Why does The First Descendant have mixed reviews on Steam?

The First Descendant managed to hit 200k live players on its launch day just on Steam, but users have mixed feelings about it. A day after launch, it is sitting on a glowing recommendation but from only half of the Steam player base. At the time of writing, less than 50% of over 15,000 user reviews on Steam are positive about The First Descendant.

Some of it can be explained by a round of review-bombing from a two-day preload period. Instead of saying 'preload', the Steam launcher called it 'Install', leading some viewers to expect a full release, which wouldn't be there till July 2.

However, the majority of issues stem not from the one-off communication gaffe, but from those intrinsic to the game. In this article, we will take a look at why The First Descendant has mixed reviews on Steam, and why that's not likely to change anytime soon.

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Technical issues and microtransactions are the biggest pain points cited in The First Descendant's Mixed Steam Reviews

The First Descendant is a mixed bag if Steam reviews are anything to go by (Image via Steam)

A big attraction in The First Descendant is its well-kept mien of Unreal Engine 5. The game is quite a looker, but unfortunately, not much of a runner for many. Players on the PS5 have reported unreasonably poor performance across the board, but it seems the technical problems also persist on PC.

To give credit where it is due, Nexon managed to keep the servers stable throughout a very crowded launch. However, an otherwise smooth experience is currently interrupted by a myriad of issues from FPS drops to crashing on PC.

Two common error screens are the LE-31, which wards off users from logging in due to a SteamID mismatch, and an 'Out of Video Memory' error, which is apparently a misfire from Unreal Engine 5.

The technical issues can be remedied with some time and hotfixes. However, many negative Steam reviews are pointed indictments of The First Descendant's monetization policy.

Like Warframe, another free-to-play looter shooter, The First Descendant has in-app purchases. There's a whole Battle Pass system with premium rewards and a meager free track. But that aside, there are a lot of money sinks in this game.

Leaving aside cosmetics, several core necessities like Phase Exchangers and Crystallizing Catalysts cost an exorbitant amount of Calibers (the premium currency). By comparison, Warframe often hands out similar tools (Orokin Catalysts and Forma) as easily obtainable rewards regularly.

A Reddit user by the name of goompas did the math: The First Descendant's premium currency is 20 times as expensive as Warframe's. Moreover, there's no way to earn Clibers in the game right now, leaving many users to stipulate that the game will run out of steam soon if they want it to stay free-to-play.

The First Descendant is 20 times more expensive than Warfame byu/goompas inTheFirstDescendant

The microtransaction anxiety partially also comes from the track record of the publishers, Nexon, who are branded with the MapleStory odds-tampering fiasco. It remains to be seen whether the developers can make a surprise turnaround and gain favorable Steam reviews.

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Check out our other guides on this game:

• How to increase Mastery Rank in The First Descendant
• The First Descendant Bunny build guide
• All classes available on launch in The First Descendant
• Which starter class should you pick in The First Descendant?