Game Overview
The First Descendant is a free-to-play, co-op third-person shooter developed by Nexon. This game has quickly gained popularity, attracting a significant player base and climbing the Steam charts. Combining elements of RPG and high sci-fi, it offers a unique blend of teamwork and instant action, setting it apart from other games in the genre. The game’s plot is deeply rooted in themes of humanity, evolution, power, and fate. The story begins 100 years ago when the Vulgus, a malevolent race, invaded the world, wreaking havoc and using humans as experiments. In response, the Colossuses appeared, devastating everything on earth. Players assume the role of a Descendant, warriors tasked with defending humanity and the Ingris continent from the Vulgus. Amidst this chaos, technologically advanced beings known as the Magisters allied with the remaining humans in Albion, preparing for the last battle. The Magisters discovered the “Arche” in human genes, a DNA strand that indicates boundless potential. By merging their technology with human resilience, they created the Descendants—superhuman warriors with physical and magical abilities akin to the ancient Ancestors.
The First Descendant has become popular for several reasons. Its free-to-play model makes it accessible without any initial cost, drawing a large number of curious players. The game emphasizes co-op play, where players team up to tackle missions and challenges, appealing to those who enjoy teamwork and strategy. High-quality graphics and a well-designed sci-fi world enhance the overall gaming experience. Nexon’s proactive approach to updating the game and engaging with the community has also helped maintain interest and address issues promptly. Despite its popularity, the game has received mixed reviews on Steam, with some players reporting performance issues and problems with in-game purchases. Unfortunately, The First Descendant is not natively available for macOS. In this article we will show all available options to run The First Descendant on Mac at the moment.
1. Play The First Descendant on cloud gaming services (GeForce Now and AirGPU)
Cloud gaming platforms stream games from remote servers, offering high performance without demanding hardware. Cloud gaming services are expanding the accessibility of gaming by eliminating many of the traditional barriers, such as the need for constant hardware upgrades and the initial cost of games. As internet speeds increase and technology advances, cloud gaming continues to grow as a popular alternative to traditional console and PC gaming.
Boosteroid
Boosteroid is a cloud gaming platform that allows users to play video games directly from the cloud on various devices, including PCs, smartphones, and smart TVs. This service provides access to a wide range of games without the need for powerful hardware. With Boosteroid, gamers can stream their favorite games over the internet, bypassing the need for downloading or updating games locally. The platform operates on a subscription model, offering different tiers to accommodate various user needs and preferences. Boosteroid is known for its ease of use, enabling seamless gaming experiences across different operating systems and devices, promoting greater accessibility and convenience for gamers worldwide.
- Visit Boosteroid, sign up, and subscribe.
- Search for the The First Descendant game and play directly in your web browser.
Note: Boosteroid streams games seamlessly, making it accessible on most internet-connected devices.
GeForce Now
GeForce Now is a cloud gaming service developed by NVIDIA that allows users to stream video games to their devices, leveraging NVIDIA’s powerful cloud-based GPU servers. This service enables gamers to play their own games from popular digital libraries such as Steam, Epic Games Store, and Uplay on virtually any device, including PCs, Macs, Shield TVs, and mobile devices. GeForce Now differentiates itself by not requiring users to purchase games from a specific library, instead allowing them to play games they already own, provided those games are supported on the service. It offers various membership tiers, including a free option and a premium subscription that provides enhanced graphics with RTX technology, reduced waiting times, and extended session lengths.
- Register for a GeForce Now account on their website. Choose between free or premium plans.
- Install the GeForce Now app on your chosen device (PC, Mac, or mobile).
- Use the search feature in the app to locate The First Descendant.
- Click Play on The First Descendant within the app to begin streaming the game.
- Boosteroid
- $9.99 / month
- Wide game compatibility
- Integrated game store with thousands of games
- Platform accessibility (PCs, smartphones, and Smart TVs)
- No hardware requirements
- Monthly subscription model
- Sign Up
- GeForce Now
- $9.99 / month
- RTX support for realistic graphics
- Game streaming up to 1080p
- Session-based gameplay
- Compatibility with most digital game stores
- Free and premium membership tiers
- Sign Up
3. Use Boot Camp (for Intel-based Macs only)
Note: Boot Camp is not supported on Macs with M1/M2/M3 chips.
Boot Camp is a utility software included with macOS that allows users to install and run Windows on Macintosh computers in a dual-boot configuration. By partitioning the computer’s hard drive, Boot Camp enables a Mac to boot either into macOS or Windows, providing full system performance for Windows as it runs natively on the hardware. This solution is ideal for Mac users who need to run Windows applications that do not have macOS versions or who require the performance benefits of running certain programs directly on the hardware without virtualization overhead. Boot Camp simplifies the installation process, guiding users through the setup with step-by-step instructions and making it straightforward to switch between operating systems.
- Get the Windows 10 ISO file (Windows 11 ISO file) from the Microsoft website. Choose the version that matches your license.
- Find Boot Camp in the Utilities folder within your Applications. Open it to start the setup.
- Use Boot Camp Assistant to allocate space on your hard drive for Windows. Follow the on-screen instructions to adjust the partition size.
- Follow the prompts in Boot Camp Assistant to begin the Windows installation. Your Mac will reboot into the Windows setup.
- During the Windows installation, choose the BOOTCAMP partition and format it.
- Complete the installation by following the Windows setup instructions.
- To switch between macOS and Windows, restart your Mac and hold the Option key to select the operating system you want to use.
- Once Windows is installed, set up The First Descendant like on any PC.
Easy Anti-Cheat and Mac Compatibility Issues
Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC) is a robust anti-cheat service designed to prevent cheating in online games. While it is effective in maintaining a fair gaming environment, it poses significant challenges for Mac users attempting to run Windows games through compatibility layers like CrossOver or virtual machines like Parallels.
How Easy Anti-Cheat Works
EAC operates at a low level within the operating system, monitoring for cheats and unauthorized modifications. This deep integration with the OS is what makes it effective but also problematic for compatibility layers.
Issues with running The First Descendant via CrossOver and Parallels
- CrossOver: CrossOver relies on Wine, a compatibility layer that allows Windows applications to run on Unix-like operating systems. However, EAC’s deep integration and kernel-level operations are not fully supported by Wine, leading to compatibility issues. As a result, games protected by EAC often fail to run or encounter significant problems when attempted through CrossOver.
- Parallels: Parallels Desktop allows Mac users to run Windows in a virtual machine. While this setup can handle many Windows applications, EAC’s stringent security measures often detect the virtual environment and prevent the game from running. This is because EAC is designed to block environments that could potentially be used to bypass its protections.
There is ongoing development to improve the compatibility of EAC with macOS. Epic Games, the developer of EAC, has announced support for EAC on Linux and macOS through Wine and Proton. This development is promising, but full compatibility and seamless operation are still in progress and not yet widely implemented. The First Descendant has quickly become a popular game due to its engaging gameplay, high-quality graphics, and free-to-play model. However, Mac users face significant challenges in running the game due to the stringent anti-cheat measures implemented by Easy Anti-Cheat. While there are ongoing efforts to improve compatibility, Mac users currently have limited options for playing this game. The only option available at the moment are cloud gaming services and having powerful Intel-based Mac.
