If you’ve scrolled through Steam’s new release charts or seen clips of flashy third-person combat on TikTok lately, you’ve probably stumbled on questions about what is The First Descendant game about. Developed by Nexon Games, this free-to-play looter shooter has blown up in recent months thanks to its smooth gameplay, stunning Unreal Engine 5 graphics, and generous content drops for casual and hardcore players. I’ve put 120+ hours into the game across PC and PlayStation 5, so I’m breaking down everything you need to know before you download it, no fluff or misleading claims included.
What Is The First Descendant Game About, At Its Core?
The short answer is that it’s a cross-platform third-person looter shooter set on a post-invasion version of Earth. You play as a Descendant, a genetically modified super soldier with unique elemental powers, tasked with fighting off a hostile alien race called the Vulgus that has occupied most of the planet. Unlike many other free-to-play games in the genre, it has no pay-to-win mechanics: all gameplay content, from story missions to endgame raids, is completely free to access, and the only paid items are cosmetic skins and convenience items that don’t impact gameplay. It’s designed to be accessible for new players while offering enough depth to keep veteran looter shooter fans engaged for hundreds of hours. I went into it expecting another generic gacha shooter with predatory monetization, and was shocked by how little pressure there is to spend money, even when you reach the highest difficulty endgame content.
Core Story & Lore That Drives The Gameplay
The game’s world is built around a 100-year-old conflict with the Vulgus, who arrived on Earth with a toxic, power-dense material called Inheritor. Regular humans can’t touch Inheritor without getting seriously ill, so global scientists collaborated to modify human DNA to create the first Descendants, who can not only tolerate the material but wield it to power their unique abilities. Each playable Descendant has their own personal backstory tied to the invasion: some are survivors of Vulgus attacks that killed their families, others are former scientists who experimented on themselves to help the war effort. You don’t have to engage with the story if you just want to grind for loot, but the voice acting and character side quests are surprisingly well written. The main story campaign takes about 25 hours to complete if you rush, but you can take your time doing side content to unlock hidden lore snippets that expand on the game’s world and character backstories.
Key Gameplay Features You Can Expect
The core gameplay loop is pretty familiar to anyone who’s played a looter shooter before: you run missions across different regions of the planet, defeat enemies and bosses, collect new weapons, mods and armor pieces, upgrade your Descendant’s power level, and take on harder, more rewarding missions. Where it stands out from other games in the genre is its fast, fluid movement and highly customizable character builds. Some of the most popular features include:
- 4-player co-op missions for all endgame boss fights, with matchmaking that works smoothly even for new players with low-level gear, no pre-made group required
- 19 playable Descendants as of the latest update, each with 3 unique active skills and 1 passive skill that fits specific roles, from high-damage DPS to crowd control support and tank
- Deep mod system that lets you customize every weapon and character ability to fit your playstyle, no “meta” build is required to clear all available content
Movement is one of the game’s biggest strengths: you can slide, grapple, double jump and dash to get around maps quickly, which makes even repeated grind missions feel far less tedious than they do in other looter shooters. Boss fights are another highlight, each with unique mechanics that require teamwork and strategy to beat, you can’t just brute force them even if you have really high-level gear. If you prefer playing solo, almost all story and side missions are fully playable without a team, and you’ll get scaled loot that fits your level no matter what. The only content that requires a full team is the 8-player raid, which is optional endgame content for players who have maxed out their main character.
What Endgame Content Is Available After You Finish The Story
Finishing the main campaign is just the start of what the game has to offer. Once you beat the final story boss, you’ll unlock harder difficulty versions of all existing missions, which drop higher rarity loot and exclusive cosmetic rewards you can’t get anywhere else. You’ll also unlock Void Intercept Battles, which are high-difficulty boss fights that drop the best legendary gear in the game, as well as weekly challenge missions that give you premium currency you can use to buy cosmetic skins without spending real money. The developers release new content every 2-3 months, including new Descendants, maps, and story chapters, so you won’t run out of things to do any time soon. I beat the main story about 2 months after I started playing, and I’ve still got a list of 10+ things I want to grind for every time I log on, from a rare legendary sniper rifle to a special holiday skin for my main support character. There are also regular limited-time events with unique rewards, so even if you’ve cleared all the permanent content, there’s always something new to check out.
At the end of the day, if you’re a fan of looter shooters like Destiny 2 or Warframe, you’ll almost certainly have a good time with this game. Now that you know what is The First Descendant game about, the only thing left to do is download it and try out a few different Descendants to see which one fits your playstyle best. If you’re still on the fence, remember it’s completely free to play, so you don’t have to spend a cent to see if it’s right for you. Don’t be afraid to mess around with different weapon and mod builds early on, you can respec your character at any time for no cost, so there’s no pressure to pick a “perfect” build right away.