Release Date: 09/09/2014
Played On: PS4
Available On: PS3 / PS4 / XB360 / XBO
Time Played: 23h 38m
Progress: Completed main questline & DLC solo
Developer: Bungie
Publisher: Activision
I've been debating whether or not I had anything useful to say about a game that's now been surpassed by its sequel, and ultimately relegated to a terminal wind-down period. It won't be long before we see the Destiny servers shut down in favour of Destiny 2, or even a third by the time it all rolls around. Despite there being an active community of players stuck on the first Destiny, it's no secret that the title is on its way out.
The sad thing is that these kind of online experiences will only ever exist as long as the player base remains populated enough to make it financially worthwhile. There's no profit in keeping a bunch of servers running for old players who never spend any money, so it's almost a certainty that these titles will become obsolete.
However, while pondering over Destiny and my time spent playing, I have to recognise that a lot of the Destiny 2 reaction has been that it's simply more of the same. Apparently the differences between the two entries are minimal enough that perhaps a perspective on the first game will still have some kind of relevance to the sequel. Suffice to say that I don't plan on picking up the sequel, even though it has made its way onto the PC. If the second instalment is as similar to the first as people say it is, then I can happily say that my time with Destiny has reached its conclusion.
The entire structure of Destiny is an odd beast and it takes a little bit of getting used to, depending on your history with console games. I've played a whole lot of MMOs in the past, so questlines and grinding for loot and experience are nothing new to me. However, I haven't played any Halo or other big console shooters, as I prefer my FPS to be played with mousey keyboard.
Destiny brings these two together for an interesting take on the MMO shooter that I haven't really seen done the same way before. The immediate gameplay mechanics are from the console shooter play book. Aiming is slow and movement feels awkward when you're used to the precision of better inputs. At the same time though, there's plenty of open world grind and exploration, which feels like WoW or any number of traditional hot-bar RPGs.
You always have a loadout of a couple of weapons, along with a special/heavy weapon. There are three classes to pick from, but the difference is only minimal and any loadout will have you fighting in much the same way as anyone else. So in a lot of ways, Destiny feels like a generic console shooter, which is a big drag in my book, as there's nothing fast-paced and action focused about playing an FPS with a gamepad.
In addition to the fact that everything feels slow because it's a console shooter, progression through the game is pulled to a drag as well, thanks to the MMO qualities. There are some essential quest chains to follow, as well as side objectives and bounty missions that give you a whole lot of options when you're out in the world.
Although, if you've ever played a MMORPG, you'll be familiar with the loop of visiting a new area and doing every quest until you level up enough to head to the next area. Destiny's the same, except you end up going back to the same small environments over and over in the form of different planets to visit.
The design is beautiful for each location and they stand out against each other, which makes travelling to a new area an enjoyable experience. There are even some locations within these locations that are undoubtedly breath-taking. The artists and designers have really shown how talented they are at creating a universe and fleshing it out with aesthetic lore and intrigue.
Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the enemies, as they occupy a small number of factions, who are made up of a small collection of variants within each group. The main differences are ranks that imply stronger enemies with better weapons, but design wise there isn't a lot of variety to be found. I'm not sure if it's really a bad thing though, as it makes sense within the Destiny universe and I mean, how many variants do any species really need to have anyway?
A major element that I have to address is the main story and the reaction to it that we all heard about in the media at the time. It never sat well with me that the game was bagged so heavily for what people said was a terrible story. After playing the game, it annoys me even more, as I didn't find anything all that offensively bad about the plot. Sure it's nothing to get too excited about, but most of the story is about what's happening in the world, another MMO trope.
It strikes me as two competing perspectives have been arguing about Destiny since its release. I feel like the people complaining about the generalised story of "hey, so the world is in crisis and you need to go kill things to make it better" are not used to the MMO aspects. It's like they were turned onto Destiny because it was by the makers of Halo, and expected a linear storyline to follow, along with some multiplayer maps. The reality is that MMO stories are much more nebulous and open ended, as they cover a huge amount of gameplay and the entire scope of the universe. Much of the MMO directive is to build the world that you're immersed in and make you feel like there's activity all around you and threats much larger than yourself.
Additionally, I'm forever disappointed that I didn't get to play the version of the game that featured Peter Dinklage as the voice of the player's "ghost". The ghost is a drone-like robot that follows you around and acts as a waypoint indicator and gets used to hack systems all the time. There was so much backlash about Dinklage's voice acting in the original version that he was cut from the game and another actor was brought in to replace him.
I went on a mission to watch all of Dinklage's scenes online, which I managed to find and watch. The thing that struck me about his performance as the voice of a drone, was that he sounded very drone-like. Funnily enough, I think this is a good way to voice a robot and I don't really see what the problem is. Instead now we have a ghost following us around who has their personality meter turned up to Wheatley from Portal 2 levels of jovial fun-ster. Sure it's just a personal preference, but I Think I prefer the world where robots sound like machines, rather than regional pranksters.
Anyway, with all that being said, I quite enjoyed my time with Destiny. I spent most of my time playing solo, which is how I tend to play MMOs, as I don't like playing with random strangers and none of my friends were on the wagon. There was enough to do as a solo player without needing to group up, but occasionally a boss mission needed the assistance of others so I put up with the necessity in order to progress.
There's also the "Crucible" which is your typical multiplayer arenas, but I didn't spend a lot of time in there. Even though it seems like it's one of the most popular things to do in Destiny, I couldn't bring myself to play domination or team deathmatch on a console shooter using a gamepad.
Believe me though, I really tried to get past the whole FPS-plus-gamepad issue, so I haven't really included it in my appraisal of how much I enjoyed the game. However, it's hard to escape how slow the action feels, which is a result of having to slow down expected reaction times as it's a limitation of playing with a gamepad. I like to think that Destiny 2 would be a lot better for speed and action, as it's available on PC where responsiveness is not an issue. Part of me thinks it probably won't make a difference though, as porting Call of Duty titles has never made them more intense than their console counterparts.
So as I write this, I have consciously decided to retire my time on Destiny, and I have no plans to pick up Destiny 2. Despite this though, I feel like if you have the right perspective then Destiny could be a lot of fun for you. I enjoyed the time I put in with the game, but I'm not yearning for more (as there's loads more I could sink into if I wanted to).
I tend to play MMOs because I love to explore the huge worlds that have been created and discover all the little details that make it special. When I played WoW back in the day, I spend a lot of time just exploring and roaming across the beautiful landscapes and biomes. Destiny falls a little bit flat in this aspect, even though there are stunning areas that are incredibly satisfying to discover. The whole universe feels a bit disjointed, which might be due to flying from planet to planet, but it's also a result of each area being just that little bit too small. I can't help but feel that if the maps were a little bit bigger, they would bring much more of a wow factor.
For the time being, if an open world console shooter sounds appealing, then by all means pick up Destiny in a sale and smash through the solo content. There's enough there to get a bunch of hours out of it, and if it's your bag you might even find some faithfuls playing the multiplayer.
As I step away from Destiny, I am reminded that Activision is no longer a company that publishes games for enthusiast gamers. Their motives have been profit driven for a long time and it's beginning to show in more obvious ways. Destiny is no different as there's a lot to respect and love about the game, but it doesn't feel like it really hits the artistic heights it was aiming for. The glimpses of brilliance are overshadowed by the need for numbers that sell games.
Instead of saying that Destiny has a lovingly crafted world with a rich storyline to take part in and lore to uncover, they focus on how many loot variants and concurrent players are in the world. That might be find for some gamers, but I feel like it's more of an appeal to the mass market than niche enthusiasts.
Whether or not that's a good strategy remains to be seen, and is an argument for another time. Although, I'll be reminding myself in future that Activision aren't trying to make games that I am interested in, so maybe I'll skip their future endeavours (e.g. Destiny 2).
My time with Destiny has made me very sceptical of other titles like Anthem, which has RPG legends Bioware teaming up with another profit driven publisher: Electronic Arts. I always hope that the big studios can make something special, but I really think Anthem is going to be another Destiny with lots of numbers and flashing lights to get sales, but little substance when you actually dive in.