Get # Epic Battles Await: "The First Descendant" to Illuminate Consoles This Summer

With every swashbuckling, co-op looter shooter calling for attention in a universe of rising and setting suns, there is one game in particular that has for some time been casting a dark glow of anticipation over the hearts of players. It’s not just a game: stripped of all superfluous hype, The First Descendant is a crystalline precursor for the future of play, and come summer it will land on consoles everywhere. Confirmed for a debut at the Summer Game Fest 2024, Nexon Games is gearing up for an adrenaline-pumping ride on the fast-lane of multiple platforms.

The First Glimpse: Unveiling at the Summer Game Fest

When the curtain dropped at the Summer Game Fest, days later, a scrum of alien creatures and buffed heroes appeared on screen, battling for control of a digital universe. At last, the trailer for The First Descendant appeared: 2 July 2021. This was the Unreal Engine 5 reveal we’d all been waiting for. Nexon Games has just opened the door for a brand-new, free-to-play, universe-hopping game, spanning the PC, PLAYSTATION 4, PLAYSTATION 5, XBOX ONE, and XBOX SERIES X/S consoles.

A Summer of Anticipation: The Journey to Launch

The way to launch has been plotted via a detailed roadmap, with a window of summer prominently placed in Nexon’s announcement at The Game Awards 2023. The commitment is further reiterated on X (formerly Twitter), affirming it ‘for a launch this summer’. In the lead up, Nexon has conducted technical tests, followed by a crossplay open beta in 2023 – all designed to ensure that crossplay and cross-saves come along for the ride when the game debuts.

The Heart of "The First Descendant": A Battle for Earth

At its heart, ‘The First Descendant’ is a tale of a hero, a Descendant, bestowed with godlike powers, who protects the world from the alien marauders called the Vulgus. It weaves a narrative of resistance, backed by missions and updates, as well as in-game cinematics. The game’s producer Lee Beom-jun told Digital Trends: ‘Story and gameplay are not separate. The story will become dynamic and unpredictable as major updates unfold.’

Engaging Beyond the Main Quest: The Allure of Side Stories

Nexon promises to take us further than just the single-player campaign, but instead come for a complex, nuanced experience for your adventurous soul. And to that end, Amazon is putting a lot of XP into the side stories and lore to get us fully invested into this world. Oh, and I haven’t even mentioned that Amazon is staffing up big-time.

The Console Odyssey: Embracing Cross-Platform Unity

Crossplay and cross-saves across consoles are coming to The First Descendant, so the game looks poised to push the boundaries of playing as one again. Everyone, of every platform, is coming together to play this game, no matter which box you use to get there. Whether locked in combat with a controller in your hand on a PLAYSTATION, a cradled XBOX, or a mastered mouse-and-keyboard PC, worlds are coming together to keep everyone together.

A Riveting Summer Ahead

As summer begins its 2024 heat run, ‘The First Descendant’ promises to raise the bar for console-based, free-to-play shooters with a deeper narrative, smarter graphics and full cross-platform integration.

Exploring the World of Consoles

The advent of gaming consoles that evolve year on year means the gaming visions of developers can come to fruition for millions. With each console having its own ecosystem, games targeting each are developed for the communities attached to them – such as PLAYSTATION allowing for gameplay of 4K resolution, while Xbox’s exclusive SERIES X/S community is vast in its own right.

The effort to get The First Descendant published for these disparate consoles speaks to this ethos of accessibility and universality, honouring the consoles in their home of the heart where people go to feel the arc of an epic story, to share it with others and hold it dear.

Ultimately, then, ‘The First Descendant’ is not really a game. It’s an ode to the unifying power of playing. It uses consoles to extend a hand to players, inviting them into a world that is limitless, full of possibilities, adventure and promise. This summer, as the game releases, consoles will form a rallying point for new heroes to stand in solidarity against the encroaching shadows.