REVIEW

Destiny 2 Review

by Jake Stewart, September 18th, 2017

I wasn’t a huge fan of the original Destiny. After picking it up at launch, I found the day one content and variety wasn’t too broad. After a handful of DLCs, Destiny was shaped up into a much better game. Unfortunately, I had lost interest in it well before the DLC came out, and didn’t find the base game compelling enough to try out the DLC. For somebody who had that start with Destiny, Destiny 2 has exceeded almost all of my expectations.

Destiny 2 is a prime example on how to improve the quality of a franchise, without changing too much from the original. The story is much more engaging, abilities feel improved, and the day one content is much more satisfying than the original. While Destiny 2 isn’t without its faults, the strides made toward a much-improved sequel are clear in this title.

I’m not much of a Destiny Lore expert, but I still found a lot of enjoyment from the storyline. While it’s nothing too original, it gives the players a reason to want to continue the main questline and find out what happens next. This motivation was sorely absent in the original Destiny. Destiny 2 tells the story of the fall of Earth, and the conquest of the Red Legion. The Red Legion is an exciting new enemy, their armor looks fantastic, and their leader is a genuinely interesting foe. The Halo inspiration definitely bleeds into Bungie’s work here, as they’ve done stellar work with creating very engaging alien races in their titles.

The set pieces are much more memorable in Destiny 2 than I remember them being in the original. Worlds differ vastly in design and feel from one another, and I found myself genuinely excited to visit and explore the new worlds. From rusty old bases in the ocean, fallen cities on earth, and strange robotic worlds, the places you quest are never similar to one another.

On the topic of design, Destiny is no longer being shared between past-gen and current-gen consoles, and Bungie has taken advantage of this. Destiny 2 runs surprisingly well on console, my playthrough has been on Xbox One and I’ve encountered little to no frame dips in even the most intensive situations. The graphics have been improved vastly from the original, making Destiny 2 an absolutely gorgeous experience. The colors, particle effects, and textures across the world are some of the best that you can find on a console title right now.

While I had my gripes with the original Destiny, I kept coming back for the fantastic gunplay. This gunplay returns new and improved in the sequel, making for some fantastic firefights. The aiming and hit detection feels tight and accurate, leaving you satisfied after every single enemy you put in the ground. Weapon types vary greatly from one another, and individual weapons in each type vary from each other as well. The variety in gun mechanics is somewhat borderlands-esque, where a gun can be the same type and power as another, but handle much differently. From accurate semi-auto rifles, spammy auto rifles, powerful hand cannons, and explosive grenade launchers, Destiny 2 hits the mark for any kind of player.

Bungie has balanced these weapon types so well that it never feels like there is a correct or incorrect weapon choice. Powerful weapons can be found in every type, letting players choose the weapon that they prefer. Weapons vary in the types of damage they inflict, from Arc, Void, and Solar. These class types change the way weapons look cosmetically, and their effectiveness against certain enemies. Some enemies are weak or resistant to certain types, so leaving a type of every kind in your arsenal can often save your life in a fight. Weapon modifications easily change the damage type, so you never have to scrap a gun you love if you’ve already own too many of that type.

While the design of the enemies is all very creative and interesting, there isn’t a lot of them. You’ll be fighting against a few different factions, and their types don’t vary a whole lot from each other. With the amount of time spent in firefights, it makes me wish that the enemy mechanics varied a tad more. Boss fights are fairly intense, but usually look and act like a standard enemy just with more health. More enemies behave the same, and only have two or three variations in their faction. Variations between enemies are usually pretty similar across the factions as well, meaning that you’ll be fighting a different skinned enemy but with similar attack types. This isn’t a huge gripe, but I’d love to see some more risk-taking in enemy types. Especially with the possibilities for creating more unique bosses.

Destiny 2 really shines when playing with friends, and tends to drag behind a bit when playing alone. The story will keep players engaged enough to not mind single player, but the rest of the content definitely feels a bit empty without a team. If you plan on picking up Destiny 2, try convincing a couple of friends to dive in with you, as the single player experience isn’t nearly as memorable as having a fireteam by your side. As far as I can tell, the enemy count doesn’t expand with the number of players in your fireteam during regular missions, so if you’re playing alone some missions can be brutally difficult.

Classes don’t have as big of an impact in team composition as they would in most standard MMOs. Most of my friends joined me in the Titan class, and this never negatively affected our ability as a group. Though having one of each class in your fireteam could help expand the abilities at your group’s disposal, it never proved as a necessity. Combat effectiveness aside, Destiny 2’s best content is the Strikes and the Raids. The completion of these modes requires a fireteam to complete. Due to the lack of a solid matchmaking system for these modes, it’s clear Bungie designed these experiences for friends to complete together.

Bungie told players before launch that Destiny 2 would have much more content at launch than the original, and that is absolutely true. Destiny 2 feels like a much fuller game compared to Destiny, taking much more time to see all that the game has to offer. On the downside, a lot of this content isn’t particularly unique from one another. The story missions differ greatly, but the side missions generally feel the same, with objectives to complete and not a lot of motivation. As stated before, these missions still hold some value if you’ve got a good group to play with, but I wish that these missions would stand out from each another a little bit more. Creative mechanics and interesting bosses could really add a lot to the myriad of side missions that can be completed.

While some will argue that Destiny is not actually an MMO, it’s absolutely an MMO and a great one at that. Seeing other Guardians traveling around the battlefield while you quest has a good feeling to it. The planets visited are generally in absolute ruin, so seeing a friendly face every now and again has a warm feeling. Along with chance encounters are Public Events. During Public Events every guardian in the area is alerted to come meet at a certain spot on the map to complete a short battle together. Public Events were by far one of my favorite parts of Destiny 2, seeing all the guardians across the map coming together to fight (and dance) never got old.

Past the regular missions and side missions are the Strikes and the Raid. The Strikes behave similar to the side quests but have much more exciting encounters. In the Strikes I’ve completed, they’ve ended with some pretty intense boss fights that take some solid teamwork to avoid getting one-shotted. These Strikes have much better loot in the end, and are repeatable making them much more preferable to the standard side-missions.

Loot is the name of the game in Destiny, as your entire level depends on the quality of your gear. Honing back to the Borderlands comparison, loot is dropped everywhere in Destiny but the really good stuff is held by powerful enemies and tough quests. The progression being guided by power level is a fantastic idea, as players get an actual in-game statistic of how much power they grow with every piece of loot. Getting a sweet exotic weapon or a fancy new helmet is the driving force of every battle you complete in Destiny 2.

The classes are close enough to the same to feel equal, but different enough to make you proud of the decision you made in the beginning. Titans, Warlocks and Hunters all cater to different types of play, and their subclass variety helps mix the pot even further. Every class has 3 subclasses to pander to the role each players likes to perform in combat. For example, the Titan starts off with the Sentinel class. The Sentinel takes a pretty defensive role in combat, going as far to make the special ability a Void Shield. But the Striker subclass keeps Titans up close and personal, rewarding melee kills with health and grenade recharges. The ability to switch subclasses whenever you wish is a great choice too, it keeps players from keeping bound to a subclass and experimenting with new playstyles.

The Crucible wasn’t a huge deal for me, I certainly enjoyed my time that I spent playing in it but the PvE experience was much more enticing for me. The Crucible is a great place for those looking to put their gear up to the ultimate test. PvP feels much smoother and faster than it did in Destiny, and serves as a nice change of pace if you’re burnt out on the PvE aspects. The Crucible feels more balanced this time around as well. Players of lower levels can still pose a threat to higher levels, though it is a pretty tough uphill battle. Guns and gear are balanced nicely, so no single person can use a one-shot weapon and dominate the game.

Ultimately, if you were a fan of Destiny then Destiny 2 is absolutely a game for you. If you’re like me and didn’t get into the original Destiny, it’s still worth giving Destiny 2 a chance. Bungie has really listened to the fans this time around and has made a solid effort to improve on every single aspect of the game. Destiny 2 while not being without it’s small flaws, is the definitive way to play and carves the path for a very successful franchise.