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The First Descendant was officially released back in July 2024. The game looks pretty good according to today’s standards, with the focus being on character design and skins. That is not to say that the environment is lacking, as both Albion and the rest of Ingris are very well done. However, it is a lesser-known fact that the game looked a bit different during the beta. There was a short Beta period, from Saturday, May 25, 2024, to Sunday, May 26, 2024, during which PC gamers could try out the game in its early stages. It was roughly the same, but the visuals and the environment were noticeably different. Some gameplay videos of The First Descendant beta resurfaced (provided at the end of this article), and some fans claim that it looked way better back then.
Fans Say That The First Descendants Beta Looked Better, Especially Void Battles
In the Beta, Void Intercept Battles looked a little different. The environment was more like obsidian/glass, compared to the grey rock-like flooring we have today. Additionally, there were more levitating platforms you could climb onto, and the Colossi themselves were less hectic, enabling you to carefully aim and hit those weak spots. “That Intercept location and the Stunning Beauty mechanics looks significantly better than what we have…” said Vhnldp, and “Wait you mean the bosses weren’t total spastics and you could actually hit their weakpoints?” added JulietPapaOscar.
The second point is that Albion looked a bit different. It had more of a unique style (with everything being white and bronze) and looked less like a generic sci-fi hub. Also, you could see some close combat weapons on the walls of the weapon workshop. “Albion! Holy [moly], it looks so much better in the beta. It truly feels like the last bastion of humanity.“ said Roophert.
Finally, the Descendant screen was not animated. Instead, you have a 3d rotating model of the character in a cool pose. “I like the descendant menu better. My eyes feel much better with that.“ said joeyctt1028. Whether it’s better or worse comes down to personal preference, but it would be cool if we could toggle between the static models and the current animated ones.
Why the Difference?
The main reason the game looks so much different is because the Beta was for PC only, ie, geared towards more modern platforms. According to the fans, the “downgrade” happened because Nexon wanted to make the game playable on last-gen consoles as well. “It looks massively better in beta. The guns even sound better. Absolutely everything looked better, from the graphics to the physics, to the particles. Obviously they massively downgraded the graphics for decade + old hardware, and I hate it. Never should have.” commented Multiguns, with Omega885 agreeing, adding: “This is what happens when you end up having to optimize your game for people still using potato pcs and last gen consoles.”
As already mentioned, this all comes down to personal preference and taste. Having to pick between better visuals and a larger playerbase is not an easy choice to make. A massive number of people still use last-gens consoles, and since the devs have to think about the revenue, you can get why they chose the “larger playerbase” route.