What are the pros of The First Descendant?

Engaging, fast-paced combat with flashy and satisfying character abilities.. Extremely high replay value with many players clocking hundreds to thousands of hours.. High-quality character designs and visual production values.. Accessible entry point as a free-to-play title that casual players can enjoy without immediate spending..

What are the cons of The First Descendant?

Aggressive monetization and microtransactions for unlocks, boosts, and cosmetics.. Repetitive and excessively heavy grind that feels less player-friendly than competitors.. Poor endgame balance that makes only a few specific characters and weapons viable.. Boss encounters often rely on massive health pools, leading to tedious 'bullet sponge' gameplay.. Forgettable narrative and story elements that fail to engage..

The First Descendant

The First Descendant is a third-person looter shooter powered by Unreal Engine 5. Become a Descendant. Fight for the survival of humanity. Descendants have unique abilities to tackle both solo and co-op missions. Up to 4 players use varied mechanics to defeat giant bosses. BE THE FIRST DESCENDANT!

57%

Mixed

DeveloperNEXON Games Co., Ltd.

PublisherNEXON

Release DateJun 30, 2024

Free to Play

Peak Players264.9K

PlatformsWindows

AI Review Summary

The First Descendant offers fast-paced, flashy combat and high-quality visuals that can hook players for hundreds of hours, drawing strong comparisons to established looter-shooters. However, the experience is significantly marred by an aggressive monetization model, a repetitive grind, and an endgame balance that currently forces players into a very narrow meta.

Pros

Engaging, fast-paced combat with flashy and satisfying character abilities.90%
Extremely high replay value with many players clocking hundreds to thousands of hours.85%
High-quality character designs and visual production values.80%
Accessible entry point as a free-to-play title that casual players can enjoy without immediate spending.60%

Cons

Aggressive monetization and microtransactions for unlocks, boosts, and cosmetics.95%
Repetitive and excessively heavy grind that feels less player-friendly than competitors.90%
Poor endgame balance that makes only a few specific characters and weapons viable.85%
Boss encounters often rely on massive health pools, leading to tedious 'bullet sponge' gameplay.75%
Forgettable narrative and story elements that fail to engage.70%

Notable Mentions

Reviewers highlight a significant trend of players leaving negative reviews despite having hundreds of hours of playtime.
The game is frequently described as a less consumer-friendly alternative to Warframe.
The financial success of the game is heavily attributed by players to specific character cosmetics like Ultimate Bunny.

Confidence: 86%

Based on the 169 most relevant reviewsGenerated on Jul 21, 2026

Game Vitals

Live snapshot

Player Activity

Current peak

11.3K

Peak · last 90 days

14.5K

All-time peak

264.9K

Price

Current price

Free to Play

Lowest tracked

Free to Playsince Dec 5, 2025

Review Sentiment

Launch week

—

Last 30 days

45%

All-time positive

57%

Review Statistics

Total Reviews111.9K

Positive: 64.2K (57%)Negative: 47.7K (43%)

Reviews from Steam Deck

Dev Response Rate

326h

Avg Playtime at Review

75%

Credible Reviews