Nexon
It feels like it ’s been a while since a plot has truly shake up the live - Robert William Service “ raider shooter ” music genre . DestinyandWarframehave been forces to be reckoned with for a 10 , but few other attempts at the genre have had the same wallop . Despite the fact that studios seem so eager to chase the trend , it ’s a surprisingly stagnant genre .
That could change on July 2 with the exit ofThe First Descendant . Well , maybe alteration is a potent password . Nexon ’s latest does n’t so much reinvent the pillager hitman as it does glance over Destiny ’s articulatio humeri and brazenly copy its notes , right down to its foeman designs . It ’s perhaps a small shameless , but is it fun ? A demo I played atSummer Game Festcertainly kept me entertained with mean shot and in high spirits - octane action mechanism . I ’m just not indisputable that ’ll be enough for it to part the mold right asDestiny 2is at its point . It ’s an uphill struggle for even the most urbane shooter .
Nexon
Breaking the mold
Before my hand - on demo , a recollective picture presentation gave me a rundown of what to look inThe First Descendant . It was an exhaustive look at the biz , include its reference , post - gamy activities , and more . I was immediately overwhelmed , but that ’s how I ’d feel if I gravel a speedy - flack summation ofDestiny 2right now and I can sail that game with ease . I ’m sureThe First Descendantwill have clearer onboarding that makes it easy to leap into its various activity ; that ’s just a hard experience to demo in an hr .
or else , I was thrown directly into the flak . After loading into a hub that looked quite a bit likeDestiny 2‘s Tower , a developer put me in a dungeon for a mission full of enemies to blast ( I was supposed to try two dungeons during my demo , but a dead headset truncated my experience ) . I ’ll giveThe First Descendantcredit correctly off the squash racket : Its third - mortal shooting is about as all right - tuned as you could desire . Within second , I was drive out horde of foeman with precise , snappy shots . Dungeons cast thick plurality of critter at players , which makes me finger like I ’m abridge through a flood of snake god . Any review article I get into here ultimately may not weigh much in the end .
Its more - distinct lineament is its titulary Descendants , which land a bit of the hero shooter musical genre to the co - op genre . We ’ve seen that before ingames likeOutriders , butThe First Descendantdoes go a bit recondite with its sizable cast of characters . For my demo , I chose the impertinently announced Enzo , who came pack with some heavy fire superpower . One power let me unleash a devastating shot that could burn up down a brawny enemy ’s health streak tight . I could also cast off a gun enclosure , prefer just where I want to position it on the theatre of operations . None of that is necessarily new , but I ’m concerned to see how bass the customization move . I guess it will make for some gravid conscientious objector - op strategizing .
Those potent pillar will call for to do a sight of work , becauseThe First Descendantcan finger derivative otherwise . As I pushed through the dungeon , I gunned down creature that felt a lot like Destiny ’s Hive and Cabal race . Small packs of weak creatures functioned like Thrall , while shield - wielding robots are almost identical to the Phalanx . The sci - fi aesthetic does n’t help it bewilder the Destiny comparisons either ; it felt like I was walk around the Cosmodrome as I traveled through cave and piles of decay metallic element . Even the coloured ammo and wellness box that pop out of enemies feel move up flat from Destiny .
Things would get a little more interesting when I ’d face a bigger boss , who could rain shots down on me . I ’d need to roll out out of the way to dodge them , taking advantage of the third - individual position . In its second phase , eyeball would appear above it to grant it a carapace . I ’d require to take those out one by one to bring down damage . It was a problematic fight that felt tuned for conscientious objector - op ; I can see where I could have some fun with my brother taking it down and reaping the spoils .
The question is : Is that enough ? free-base on what I ’ve played , The First Descendantvery much feel like an option to its match rather than its own distinguishable thing . That might have make in its favor last yr whenDestiny 2hit alow point withLightfall . Frustrated players may have moved on out of maliciousness and been hooked byThe First Descendant‘s rock - solid action . Now , it will plunge in the shadow of the excellentFinal Shapeexpansion , which presently has players occupied with a new drip feed of quests . Why abandon a game you ’ve invested in at its altitude for a new , unproved plot that looks just like it and is starting at zero ?
I do n’t think that means thatThe First Descendantis doomed . On the contrary , the gameplay is tight , there ’s potent carbon monoxide - op potential , and it feels a bit more international than its competition . That could raise it and turn it into a surprise hit . A free - to - bid launch certainly wo n’t hurt either . It also feel like the form of secret plan that could hit its stride over time , bestride aWarframe - style spark in the prospicient run . The basis is there ; it just needs to come up its personality fast .
The First Descendantlaunches on July 2 for PlayStation 4 , PlayStation 5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X / S , and microcomputer .
