolation within the reality most individuals appear to agree their bonuses are too small to grant a serious benefit.
There are different gripes to boost with the enterprise mannequin, too. There are only a few choices for no visible customization of Descendants with out paying. You may’t even cover your helmet and not using a pores and skin. I’m all for monetizing cosmetics, however that’s a bit a lot.
Dyes are a specific supply of criticism for many individuals. They’re not precisely single-use, however they do change into locked to a chunk of drugs as soon as used. You may apply or take away a dye from a pores and skin as many instances as you need, however if you wish to apply that dye to a distinct pores and skin, you should purchase it once more. You can also’t dye default skins; you should purchase or unlock one to begin utilizing dyes.
There are some free skins out there by the battlepass, however the choice is restricted, and the grind to get them appears important. I feel I noticed a tooltip about unlocking cosmetics by amassing lore entries, however I couldn’t discover something about what these cosmetics are or precisely how I get them. Given the sport’s stinginess, I anticipate it could simply be one thing trivial like a twig, if something.
There’s part of me that wishes to play extra of TFD, however I don’t assume I can overcome my distaste for the characters I at the moment have out there to me, nor do I feel it’s terribly probably that the mechanics round unlocking new characters are going to alter a lot given how integral they’re to TFD‘s enterprise mannequin. Most avid gamers appear to be advantageous with this kind of factor in different video games which have achieved it, like Warframe and Marvel Heroes, so perhaps it’s only a me drawback.
