Bigger and better in every way, shape or form!
It would be an understatement to say that I really liked the original Destiny. Truth is I spent a lot of time and I mean a lot of time, like 1600 hours, playing it and I loved every minute. I was there from the beginning, closed alpha on PS4. I remember fondly dying over and over against the Hive Knight in the hidden area in the Cosmodrome trying to get that juicy loot from the chest.
I loved Destiny even though it was a total grind fest, doing the same things every day, demolishing the same enemies and bosses over and over again. But I did it with friends. That's what I loved most about Destiny, being part of that community of players, always ready to help me, a noob, navigate through the Gorgon's cave, always ready to help me get Crota's loot by glitching the hell out of that raid, always ready to join my fireteam and complete the Nightfalls, Prison of Elders, and the many juicy secret missions inside larger missions. I will never forget that...
And Destiny 2 got me all fucking emotional when they showed me all my accomplishments in Destiny and my fireteams. This is what Destiny did and what Destiny 2 still does best, they connect(ed) people from all over the world. There was no better IceBreaker, pun intended, to make new friends. "I play Destiny, you play Destiny, let's be friends and slap Oryx together" and just like that, you had new friends to chat and play video games with.
The truth is that I am completely bored with the "conventional" video game reviews. "Graphics are good, but the shadows quality is not up to par" or "It's a [insert every game (sequel) ever made] game, but ["quirky" "funny" comment]" or the "There's always room for improvement...", yeah, no sh*t. Developing and creating anything is difficult, let alone trying to make something like Destiny 2 and trying to meet everyone's expectations. We have become so entitled nowadays that we take everything for granted.
Destiny 2 improves on everything from the first game. Story? Amazing! You are the Hero, the only one powerful enough to save the Traveler and the solar system from the Red Legion. There's a great sense of urgency to everything you do, but at the same time, it is presented or coated with levity. It really feels like a Marvel movie, probably like "Guardians of the Galaxy" fun and serious at the same time.
Supporting characters? Amazing! Vuvuzela :D, Ikora Rey and Cayde-6 face their own mortality when the light fades away. I mean they had become comfortable, maybe felt a little entitled, pretty much immortals standing around a table on top of that high tower making decisions for everyone. And when the Red Legion came knocking towers down and taking the light and all their powers turning them into mere mortals, they met a reality they kinda had forgotten. The metaphor is beautiful and the writing satisfying and very relatable.
Basically, the same love and dedication went into improving the already excellent gameplay feel. I've seen people write it off saying "Well, it's more Destiny..." well, what did you expect, Destiny 2 being a dating simulator? They have improved every aspect of the FPS experience. New gun types, way more guns, way more gear, way more player customization and choice and a whole lot of that juicy Exotic loot.
Yes, Destiny 2 is still a grind fest, but this time around it the "fest" beats the "grind" part. While in Destiny 2 you could grind for hours just to get a legendary engram, Destiny 2 showers you with loot. Exotic and Bright engrams drop often, Legendaries very often. Everything you do fills a progress bar with, you guessed it, more loot at completion. Bungie wants me to play Destiny 2 every day for a long time and I can say that they have me completely hooked. The gameplay loop is excellent, the PVE stuff is engaging, satisfying and challenging at the same time. PVP is also very engaging, way better than it was in Destiny and with special modes like the "Trials of the Nine" or the upcoming "Iron Banner" it will become even better.
At 2 AM today I was trying to complete a quest for an exotic handgun and I had to defeat a boss which was proving quite challenging to do alone. Tried a bunch of times, nothing, that's when I decided to just invite some random people from the rooster to help. Five minutes later I was pimping my new exotic handgun with an alternate look I got earlier from a Bright engram. This is that special Destiny spirit I was talking about earlier. And I am really glad that Bungie is helping, supporting and promoting this even further with the Guided Games feature.
If you do not have anyone to play the Nightfall or the Raid with, choose Guided Games and you'll join a fireteam of other cool and helpful guardians to take on the most difficult challenges. And who knows, at the end, you might have 2 or 5 new cool friends to play Destiny 2 with.
Yeah, I know I will be spending many hours in Destiny 2. Leviathan looks amazing and that's next on the to-do list. I also want to see the giant head myself so I might have to raise my light level a bit more. Do not rush through Destiny 2, take your time and enjoy every thrall you punch to the face, every hidden chest you find, every lost sector you explore, every bit of dialogue, every piece of juicy loot you get your hands on. Relish every moment you play Destiny 2 with your old or new friends. Thanks for reading!
