Destiny Reviews
Destiny is still very fun to play, but despite its best attempts, it doesn't feel like the future we were promised.
Over-hyped beyond reason, Destiny is a fun shooter with some serious flaws. Despite those flaws, there's still a ton of fun to be had. Temper your expectations, grab some friends, and settle in for a good time.
Even non gamers would have likely heard of Destiny prior to its big release, which is no wonder as its one of the most highly anticipated games in recent years with its huge financial backing.
Destiny struggles to justify the promised 10 years of gameplay and fails to deliver a story worthy of losing yourself in. While guns feel and look great, the experience feels hollow. It won't be enough to appease the players looking for the heyday of Bungie's Halo 3 online experience and it offers nowhere near enough content to persuade MMO fans to abandon their current heavy hitters.
Maybe it’s unfair that I had such high hopes for Destiny that it was bound to fail. When it was announced Bungie talked about their 10 year plan for the game. Well here we are three years later and Destiny is dead with the release of Destiny 2. I never stuck around long enough to play all of the expansion content but I shouldn’t have had to. The game that shipped just wasn’t what it could have or should have been. It felt rushed and devoid of content.
Although Destiny is a great game, we expected it to be a bit bigger. Nonetheless, it plays amazingly, has some beautiful planets and we look forward to the raids in the future.
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Destiny has many great elements at its core, with solid action mechanics and especially if you were already a fan of Bungie's previous work. But there are many design concerns which bog down the experience, from the boring story to the underdeveloped MMO concepts and dull mission design. Destiny rarely feels engaging or feature-complete. We can only hope the franchise finds its footing in the future installments.
I've thoroughly enjoyed every minute I've spent exploring the Destiny universe – with the exception of Grand Theft Auto V, there hasn't been a game in years that's become my first thought of the day and my last before I sleep. There's holes, weak points, key ingredients missing, but Destiny has gripped me in a way I cannot explain.
In closing, there's a lot to like, and a lot to wonder about. The question is whether or not you choose to embrace the obvious manifest intent of such a game: If you just accept that it was always going to be about multiplayer shooting, and the rest might be underdeveloped gravy; you'll probably have tons of fun. And if you look to the future and see what Bungie has created – a very solid foundation – you should be excited by what the team will deliver in the coming months and years.
In our opinion, Destiny is at its absolute best when the odds stacked against you require teamwork to overcome, and there's no shortage of those moments.
As a technological achievement, it's probably about as cutting-edge as console gaming gets right now, but as a straight ahead gaming experience, Destiny's component parts have been better done elsewhere, not least by Bungie themselves.
Today, of course, Destiny is a mess, but I sympathize with it. It contains multitudes, and I see the multitudes in it. Like Destiny, we all struggle with what came before us. We struggle to measure up to it, to change it, to learn from its mistakes. We want to be bigger than our parents, and in some ways, we always are. But ultimately we, too, are human. Like Luke, we can't live up to others' expectations; no one can be everything to everyone. What else could we call such failure but destiny?
Destiny could have been good, it is too flawed for me to say it is though. I can't say it's a horrible game because I am not into this genre of game, but I can point out the flaws in the system since I come in as an outside party.
Well-polished shooter/MMO hybrid with addictive loot hunt properties, great visuals on next gen consoles, fun multiplayer experience with co-op and PvP options; Some dialog cheese, party search and creation could be improved, episodic missions can endlessly be replayed but with long term effect on the world.
Destiny suffers from a serious case of rough edges. A number of elements, from the repetitive mission design to a weak early game, are a lot rougher than expected from an otherwise polished game. There isn't one glaring problem that detracts from the experience, but a number of minor issues hurt the game. Beneath those flaws lies an extremely enjoyable MMO-styled shooter that plays excellently, looks great, is extremely addictive, and has a strong and varied endgame. Destiny makes a strong impression on anyone who's willing to give it the time. It may not be the game-changer that Halo was, but Destiny is a strong game in its own right.
Destiny is a great-handling first-person shooter that manages to seamlessly weave multiplayer elements into its campaign. Bungie has managed to craft plenty of great mechanics for the new game, as well as allow for player expression through the RPG skills and customization system.
It's a truly epic experience once the real endgame content is reached, but until that point, the player constantly hits brick walls, and the only thing they're able to do to progress any further is start the mind numbing grind and hoping that they get lucky enough to receive some armour with light.
As someone who genuinely, deeply cares about games as works of art, to see a game as limited as Destiny become the game that is on the front pages of mainstream news is like a slap in the face. I can't deny that the game is entertaining, beautiful, or content-rich, but for all that Destiny is not even close to a masterpiece.
Despite the glaring issues that, understandably, some might not be able to overcome, Destiny does manage to create a sturdy foundation from which Bungie can build its new franchise. If you can get past its foibles you'll discover an addictive online shooter that is just good old-fashioned fun on a delicious tasting bun.
Destiny has huge highs and huge lows but unfortunately there isn't much to do after you hit the low level-cap, thus causing the game to lose it's luster really fast. It's a good buy for the promised future Bungie has prepared for it but right now, it's a passable shooter that shoots high but never sticks the landing.