The First Descendant, Nexon's latest ticket into the sci-fi looter shooter sphere, is already seeing waves of negativity over the game's monetization system. The free-to-play title has been compared to Warframe, only "20 times more expensive."
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The game's initial post-launch reactions came from Steam, where 50 percent of players said they would not recommend the game. This put Nexon's shooter in the "Mixed" category, with most reviews criticizing the company for implementing aggressive and hugely expensive microtransactions into the game. One of the most negative reviews on Valve's storefront claimed that The First Descendant has an "extremely predatory monetization scheme," while another advised players to "keep their wallets away" if they play the game.
Things aren’t much better on Reddit, as players have compared similar mechanics and their costs in both The First Descendant and Warframe. In one thread, one player noted that doubling module capacity in Warframe costs around $1.5, while doing the same in The First Descendant costs $30, or 20 times more. “The company is so anti-consumer it’s crazy,” reads one response to the thread, though players have praised the gameplay despite all the monetization shenanigans.
“The main thing that can and will kill this game is Nexon’s greed,” wrote another disgruntled player. From all the discussions on social media and Steam, it seems that microtransactions are the core problem for any new and upcoming title. In recent years, many games have emerged with aggressive monetization systems (like Diablo Immortal for example), which severely impacted their otherwise solid gameplay. The First Descendant seems to be no exception, and players are actively calling on Nexon to lower the bounties.