FREE-to-play and live service games have flooded the industry, and many of them end up flopping.
With so many similar games releasing all the time, it seems obvious that not all of them can succeed.
In February alone Foamstars, Suicide Squad, Skull and Bones, and Helldivers 2 all launched, and only the last of these were successful.
However, just as it seemed everyone was getting bored of all of these live-service shooters, a new game has broken the mould.
On the surface The First Descendant seems like just another free-to-play looter shooter, but something about it has captured players’ imagination.
More than 10million people have played it over the last two weeks, and there are over 200k concurrent players on Steam alone at the time of writing.
While it is common for people to try out free-to-play games and stop playing them shortly after, it seems that The First Descendant has maintained its popularity at least in the short term.
Despite its popularity, it has received mixed reviews from players, with many pointing out similar strengths and weaknesses.
In particular, players seem to love the grapple hook and the wide range of movement options for traversing the world.
The main complaint that players have is that the microtransactions are very expensive, with many calling the game pay-to-win.
All resources are available to collect in game, but for those who just want the best gear, there is the ability to purchase it for real money.
Players also complained of repetitive quests and extremely boring boss fights.
Despite these problems, people are still coming back for more, with many of the reviews coming from players with more than 100 hours in the game.
If you want to read more about free games, check out our Zenless Zone Zero review.
Get the lowdown on more of the latest PS5 releases from our expert reviewers.
For Xbox Series X and Nintendo Switch, check out our full game reviews section.
