Are you referring to the upcoming sci-fi horror film, The First Descendant, featuring Chris Hemsworth and directed by Matthew Tolmach? Nexon’s free-to-play loot shooter has been generating buzz for approximately two years. The highly anticipated game initially made its mark with a dramatic cinematic trailer, followed by a series of rigorous beta tests conducted over several months.
One-and-a-half years prior, Connor and I successfully executed it, finding it satisfactory despite one notable omission – the absence of that crucial hook. Following the announcement of its summer launch at E3 just weeks ago, The First Descendant has officially debuted, with thousands already diving in to experience it firsthand.
The First Descendant is a free-to-play, third-person shooter with RPG elements and loot-based progression, simplifying its concept as an accessible and engaging experience. Despite the uncertainty surrounding success, it’s even more challenging to stand out in a crowded market.
Since its debut, the new sport has garnered widespread enthusiasm from a large and dedicated community of gamers. As of this writing, the popular loot shooter holds the sixth spot on Steam’s most played games list, with Elden Ring ranking closely behind.
Simultaneous participant counts have surged dramatically, reaching a new zenith of approximately 180,000 mere minutes ago. While the scale of this offering, whether free-to-play or not, may be substantial, the reception has been far from uniformly positive.
Based on approximately 2,400 reviews, The First Descendant currently holds a blended Steam review ranking. While 49% of participants’ reviews are upbeat, this is somewhat unusual for video games boasting a mixed rating.
While many criticisms centre on gameplay or monetization issues, it’s telling that few address the more pressing concerns over server disconnections and other launch-day troubles. The widespread discontent also arises from the fact that the game was made available for download before servers were operational, leading players to assume they couldn’t log in due to the perceived server downtime, only to discover later that the servers hadn’t actually launched yet. The game’s performance is somewhat marred by a minor misstep in communication, which is reflected in its modest Steam rating.
During a recent Twitch Drops event, the game’s popularity soared, attracting more than 105,000 viewers at the time of writing, solidifying its spot among the platform’s top 5 most-watched streams. The unprecedented popularity of the game has led to widespread concerns, prompting Nexon to issue an apology for the delay in rewarding players. Despite some negative reviews, another concern is the lack of access to certain battles, even after purchase – a problem that highlights issues with server points at present?