Destiny 2 is a game that I never thought I would really get into, coming from a deep background of JRPGs and a hatred of most things FPS I just didn’t see myself getting into it. Oh boy was I wrong or what?

LUKE:

Destiny 2 is a weird one though, when I sit down to think about it – I really hate it, like nothing about it would work when put into any other game – so why have I put over 60 hours into the game with no signs of stopping? In this review I TRY to put my finger on it.

I totally missed the original Destiny but figured that I wouldn’t be too hard pressed on jumping straight into the fray and going straight into the firing zone but after a few hours research I found that Destiny 2 is just simply not a game that is very friendly to newcomers.

*Disclaimer this is one of the worst examples of review writing I’ve ever seen as I just can’t figure out why I love it

COLIN:

Destiny as a franchise is a difficult one for me, I absolutely loathed the original game however I always picked up each addition to the game, smashed through the content with a friend but never spent time on any of the major group content.

I like shooting, I like levelling. Destiny 2 gives me both of these. I just wouldn’t bring myself to actually invest the time into the original as it might have deserved.

Fast forward to Destiny 2, holy shit I love it. It provides me with something that I wanted from the original, I wanted it to be a Bungie game and that is shining through all aspects of the game.

Story:

The story of Destiny 2 was probably one of the biggest surprises to me, I expected a really crappy, generic story that just took me from A to B and I was really surprised how easily I was able to call this straight off the bat.

Literally though, the entire story consists of a series of fetch quests and bosses used to branch the narrative and very very little else.

Where this did shine however was in the characters – Whilst insanely generic, the quippy Rogue, the serious tank and the even more serious mage! Or the tea drinking British man!, I found myself strangely drawn to the characters. Something that just kept bringing me back to Destiny 2’s main story was these characters and for the life of me – I just could not figure out why!! (It’s probably just Nathan Fillion. Nathan Fillion makes everything better)

Gameplay:

LUKE:

Realistically though this is one of two reasons we actually pick up a game like Destiny 2 in the first place isn’t it?

One thing I will mention though, about the gear, is that it is not newcomer friendly at all – I get the impression that Bungie assumed everyone ever played Destiny 1 from up in their Ivory Tower. In all seriousness though not explaining how equipment fusion or mods really work was a really sore spot for a newcomer such as myself because it was when a friend mentioned it on a whim that I even found out I could just fuse armour and weapons enabling me to keep the weapons and armour I looked coolest in which had the best abilities. This properly wound me up.

COLIN:

There is something to be said about a game which gives you a linear narrative but offers so much to distract you. I don’t quite know If this was by design, however by the time I left the second planet I found myself at level 20!

Adventuring through these zones offered different side quests and events to get involved in all of which had varied rewards to offer; this is where the game has one of it’s major hooks in place, loot is random. If this was a standard mmo, I would find myself to be annoyed at RNG stats but this style of loot in a gun game is ever enjoyable.

Visuals:

Destiny 2 is a visual treat in all areas which you would expect. The world is utterly beautiful, the designs of the weapons are impressive with a lot of thought going into their design.

The majority of the enemies which you’ll encounter throughout this title were present in the original however we have the new big bad boys on the block; Red Legion. These guys are a mix of Space Marines and the face of a hentai tentacle monster; they are gorgeously intimidating and ever so satisfying to defeat.

Each planet you visit is more varied than the last, ranging from a recovering planet Earth to Nessus and planet taken over by the Vex and infused with it’s corrupt technologies.

Multiplayer:

Destiny 2 is built for multiplayer from the ground up giving players the opportunity to play the game with a friend throughout all of it’s content. While being able to blast through the main scenario is a blast with a friend, let’s focus on the content that is outside the story; purely because co op story in itself is awesome, we don’t need to go into much more detail.

Explore

While the main narrative of the game is quite linear there is a fair amount to do, see and collect on each planet. While some of this does come in the form of having available side quests which provide you with well earned loot and skill points there are also Public Events.

Public Events range from you stopping on of the enemy faction from taking equipment caches all the way to stopping a portal from opening and summoning demons through. While these events are on a timer, everyone who is on the map is able to see when these events begin, pulling together players who would normally play through solo. After the event has been completed, everyone shares in the reward!

The difficulty can also be increased if player complete certain actions during the event turning it into a Heroic Public Event, increasing the risk but also the potential for better rewards.

PVP

The Player Vs Player is where Destiny 2 performs at it’s peak. The controls and tight and the various forms of movement available by each class are responsive. There is nothing quite as satisfying as doing a backflip with a hunter and taking out your opposition.

There are the game modes that you would expect from a first person shooter including Clash, you standard team death match. Control, where both teams are fighting over three objectives placed around the map.

Countdown, a new game mode added to Destiny 2. Each team take turns in attacking or defending a set location. The attackers are attempting to detonate a device while the defenders are required to stop them.

PVP just feels like a bit of a Halo rip off that loses a lot of the charm that Halo had back in the day. The biggest issue i have with the PVP is the way it forces you to play it weekly – even if you don’t have the time just to get the loot.

Closing Note

All in all, Destiny 2 is a fun romp – with friends. The story is enough to hold your attention for a while but if you don’t have an online crew that can commit to the weekly content then you wont get much out of the game in the long run.

With this in mind, I give the game an 8/10 as whilst it is an incredibly fun game, it relies a little too heavily on other people to make it fun.