The multi-million dollar marketing hype surrounding Bungie’s new blockbuster Destiny was at astronomical levels when it released three years ago. At the time it was one of the most expensive games ever made and coming from the makers of Halo, fans were expecting something special. What fans got instead was one of the most polarizing games ever released, with gamers divided between those who hated it and those who were completely hooked by its addictive gameplay.
While Destiny was a still a good game it was a far cry from being the next level in first person shooters. It was completely lacking in story, had repetitive enemies, but its gunplay, fast cooperative action and loot design were incredibly well done, but it still felt like the game was lacking any real ambition.
So now that Destiny 2 has been out for a few days, it has given us a chance to take a look at how it measures up to the original. With that being said, we’ll get the obvious out the way first, the cooperative based gameplay is still fantastic, but it was never Destiny’s multiplayer that needed improvement. While there is still enough to pull committed Destiny fans back in, is Destiny 2 the true sequel that fans wanted? Or is it really just Destiny 1.5? Let’s take a look at some of the best and worst points of the game so you can make up your own mind.
15 Best: Super Abilities Have Changed For The Better
It was apparent from the Destiny 2 beta that one of the most obvious changes to the game’s mechanics was how the game now handles Super Abilities. Although fans have been quite vocal about this change in the gameplay, Bungie has provided a means strategy making the game feel far more progressive as a result.
The Super Abilities now take a little longer to charge, although their regeneration speed does seem to have improved since the time of Destiny 2’s beta. In addition, your character’s super state now allows you to several special attacks instead of just one.
This simple but effective change to how the supers are handled pulls back on their frequency, but as a result, they are far more impactful and satisfying when used in a strategic manner.
14 Worst: Destiny Has A Race (And Class) Problem
Fans will be happy to see the familiar three classes such as the Titan, the Hunter, and The Warlock, each bringing some new subclasses to add flexibility to the tried and tested favorites. While it is satisfying to unlock the new and familiar subclasses as you progress through the game, there is a something deeply disappointing about the complete lack of any new true classes at all.
There is also a complete lack of new races in Destiny 2. Instead, the new invading threat is known as the Red Legion, who are an elite special forces member of the Cabal from the original game. This is a good way to give players a new threat, but the bottom line is the Red Legion is nothing more than super powered and reskinned Cabal. Surely a new invading alien threat would have made more sense?
13 Best: There's A New Mission System And It's AWESOME
The original Destiny's backstory and lore did seem like it was lacking as far the original game’s narrative was concerned. Destiny 2 manages to expand its new content with narratively driven self-contained side-quests, that help expand on the game’s backstory.
Although Destiny 2’s greatest strength is in its addictive multiplayer, there was no getting away from the fact that the original game felt a bit clinical, sterile, and completely lacking any real character beyond the games visuals and art design — at least it was in the beginning.
The adventures, as brief as they are, not only help flesh out the game’s lore, but they can make Destiny 2 exploration a lot less a chore, and far more enjoyable. The missions are obtained by talking to various NPC’s throughout the universe and usually tasks the player with objectives such as fighting mini-bosses or seeking out new loot.
12 Worst: Three Long Years For Just Four New Locations
Destiny 2’s open worlds are a vast improvement over the original game, so the addition of four new planets to explore is an absolute for any Destiny fan. However, the fact that there are only four new planets to explore since the original game’s release in 2014, it somehow further adds to the feeling that Destiny 2 is a large expansion pack with refinements as opposed to a proper sequel.
The developers Bungie apparently defended this by saying the game’s lore should help carry the game’s narrative even with the lack of new races and locations. This could very well be true as gamers are probably a long way from seeing everything that Destiny 2 has to offer but it’s still a disappointing lack of variety after a three-year wait.
11 Best: The Presentation Really Is Out Of This World
An area where Destiny 2 really shines is its presentation, from simple things like the game’s improved menu screens to the graphics, music and the voice acting all come together to give an excellent and cinematic Sci-fi experience.
Even with the lack of HDR (for now) the visuals are a noticeable improvement over an already nice looking original, there’s some minor texture popping here and there in the farm area, but that can easily be addressed with a patch in the future. The game’s cutscenes are fantastic, and each planet is unique and looks gorgeous even in the heat of battle.
Additionally, the music is some of the best and most distinctive heard in an FPS since the Halo and does a perfect job of setting up even more memorable and cinematic moments.
10 Worst: The Comedy Is Out Of Place...And Not Funny
It’s understandable that developers want to add some light hearted moments to try and lighten up a game that can take itself a little bit seriously at times. Also when we have Sci-fi movie blockbusters like Guardians of The Galaxy managing to perfectly balance humor and serious moments, it’s understandable that one of the biggest Sci-fi games of the year would want to follow suit.
However, when it comes to comedy, the timing needs to be perfect, and this is where Destiny 2 can sometimes miss the mark entirely. Thematically, the humor can be at odds with the somber tone or tragic events that are unfolding within the story. In addition, Cayde-6 who’s voiced Nathan Fillion manages to be both likable and annoying all at the same.
9 Best: It Doesn't Matter If You Didn't Play The First Destiny
There will undoubtedly be gamers that never played the original Destiny wondering whether or not they should pick up the sequel. Destiny 2 is a completely new chapter, and the game takes steps in taking the series to a new direction by providing gamers a with a new story, a new villain, and a clean slate.
Gamers can transfer their original character from the first game over to the Destiny 2, but without any of the stats or loot so the transfer is purely cosmetic. This makes the sequel far more welcoming for new players, or gamers that may have otherwise given up on the first game during its early stages at launch.
8 Worst: Character Creation Is Still Terrible
While the game has made some strides to improve and refine the original game for a better sequel, it was quite disappointing to see just how lacking the character creation options are. The Developers Bungie are fully aware of how attached some gamers can get to their Guardians and have been very vocal about this fact during interviews with the media. Yet despite this, Destiny 2’s character creation is so bad one has to wonder why they bothered at all.
The creation mode is almost identical to the original game, there is still no way to refine your character’s appearance, there’s an obvious lack of hairstyles, colors, and you can’t even add a simple basic beard to your character. Although you’ll spend most of the game in a helmet of some kind, this just feels extremely lazy on Bungie's part.
7 Best: The Story Actually Matters Now
One of the worst parts of Destiny was its lack of a compelling narrative, the developers opted to be cryptic and vague in its approach, and it didn’t work. Quite simply, the only reason to play the first game was its gameplay and the multiplayer. That’s not a bad thing, but gamers who were excited at the prospect of new Sci-fi epic from the developers of Halo were left quite deflated at the lack of any real narrative.
While Destiny 2 won’t win any awards for its story, it’s still fun to watch unfold through its cinematic cutscenes, and it has a very clear main antagonist. The series finally gives gamers who would initially be put off by the lack of any real story mode a reason to jump into one of the best Sci-fi shooters since Halo made its debut back in 2001.
6 Worst: The Story Matters But Your Character Is Still A Mute
For all the improvements in regards to Destiny 2’s story, players are still stuck with a silent protagonist in the sequel. There are some games where a silent protagonist works, especially if there are a ton of dialogue choices to be made, this approach has always worked well for RPG’s in the vein of the Fallout series or The Elder Scrolls IV: Skyrim.
However, the improvements to the visually impressive cutscenes and the other characters in the game’s narrative only serve to make it seem even more obvious that your character has absolutely no voice, leading to some laughably awkward moments when Ghost is the one doing all the talking for you.
5 Best: The Shooting Mechanics Are Better Than Ever
It’s no secret that Destiny was a divisive game, but there was one area where the game was hard to beat and that is its satisfying combat. Even before Destiny, Bungie was delivering some of the most satisfying gunplay mechanics ever seen in an FPS with the Halo series. The first Destiny took those tried and tested mechanics and refined to them to near perfection.
Destiny 2 manages to improve this even further through refinement and execution. What makes the game so satisfying is that almost any part of Destiny’s combat can compete with and even better other games in the FPS genre. So even if you’re the kind of gamer that enjoys Battlefront, Rainbow Six, and Overwatch there’s something here that FPS fans will love.
4 Worst A Refinement Rather Than A Revolution
While this list mentions a lot of improvements like an added story, better gunplay, and its world building, they are refinements to the game rather than the revolutionary upgrade some fans may have been expecting when Destiny 2 was originally announced. After the beta’s release, it didn’t take fans long to realize that the game was an upgrade to the formula, and most fans were okay with that.
Although being a refinement on an already solid game isn’t a bad thing, Destiny 2 somehow feels closer to the game that original Destiny was expected to be three years ago. The game’s endless loot farming and incredibly satisfying action work better than ever before, but it’s hard to get away from the feeling that Destiny 2 is still a little unambitious in its execution.
3 Best: Destiny Finally Has A Real Villain
Episodic Sci-fi shows like Stargate SG-1 and Star Trek were often at their best when there was a clear cut villain, and the same concept works for Destiny too. While he may not be the most original villain we’ve ever seen, but Dominus Ghaul does provide the framework and reasoning for your character to keep battling through the campaign.
The leader of the Red Legion follows the tropes of typical Sci-fi villains but his motivations are explained very well through the game’s stunning pre-rendered cutscenes. Ghaul is an imposing and intimidating character that wouldn’t look out of place in the Warhammer 40K universe. He’s a fun villain to watch and should satisfy Sci-fi fans who love nothing more than arming themselves and saving the Solar System from a big-bad.
2 Worst: Microtransactions Are Stupid
Microtransactions are rarely popular with gamers, but at least in the first Destiny they only covered in-game items such as exotic ornaments, emotes, or sparrows (Destiny’s version of Star Wars’ Speeder Bikes).
However, in Destiny 2 Bungie has decided to not only make shaders consumable items that can only be used once but worse still they now offer gameplay-affecting modifications.
The mods can increase an armor’s resistance to damage, make super abilities charge faster and more. The original Destiny avoided the pitfalls of allowing gamers to spend real-world money to gain an advantage, so it seems baffling why Bungie would risking annoying their established and loyal fan base.
The developers can defend the decision, by only making Legendary mods available through the Gunsmith vendor, but the fact remains the same, players can gain an advantage by spending real-world cash on in-game items.
1 Best: The Open World Finally Has Substance
For all the efforts Bungie has gone into refining and streamlining the Destiny 2 experience, the game’s open world. The first game’s areas were impressive in their size, but beyond the game’s public events and repetitive fetch quests, the areas were for the most part empty and quite dull to explore.
Destiny 2’s world not only feels more substantial but Patrol has been given a complete overhaul. The world is full of Adventures (story based side quests), Lost Sectors which are small Diablo-like dungeon crawls which contain mini-bosses and loot chests, and public events which all work together to provide gamers with a seamless experience.