If you’ve been scrolling through looter shooter recommendations lately, you’ve probably stumbled on The First Descendant and wondered if it lives up to the hype. I spent three hours digging through forum threads last week to answer is the first descendant good reddit users actually recommend, and the answers were a lot more nuanced than I expected. The game mixes third-person shooter action, RPG progression, and co-op multiplayer, but it’s not for every type of player. Before you drop 40 GB of storage and a few hours downloading it, let’s break down what the community actually thinks, warts and all.
What Reddit Says About Is The First Descendant Good For Casual Players?
Most casual players on Reddit say The First Descendant is a solid pick if you only have a few hours a week to play, but it has some annoying hurdles early on. You don’t have to grind 20 hours a week to access most of the fun content, which is a huge plus for people with full-time jobs or other hobbies. A lot of reviewers mentioned that the first 10 hours of the game feel a bit slow, as you unlock basic characters and get used to the combat loop, but it picks up fast once you unlock your first main ability set. For example, one player who works 60 hour weeks in healthcare posted that they log on twice a week for an hour each time, and they’ve already unlocked three of the most popular endgame characters without spending any money. The only common complaint from casual players is that some of the early story missions feel repetitive, as they mostly involve killing the same basic enemy types over and over again, but most say it’s worth pushing through to get to the co-op boss fights that are the game’s main draw.
The Biggest Pros Of The First Descendant, Per Reddit Users
Reddit users were surprisingly consistent about the parts of The First Descendant that make it stand out from other looter shooters on the market. The most commonly cited benefits include:
- Incredibly polished character designs and combat animations – almost every reviewer mentioned that the game feels far smoother to play than most free-to-play looter shooters, with responsive controls and flashy, satisfying abilities that never feel clunky to use.
- Generous free-to-play model – you can unlock every playable character, weapon, and endgame content without spending real money, and the paid cosmetic items don’t give any gameplay advantages at all.
- Fun 4-player co-op boss fights – the game’s Void Intercept battles are a huge hit with the community, with unique mechanics that require actual team coordination instead of just spamming damage until the boss dies.
- Regular content updates that fix community feedback – the devs are active on Reddit themselves, and they’ve rolled out several patches to fix complaints about grind and progression in the last few months alone.
Common Complaints Reddit Users Have About The First Descendant
No game is perfect, and The First Descendant has its fair share of flaws that come up over and over again in Reddit threads. The early game story is extremely generic and poorly written, to the point that many players recommend skipping cutscenes entirely until you get to the later, more interesting plot beats. The loot system also feels a bit unbalanced early on, with a lot of duplicate drops that don’t feel useful until you reach level 30 and unlock the crafting system. One common complaint I saw over and over again is that the game’s inventory space is really limited for free players early on, and you have to spend in-game currency to unlock more slots. It’s not a dealbreaker for most people, but it can be annoying to have to constantly delete or sell loot every 10 minutes when you’re first starting out. If you prefer playing solo, you might also run into issues with some of the later boss fights, which are clearly balanced for co-op play and can feel unnecessarily frustrating to beat alone. A lot of players also mention that the in-game tutorial is really bad at explaining more complex mechanics like mod fusion and character builds, so you’ll have to look up quick guides online to figure out how those systems work. Another issue is that some of the character unlocks can take a bit of grinding if you’re unlucky with drops, but most players say it takes no more than 5-6 hours of play to unlock the character you want, which is far less grindy than similar games like Warframe. That said, most of these issues are fixable, and the devs have already announced plans to rework the early game tutorial and balance solo play in upcoming updates.
Is The First Descendant Worth Playing For You?
At the end of the day, whether you’ll enjoy The First Descendant depends a lot on what you’re looking for in a game. If you love co-op looter shooters with fun combat and don’t mind a slow start, you’ll almost certainly have a good time with it. If you prefer single-player, story-driven experiences, you’re probably better off skipping this one, since the main draw is the co-op endgame content. If you’re a fan of games like Warframe or Destiny 2, you’ll probably feel right at home with The First Descendant’s gameplay loop, though it’s a lot less grindy than both of those games for casual players. You should also keep in mind that the game is still being actively updated, so a lot of the current complaints will likely be fixed over the next year. I’d recommend trying it out if you have a group of friends to play with, since that’s where the game really shines. If you’re on the fence, you can always download it for free and play the first few hours to see if it clicks for you, since it doesn’t cost anything to try. I tested it out with two friends last weekend, and we had a blast running the first few co-op missions even though none of us knew what we were doing half the time.
At the end of the day, when you’re asking is the first descendant good reddit users have a pretty clear consensus: it’s a solid free-to-play looter shooter that’s perfect for co-op groups and casual players, even with its small flaws. You don’t have to spend any money to enjoy 99% of what the game has to offer, which makes it a low-risk pick if you’re looking for a new game to play with friends. Just be prepared to push through the slow first 10 hours, and don’t go in expecting a groundbreaking single-player story, and you’ll have a great time.