Destiny 2 Review

Written by Gregg Dietz & Edited by Ryan Copper

It's no secret, if you've been following this channel, that I was not a fan of the first year of Destiny. As I spoke of its shortcomings, I also spoke of its achievements, and by year 2, most of the shortcomings were fixed and eventually making Destiny a great game. The sequel takes everything good about Destiny and improves upon it, but only slightly. The term “if it ain't broke, don't fix it” is highly used here, so much so that some have argued that it doesn't feel like a sequel. But I argue that Destiny 2 understands its' predecessor's past mistakes and has improved upon them.

One major difference is the story. In Destiny, all the major characters never really told you anything except that you needed to go to a place and shoot everything. There was no antagonist, no central goal, no proper character development, and no real stakes. By the release of the Taken King DLC, things had changed and a far better story was introduced. I know this isn't news to anyone who's played it or has been on the internet in the past 3 years, but I needed to clarify why I enjoyed Destiny 2’s story so much.

I believe in simplicity for an action-based video game story. This is not to say it couldn't be complex, but simplicity is key with an action game, especially a game like this. Ghaul is the bad guy who wants your powers for himself. You have to get your light back, beat him and save the world. Done and done. Of course you have scenes that add depth to everything, but they stay simple. In Destiny, there was a thing called the Grimoire, which was out-of-game content tied to the Bungie website. I was always bothered by this because it seemed so weird to have the lore outside of the game itself. For Destiny 2, all the lore is within the game through side missions and hidden scannable items.  

I know it sounds like I'm comparing and contrasting for the sake of showing what's better, and you aren't here for that. But it is important to appreciate where you are from where you've been. And where we are is incredibly fun. Something important to understand about Destiny 2 is how much of a social experience it is versus other games. Sitting in a lobby and waiting for the match to start is great and all, but being able to show off new dances, new armor, and playing minigames is so much more. I understand a social place isn't a new concept in gaming, but it is new to shooters, and Destiny 2 makes sure theirs’ is fantastic.

In most RPG’s, you must do what's called “grinding” to level up and become stronger. In most cases, the grind is a very long, arduous, and mind numbing task. But in Destiny 2, the grind is fun. I was never bored doing side missions, or completing milestones, or doing anything. As much fun as the grind is, this does have a downside -- you can level too fast. I became very overpowered by the end of the game, so much so that the word “challenge” wasn't a thing in the final few levels. Another gripe I have is how poorly the game explains the smaller things. As with many RPGs, there are a lot of smaller details you can miss. It can get very confusing, and having to ask a friend how something works or retreating to Twitter isn't what I imagine was intended.

Overall, Destiny 2 is a blast, whether you have 10 hours or 2 hours a day to play. Most of the new characters bring a new air that's so refreshing, it should've been a no brainer in the first game. It's a shame that PC players have to wait so long because I can't wait for them to experience this. This feels very much like when Bungie released Halo 2 or like when Gearbox released Borderlands 2. A sequel that truly feels like past mistakes were recognized and rectified. If you enjoy multiplayer, co-op, FPSs and RPGs, you are going to LOVE Destiny 2. And with that, I give Destiny 2 a solid 9 outta 10.

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