The First Descendant Official Trailer Shows Off Its Cast and Combat

The First Descendant got its first official trailer on Gamescom’s Opening Night. It showed off tons of combat as well as its main characters.

The First Descendant Official Trailer Shows Off Its Cast and Combat

Genre: Third-Person Shooter, Action-RPG
Developed by: Nexon Games
Published by: Nexon Korea
Release date: TBD
Beta Test: October 20, 2022, to October 26, 2022
Price: Free-to-Play
Platforms: Windows (Steam), Consoles

Nexon Games’ newest title in the works is called The First Descendant, which was originally called Project Magnum up until July of this year. The First Descendant is a free-to-play third-person shooter that will focus on a select cast of characters that players will get to play.

During the Gamescom 2022 Opening Night, Nexon was able to reveal the title’s first official full-length trailer. Footage lasted for just a bit over 3 minutes and was filled with tons and tons of action.

Divine Descendants

The First Descendant takes place on an Earth that is ravaged by conflict. Ancient aliens have begun attempting a hostile takeover of our planet. Humanity has been pushed back into a corner, retreating into the only last known bastion of mankind, the Ingris Continent.

Humanity is down, but not out. Certain humans have become what they call Descendants, extremely skilled futuristic soldiers that have access to cutting-edge technology as well as magic. It is these Descendants that will act as our last hope and only vanguard against the looming threats.

The First Descendant is extremely visually detailed, as it is one of the titles that is being built upon the Unreal 5 Engine. While the trailer’s footage is definitely a mix between cutscene and in-game graphics, everything just oozes eye candy. Everything from the great lighting, to the particle effects, to even the character designs themselves is just so technologically impressive. Games truly have come far from what they once were.

The First Descendants

Players will take the reins of specific Descendants. These are already established characters, and unfortunately, players will not be able to make their own customized avatars. What we do have though are some visually distinct and interesting-looking folks, who Nexon promises will each have their own playstyles, personalities, and more.

At the moment there aren’t any names to the characters, but the trailer footage seems to give the impression that there will be at least 7 on launch. Nexon can always add more later on down the line given the title’s Live Service model.

I’ll give each character a temporary name, for now since nothing official has been released. We have Space Ciri who has a little mechanical orb just like the Ghosts in Destiny. She is grounded in frost and thus has access to some powerful shattering ice abilities.

Next is Brooding Assassin, the man in the last article’s cover photo. He likes his hood, rifles, pistols, and lurking in the shadows. We also have Girl-with-Glasses, and she wears a lab coat so she’ll probably take the support/healer role. Next is Shock Stilettos, a lady assassin that can augment her kicks with electricity.

On the other hand, we have a raven-haired lady who makes use of a green chemical, which probably boosts her combat powers for a limited amount of time. There’s also a Heavy Soldier that has massive armor as well as a huge minigun to match it.

Last but not least is the guy in the last article’s cover photo. Not much was shown on him, unfortunately.

Beta Testing with the Descendants

The First Descendant’s open beta tests start on October 20, 2022. It will run for about 6 days in total, ending on October 26th. Interested players can sign up for the beta directly on the Steam page.

Players can expect a 4-player cooperative experience where they will take down hordes of enemies which culminate in massive boss battles. More interestingly, it seems that bosses aren’t just a simply bigger version of regular enemies. Bosses will require players to coordinate attacks on certain weak points, prioritize specific targets, and eliminate some of their abilities in the process.

You Don't Just Have Weapons at Your Disposal — You Don’t Just Have Weapons at Your Disposal

Players will need to carefully balance their use of gunplay and movement abilities, as it looks like things can get quite frantic in-game.

Each of the characters will have their own skills and playstyle, so players should be encouraged to try out more than one of the Descendants. While out in the field, players will be able to freely swap through 3 main guns and 4 different pieces of tactical support equipment.

Project Magnum

The First Descendant is going to be released on both PC and Consoles, but the Beta only mentions the PC version thus far. It will be a free-to-play with microtransactions title, but Nexon hasn’t announced what exactly the monetization will look like. The game definitely exudes some Warframe, Outriders, Anthem, and Destiny vibes.

For more on Gamescom 2022, check out:

The First Descendant Official Trailer Shows Off Its Cast and Combat