Gamers of the World

The First Descendant is a bad video game that’s occasionally fun. These fleeting moments of joy speak to the potential of the game’s bedrock, where snappy combat ekes out glimpses of delight amidst a torrent of disappointment and frustration. Everything surrounding the game’s fast-paced shooting is painfully dull, tedious, and egregiously predatory. The First Descendant is a free-to-play, third-person looter shooter that feels like it was designed to please shareholders rather than the people playing it. It’s derivative and soulless, bereft of new ideas outside of the myriad ways it attempts to extract money from its player base. It’s a foul example of a game designed around monetization, even in a market saturated with freemium looter shooters.

It doesn’t start on good footing, either. The First Descendant’s story is convoluted and sterile, but the basic premise places you as one of the titular Descendants–a group of humans with unique abilities passed down to them from their fallen ancestors. You’re tasked with fighting for the survival of humanity against an invading alien threat known as the Vulgus, who traveled to the colonized planet of Ingris in search of an infinite energy source.

These interdimensional invaders come in all shapes and sizes, with very little in common regarding their visual design. Some look like gray-skinned humans; others are grotesque creatures with large glowing claws. There are sleek and smooth-edged robots, but also clunky ones, too. Some are made to resemble humanoid lizards, while others are floating orbs that shoot lightning. There’s no cohesion or unifying theme to the Vulgus. Even their names range from Greg to something more alien, like Alzaroke.

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At first glance, Kunitsu-Gami: Path Of The Goddess feels like the spinning plates metaphor made manifest. Each stage requires you to purge supernatural rot, rescue villagers, build traps, and fight off waves of hideous demons, all with the goal of aiding a divine maiden in her quest to rid Mt. Kafuku of a plague. The gameplay mechanics required to achieve all of those tasks, however, bundle together to create one of the more distinct experiences in video games this year.

On a moment-to-moment basis, Kunitsu-Gami tests your fighting skills, as well as your wits and your ability to think on your feet, lest the maiden in your care succumb to the rot. There are elements where the fun of its sword-swinging, demon-slaying action is supplanted by menial tasks, but those hiccups aren’t enough to derail the whole experience. Kunitsu-Gami is a refreshing new addition to Capcom’s stable of IP and a solid execution of an engaging gameplay loop.

This new adventure puts you in control of Soh, a samurai warrior who is sworn to protect Yoshiro, the aforementioned divine maiden. Their home, Mt. Kafuku, has been invaded by the Seethe, a demonic force of otherworldly entities who have spread a hideous plague of “defilement” throughout the land. Soh must lead Yoshiro through each town and village on the mountain, protecting her at all costs as she purges the defilement once and for all.

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