Reside service looter shooters are removed from a brand new idea within the gaming area nowadays. With most looter shooters failing to achieve any long-term traction, how does one thing like The First Descendant fare? At the moment, we’re evaluating TFD to one in all its greatest inspirations, Warframe, to see how The First Descendant stacks up.
The First Descendant
The First Descendant simply launched to each fame and infamy. This third-person looter shooter borrows many components from the opposite shooters within the area to create one thing new that tries to be greater than the sum of its components. You’ve received your loot drops with quite a lot of affixes. Then you’ve gotten your 14 playable characters, all with passives and 4 energetic expertise which can be fairly various.
Then there’s TFD’s mod system that’s straight out of Warframe. The First Descendant additionally combines the shared-world components of Future 2’s patrol zones with dynamic quests. All these components in such a slick Unreal 5 bundle have helped propel this sport to the highest—at the very least, for now.
Warframe
Warframe, developed by Digital Extremes, is likely one of the first video games individuals consider after they consider reside service looter-shooter. Certainly one of Warframe’s most iconic options is its randomly generated ranges in a compelling sci-fi universe the place you discover the whole thing of our photo voltaic system after which some. This has allowed Warframe to repeatedly develop in content material and scope with out vaulting giant chunks of earlier content material.
Mix that form of replayability with dozens of Warframe characters, over a dozen modes, and a whole bunch of craftable weapons, and you’ve got a looter shooter that has stood the check of time.
Spherical 1: Second-to-Second Gameplay
With regards to gameplay, Warframe offers you a lot choices so that you can carry out on a moment-to-moment foundation. Whereas there isn’t a grappling hook, you do get the power to crouch, slide, bullet bounce, glide, wall bounce, wall run, and cling onto partitions as a part of any Warframe’s primary motion gameplay. You may shoot weapons and use talents too, however Warframe additionally offers an even bigger give attention to melee gameplay via primary assaults, heavy assaults, combos, slide assaults, and floor kilos.
In distinction, The First Descendant provides double jumps, a grappling hook, and mantling for motion choices (exterior of fight talents). From there, you’ve gotten your character’s talents, a melee assault, and gunplay from three totally different classes of weapon ammo sorts. That’s about it although, which I discovered disappointing in comparison with Warframe and even what Future 2 does to offer you mobility and methods to combat.
I imply, think about my shock after I discovered I couldn’t even crouch. That successfully means there received’t be any degree design constructed round taking cowl until it’s sufficiently big so that you can totally stand behind.
Winner: Warframe
Spherical 2: Visuals and Optimization
Warframe has been round since 2013, and generally that age exhibits – how can it not? Nonetheless, Digital Extremes has upgraded the engine Warframe runs on over time, which permits for using newer rendering methods and higher textures. This leads to a sport that appears surprisingly trendy however has been optimized your entire time. Mixed with DLSS help, Warframe is assured to run properly on just about any system and any console made within the final ten years.
Then again, The First Descendant makes use of Unreal Engine 5. Now, Unreal 5 has a tremendous quantity of graphical constancy, together with some spectacular ray tracing applied sciences like completely correct reflections, shadows, and international illumination. In truth, The First Descendant is an amazing-looking sport with among the most spectacular cutscenes I’ve seen in a sport. That mentioned, there’s a flaw with how TFD performs.
It’s not the worst by far, however in the event you attempt to use DLSS 3’s body era, you’re going to expertise extremely uneven gameplay. It was to the purpose the place I discovered myself selecting decrease framerates with increased enter latency over a a lot increased framerate.
Winner: Tie
Spherical 3: Loot and Development
Each Warframe and The First Descendant function a mod system for characters and weapons which can be almost similar, with the mods themselves being the first differentiator. Each video games even have a mastery rank system that advantages the participant by giving extra stock, weapons, and character slots. Absolutely leveling weapons and characters, and finishing missions, additionally helps improve your mastery rank in each video games.
The place The First Descendant goes above and past is by having weapons and kit that function randomly rolled affixes. The First Descendant additionally drops weapons and kit on enemy kills, versus Warframe, which is essentially crafted-only. That mentioned, Warframe does have a number of further development methods like gaining focus to progress your Warframe’s operator talents. Warframe additionally allows you to seize and design your individual upgradeable pets that assist you in fight or make it simpler to gather loot.
Finally, each video games function some ways to grind and progress.
Winner: Tie
Spherical 4: Truthful Monetization
Let’s be trustworthy right here, in terms of The First Descendant vs Warframe, each video games don’t actually have the very best monetization methods. Working example, each video games have Prime or Final variations of characters that value a ridiculous sum of money or time to grind free of charge. Moreover, each video games ask you to attend hour upon hour for the completion of a crafted weapon or character or make you pay premium foreign money to bypass the wait.
That mentioned, the place The First Descendant falters additional than Warframe is by having all of Warframe’s microtransaction construction (after which some) with not one of the capacity to earn premium foreign money by way of participant buying and selling. Positive, they are saying buying and selling is coming, but it surely ought to have been right here on launch. Particularly since TFD has an terrible beauty system with one-time-use paints that may solely be used on paid skins. No thanks.
Winner: Warframe
Spherical 5: Multiplayer and Matchmaking
Warframe and The First Descendant each have on-line coop and matchmaking. What’s cool about what The First Descendant does is you can dynamically be part of and depart participant squads within the sport’s Future 2-esque maps. It’s so dynamic, in truth, that every one you want to do is shoot the enemies that have been spawned to affix one in all these open-world quests.
Warframe doesn’t have this type of open-world dynamic quest-joining performance as its giant open zones are instanced. That mentioned, for some time, The First Descendant didn’t supply matchmaking for its dungeons known as Infiltration Operations. Fortunately, Nexon simply went on report saying a hotfix is incoming that can add matchmaking performance to Infiltration Operations.
Such a hotfix is a win for gamers who don’t at all times have pals on-line and don’t wish to go to sure Discord channels to search out assist. This places The First Descendant a lot nearer to Warframe when it comes to your capacity to search out individuals to play with. Each video games assist you to matchmaker into any mode, and whereas Warframe has Railjack missions that permit for a higher depth of co-op play, it’s not sufficient to offer it a win over The First Descendant.
Winner: Tie
Winner: Warframe
The First Descendant does have compelling gameplay, visuals, and options. It’s additionally not the worst technique to spend your time. Nonetheless, for borrowing so many components from Warframe, The First Descendant doesn’t do sufficient issues by itself which can be higher than what Warframe offers.
I can and can reduce The First Descendant some slack for simply releasing the opposite week. So, don’t get me mistaken. What there may be on launch is fairly good. Right here’s hoping The First Descendant continues so as to add extra selection to its gameplay and tones down the microtransactions going ahead. If Nexon can handle that, then they’ll have a shot at proudly owning a sport that gamers return to for years to return.
For extra like this, try our different comparability articles Content material Warning versus Deadly Firm, Enshrouded versus Valheim, and Deadly Firm versus Phasmophobia. You might also be desirous about seeing what we consider Hoyoverse’s Zenless Zone Zero with our assessment.