Everyone is talking about Destiny 2 right now. You might feel left out since you weren't a fan of the original, and if that's the case, then don't worry. I'm also someone who didn't care for Destiny, going as far as to call it boring in my original review. But this sequel has a lot in-store that is completely transforming what Destiny is, and that means it's time to re-evaluate whether or not you're interested in the series.
There are a lot of reasons that Destiny 2 will likely be a much better game than its predecessor, even if just for the simple fact that follow-up sequels to new IPs have traditionally been the best release in the franchise (i.e. Uncharted, Batman: Arkham, or Assassin's Creed). Let's go over some other reasons why you should be excited even if you disliked the original.
1. The Story Hasn't Been Rushed
You might have heard the story about how Bungie scrapped its original Destiny story. This came just one year prior to launch as a result of a very unsatisfactory demonstration to executives at the company. Within days all narrative progress was tossed in the trash can, and the team then had to rush to write and implement a new story from the ground up.
This was a major contributor to Destiny's woes at launch. Without interesting characters or a compelling plot to grab onto, most players relied entirely on the gameplay to carry the game forward. Given that the game didn't have a lot going on besides its basic quests and fun gunplay, this led to incredible tedium that was uncharacteristic of Bungie.
Several years have passed since then, and Bungie has been able to figure out where it wants to take the Destiny universe going forward. The brief reveal trailer didn't only look great, it appeared much more fun and flavorful than what the previous game offered.
As of right now the story is described as the following:
Humanity’s last safe city has fallen to an overwhelming invasion force, led by Ghaul, the imposing commander of the brutal Red Legion. He has stripped the city’s Guardians of their power, and forced the survivors to flee. You will venture to mysterious, unexplored worlds of our solar system to discover an arsenal of weapons and devastating new combat abilities. To defeat the Red Legion and confront Ghaul, you must reunite humanity’s scattered heroes, stand together, and fight back to reclaim our home.
Bungie has historically been great when it comes to story delivery, so much so that its departure from the Halo series was a major reason that the series has taken a sharp downturn as of late. Time will tell if Destiny 2's story is as good as it aspires to be, but at the very least it has a lot going for it.
2. You Know The Gameplay Will Be Good
Destiny had a lot of problems, but gameplay wasn't one of them.
Bungie has always been a master of crafting smooth gunplay with top-tier feedback. Although Destiny was a new IP that used an unfamiliar engine, its team was able to deliver what has remained one of this generation's best shooters in terms of gameplay.
It wasn't that Destiny did any one particular thing perfectly. Each of the varied guns felt great to control, from its assault rifles to shotguns. Movement was sharp, making jumping around in low gravity environments a real treat. It's an example of a game that had a development team that was willing to spend a lot of time on the fundamentals, and it showed.
The only real question will be whether or not keyboard & mouse implementation will be done right. Bungie doesn't have a lot of PC development experience, and getting movement and aiming right when you're used to developing with a controller in-mind is no simple task. Cross your fingers.
3. The Taken King Was Amazing
Destiny's first major expansion, The Taken King, was an exemplary title that confidently showed that Bungie still "has it". Even the most skeptical of fans were won over by what it delivered—including me.
One of the first things that stuck out was how well-designed its enemies were, from basic Psions that would copy and split, to its Captains that had the ability to blind you. These enemies were rather intelligent when compared to the A.I. in other shooters, which would lead to incredible battles , especially in the case of boss encounters.
A lot of systems were worked out with The Taken King, too. The progression system was more cohesive, making Destiny's admittedly grindy elements less strenuous. Along with this was an actual story that had several memorable moments, capping off with exciting raid encounters.
To put it simply, Bungie has both succeeded and failed with Destiny during its journey. The knowledge it's gained from its travels have certainly played an instrumental role in Destiny 2's development.
4. There's A PC Version
On the surface level the announcement of a PC version is important as it will allow an even larger audience to enjoy the game. But there's more to it than that.
The fact that there's a PC version means that Bungie likely took the PC audience into consideration during development. This is important because several of Destiny's failings stemmed from how far the game went to casualize the MMO genre, effectively simplifying game elements that are instrumental toward creating an immersive online world. This might fly when it comes to a PS4 and Xbox One release, but PC gamers would have never put up with it.
We already know that Destiny 2 will have much larger environments, in addition to a greater presence of MMO qualities can go a long way toward making its world feel like a place you want to spend time in. This could be executed with the introduction of new social features that make playing with others, including strangers, a greater part of the experience. It could also be the addition of more customization options, providing greater diversity between players. Or, it could be having new options for engaging with other players, including text chat and improved mechanics for partying.
Being that it's set in outer space, a presence of depth will be important to realizing Destiny 2's potential as a "mythic science fiction" title.
5. It Doesn't Have Much Competition
If you're someone who enjoys shooters, 2017 isn't a particularly great year. As usual, there will be a Call of Duty game to play before the holidays, but outside of that you'll be hard pressed to find another AAA shooter in the second half of the year.
2017's confirmed shooters are as follows:
- Agents of Mayhem (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Agony (PC)
- Insurgency: Sandstorm (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Matterfall (PS4)
- Splatoon 2 (Switch)
- Unannounced Star Wars Battlefront Title (TBA)
That's not a lot when compared to the average year in gaming. There won't be a new Battlefield, Titanfall, or Halo to divert from the strong presence of adventure and RPG titles. There also won't be an Evolve (lol) or Wolfenstein to keep shooter fans occupied during the dry summer. It's just not a great year for the genre, but at least we have Destiny 2.
Destiny might have been a very flawed game, but its sequel has tremendous potential. We're excited to see more from the game. Are you?
