You've probably seen the trailers. Shiny characters, massive bosses, and guns that look like they belong on a heavy metal album cover. It looks incredible. But when you actually sit down to play, the question "is The First Descendant good" starts to feel a bit complicated. It’s a free-to-play looter shooter developed by Nexon, a company that has a very specific reputation for how they handle monetization. If you've played Warframe or Destiny 2, you'll feel an immediate, almost eerie sense of deja vu.
The game isn't trying to reinvent the wheel. It's trying to be the wheel, but with Unreal Engine 5 paint and a lot more skin on display.
Honestly, it’s a polarizing experience. Some people are clocking 300 hours in the first month. Others delete it after two hours because they can’t stand the menu bloat. If you're looking for a deep, philosophical narrative about the human condition, move on. But if you want to blow up a robotic colossus with three of your friends while looking like a high-fashion cyborg? Well, then we have something to talk about.
The Visual Power of Unreal Engine 5
Let’s be real: this is one of the best-looking games in the genre right now. Period. Nexon utilized Unreal Engine 5 to create environments that feel heavy and grounded, even when they’re totally sci-fi. When you’re running through the Sterile Land or the Agna Desert, the lighting hits differently. The "Descendants"—the playable characters—are designed with an almost obsessive level of detail.
But there’s a catch.
Beautiful graphics come at a cost. If you aren't running a relatively modern PC or a PS5/Xbox Series X, the optimization might make you want to pull your hair out. Frame drops during heavy boss fights are common. Even on high-end rigs, the shaders sometimes stutter. It’s a "good" game visually, but only if your hardware can actually handle the heat. Many players find that the sheer visual noise during a four-player intercept battle makes it hard to see what’s actually happening. It’s flashy. It’s loud. It’s chaotic.
The Gameplay Loop: Is It Actually Fun?
At its core, the gameplay is snappy. It’s a third-person shooter where you use abilities on cooldowns. You have Bunny, who runs fast to generate electricity. You have Lepic, who throws grenades and has a literal arm cannon. You have Ajax, the "tank" who puts up shields. The moment-to-moment gunplay feels surprisingly weighty. The impact of the bullets, the way enemies react to elemental damage—Nexon nailed the "feel" of the combat.
The hook is the Intercept Battles. These are giant boss fights called Colossi. Imagine a robotic version of Monster Hunter. You and three others drop into an arena and have ten minutes to take down a mountain-sized enemy with specific weak points and "enraged" mechanics. This is where the game shines. It requires coordination, builds, and a bit of skill.
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However, the "is The First Descendant good" debate usually falls apart when you look at the missions between those bosses. Most of the campaign is "go here, hold this point for two minutes, kill 50 enemies, move to the next point." It’s repetitive. Like, soul-crushingly repetitive. You’ll do the same three types of missions across several different maps just to get to the next cinematic or the next boss. If you hate "busy work" in games, you are going to struggle here.
The Warframe Comparison
You can't talk about this game without mentioning Warframe. The systems are almost identical.
- You research new characters (Descendants) using blueprints.
- You upgrade "Modules" (essentially cards) to increase your stats.
- You use "Energy Activators" to increase your mod capacity.
- There's a "Mastery Rank" system that governs your overall account progress.
Nexon didn't just take inspiration; they took the whole blueprint. For some, this is great because Warframe is a fantastic game. For others, it feels like a derivative clone that lacks the ten years of soul and content that Digital Extremes put into their project.
The Elephant in the Room: Monetization and the Grind
Is The First Descendant good for your wallet? That’s a whole different story.
The game is free-to-play, which means Nexon has to make money somehow. They do it by selling convenience and aesthetics. You can buy Descendants directly instead of farming them. You can buy "Ultimate" versions of characters—which have better stats and exclusive slots—for about $60 to $100 depending on the bundle. That is a lot of money for a single character.
The grind for "free" players is intense. To get a new character, you might need to farm four different parts. Each part has a drop chance. Sometimes that chance is 20%. Sometimes it’s 3%. You might run the same 5-minute mission 40 times and still not get what you need. Then, once you have the parts, you have to wait real-world hours (sometimes 16 to 36 hours) for the character to "research" before you can play them. Unless, of course, you pay to speed it up.
This is the "Nexon way." It’s designed to make you impatient. If you have a high tolerance for grinding and you enjoy the "journey" of slowly building power, you’ll find it rewarding. If you want instant gratification without opening your credit card, you’re going to have a bad time.
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Character Variety and Build Crafting
One thing the game gets very right is how different the Descendants feel.
Playing as Gley, who uses her own health as a resource to deal massive damage, feels nothing like playing as Jayber, who sets up turrets to do the work for him. The build crafting is surprisingly deep. You aren't just picking a gun; you're slotting modules that change how your skills work. You can turn a character who is "okay" into an absolute god-tier room clearer if you understand how to stack "Skill Power" and "Cooldown Reduction."
The problem? The game doesn't explain these systems well. You'll likely find yourself on YouTube looking at guides from creators like Moxsy or KnightmareFrame just to figure out why your damage is so low. It’s a "wiki game." You need outside resources to truly master it.
The Social Factor
Is it better with friends? Absolutely.
Playing solo can be a bit of a slog, especially in the later "Hard Mode" content. The community is generally helpful, though. The world chat is usually a mix of people looking for groups to farm "Amorphous Materials" (the game's version of loot boxes that you earn through play) and people complaining about drop rates.
The matchmaking is actually quite good. For almost every activity in the game, you can just hit "matchmake" and be paired with others instantly. You don't need a dedicated clan to see most of what the game has to offer, which is a big plus compared to something like Destiny 2’s raids.
Addressing the "Is It Good?" Verdict
Whether The First Descendant is "good" depends entirely on what you value in a game.
It is good if:
- You love third-person shooters with high-quality graphics.
- You enjoy the "loop" of killing bosses to get better gear to kill harder bosses.
- You have a lot of patience for RNG (Random Number Generation).
- You like "waifu" and "husbando" character designs.
It is bad if:
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- You hate repetitive mission structures.
- You are bothered by aggressive monetization and "pay-to-skip" mechanics.
- You want a gripping, original story.
- You have an older PC or console that struggles with modern engines.
There’s a certain "jank" to the writing and the voice acting. Some of the lines are delivered with zero emotion, and the plot about "The Ironheart" and "The Vulgus" is generic sci-fi filler. You aren't here for the Oscars; you're here for the loot.
What You Should Do Next
If you’re on the fence, don't spend a dime yet. The game is free. Download it, play through the first three zones (Kingston, Sterile Land, and Vespers), and see how the movement feels.
- Focus on the Campaign first: Don't worry about "farming" until you hit the level cap. The game gives you enough gear to get through the story.
- Try Bunny: She is the second character most people unlock. Her playstyle is fast and represents the "fun" side of the game’s power fantasy.
- Check the "Access Info" tab: This is the most important menu in the game. It tells you exactly where every item in the game drops. If it's not in there, it doesn't exist.
- Don't ignore Modules: Leveling up your "Increased HP" and "Increased DEF" modules is more important than finding a gun with a higher number. Survivability is king in the endgame.
The First Descendant is a flawed, beautiful, grindy, and occasionally brilliant mess. It’s "good" in the way a greasy cheeseburger is good. It might not be high art, and it might be a little bad for you, but in the right moment, it hits exactly the spot. Just keep your expectations in check regarding the drop rates, and you might find your next big gaming obsession.
Don't let the flashy trailers fool you into thinking it's a revolutionary epic. It's a solid, well-built loot-grinder that respects your time only as much as you're willing to work for it. If you can handle the "Nexon tax" of long research times and repetitive maps, there is a very satisfying core game waiting for you.
To get started, focus on completing the "Bunny" questline as soon as it appears. She is the most efficient character for farming almost everything in the early game, and having her in your roster will make the "is The First Descendant good" experience feel much smoother right out of the gate. Experiment with the different weapon types—especially the "Tamer" machine gun, which is currently a meta-favorite for its high base damage—to find a rhythm that works for you. Keep an eye on the community spreadsheets for the most efficient farm routes, as the in-game maps don't always show the fastest way to clear mobs.
Finally, always remember that this is a marathon, not a sprint. The game is built to last months, not days. Take breaks when the RNG gets frustrating, because the bosses will still be there when you get back.