Destiny 2 Review: Everything You Need to Know

Overview

Destiny 2 is a beautifully built online first-person shooter, a sequel to 2014 Destiny video game produced in collaboration of 2 industry giants with Bungie being a developer and Activision acting as a publisher of the content. The FPS undoubtedly took the best the first game had to offer and added more variety in the activities and challenges providing players with much more to do this time around.

Destiny 2 experience feels more complete as the story is strong, missions are fun and rewarding, the multiplayer mode is dynamic and competitive plus there is tons of content to keep players engaged.

The talks about the sequel first started in 2014 with the original release date being scheduled for September 2016. However, the actual release happened one year after for Xbox One and PS4 system, with PC availability to follow. It was rumored Destiny 2 would keep everything that the loyal fans loved about the first part and add more variability to attract new gamers looking for an intense, yet casual FPS experience.

Progression system and characters were supposed to be transferred to the new release, however, only the looks of the characters stayed untouched in the sequel. All Destiny 1 progress has been lost for those who haven’t completed a certain level of the original experience. For the sequel, Bungie definitely puts the most focus on the narrative as a weak story was what Destiny 1 was mainly not appreciated by fans and critics for. Players still act like Guardians of the Earth on the mission to defeat monstrous aliens and protect the Last City.

The structure of the game hasn’t changed and all playing modes are still divided into PvE and PvP categories plus there are powerful strikes designed for three players along with intense raids that are good for six gamers. Some brand-new activities include a foam roam patrol feature that is available on every planet and an ability to interact with non-player characters.

In comparison to the first Destiny experience, the sequel delivers a richer content in terms of character customization, mission replaying value, progression, loot and weapon modifications systems.

Destiny 2 pre-order numbers significantly by-passed the ones for its predecessor showing a strong public interest in the continuation of the sci-fi interplanetary action. So let’s move on to the next parts of my game review to see if the shooter really delivered what the fans were hoping for or if it turned to be a disappointment.

The Story

The storyline of the original game was the main failure of the game that got a lot of criticism. Destiny 2 came up with a better, more coherent narrative with all events taking place in the future, on the planets of Solar system invaded by hostile aliens and human survivors, the Guardians, fiercely trying to protect the Last City fortress.

Once you make your selection in terms of the character (Warlock, Hunter or Titan), your job is to complete a series of missions aimed at getting the power of the Last City defenders back and confront the invaders. Although missions are small, they require using a lot of different skills as the challenges are diverse and pretty dynamic.

The main difference from the original title is that now every character comes with a new subclass type that eventually replaces the main one. Destiny 2 new characters are The Sentinel, the Arcstrider and the Dawnblade that substitute Titan, Hunter and Warlock, respectively. Just like the original title, the main emphasis is put on the shooting and looting while your character progresses in the game that comes with one, relatively easy difficulty level.

The main strengths of the plot are the atmosphere you get immersed into within the first minutes of the gameplay, amazing soundtrack and other little details like the secrets of the Vex machine race or beautiful madness of Al Failsafe.

The first expansion of the game, The Curse of Oasis, feels not long enough and offers a pretty repetitive content in the campaign and the missions, however, the choice of weaponry is greater plus added secret quests to be revealed make it stand out. It is a chamber consisting of two overlapping worlds that require a lot of exploration and defeating enemies in different, sometimes not very usual ways.

The Normal Realm is a big, open space featuring only a few walls with oasis located in the center. Once you collect some Cursed stacks, you will be able to enjoy the Cursed realm experience where most of the dungeon features like sub dungeon stairs, shops and glyphs disappear and you will be forced to make your way through using all your skills and the savvy.

The Gameplay

Traditionally Destiny 2 features PvE and PvP gaming modes, but now there is also a new matchmaking option available letting players look for clans to join too. With same 3 types of character classes offered, players can level up their gaming characters by gaining experience points and completing various challenges. Every class comes with its own set of special skills, available upgrades and perks that can not be transferred to a character from a different class category.

Customizing some of the character’s abilities and appearance is up to you and your preferences while elevating the power level of a chosen character solely depends on your progress in the game. Various strikes, raids and other events offer a lot of chances to obtain a better gear and increase the power. Basically, it is your goal to keep working on receiving as much armory as possible to become less invincible for the enemies. The ultimate achievable power level is set at 305.

Player versus environment (PvE)

Destiny 2 offers a lot of PvE content with various areas on a different planet to explore such as Dead Zone, Titan, Lo, Nessus and a new social place The Farm. Although there are tons of missions and events, you will mostly find yourself engaged in an exploration of the worlds. Among new missions worth mentioning are treasure hunting Adventures mode and a weekly event called Flashpoints aimed at getting more rewards.

Once the main story is completed and the level 20 is reached, you will be granted access to even more gaming activities such as the weekly Nightfall strike and the powerful Leviathan raid. More advanced Prestige mode also become available offering much higher rewards and the ultimate gear needed for the increase of the Power level.

Player versus player (PvP)

PvP experience comes with the Crucible mode now featuring four-versus-four player teams, better maps and 2 main gaming options - Quickplay and Competitive. The first one offers already familiar Clash, Supremacy and Control modes, and the second feature consists of two brand new modes: Survival and Countdown. Survival mode allows having a certain amount of lives shared with other team members. In Countdown option players from one team work on planting a bomb in special locations while the members of the opposite team do their best to not allow the bombs being planted.

Trials of the Nine have substituted the original Trials of Oasis and feature some new options like an ability to use only one map for four days period with its weekly rotation, inability to change gear during the match and an access to the Spire social space where tokens can be exchanged for gear.

Verdict

In my honest opinion, Destiny 2 used many ideas from the original game but managed to wrap them up the way that caters the needs of most players out there. You will find yourself very busy exploring various planets of the Solar system, defeating hundreds of hostile aliens and enjoying great combats and mechanics of the game.

The raid, featured in Destiny 2, fully affirms its title as one the best team-oriented shooting games on the market. If you have some spare time and don’t mind sci-fi shooting genre of the video games, Destiny 2 is an absolute must try for you that can become an addiction due to it's rich, highly replayable content. Have an opinion? Please comment below.