Welcome to the very first “Square-Off” where staff members talk about a game they’re fans of, and argue its merits against another staff member that’s not a fan.
For Square-Off’s debut, Ben Tarrant and Chandler Wood take a long hard look at Bungie’s shared-world shooter, Destiny. It’s been the topic of much conversation, dividing online communities and sparking a seemingly never ending onslaught of memes. It was heralded as the game of the century, bridging the gap between many different genres in a ac-fi hotpot while delivering a strong and connected social world.
So, hot on the tail of Destiny’s Year Two expansion, The Taken King, we take a critical and retrospective look back on Year One and its many perks and pitfalls analyzing some of the main pillars of the Destiny experience – Story, the infamous Loot System and The Crucible’s PvP and deciding whether or not Destiny delivered.
Square-Off is a recurring feature where PlayStation LifeStyle staff members defend or attack a recent title, putting its positives and negatives under the microscope for the world to see.
Destiny Argument Gallery
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Square-Off - The Destiny Argument
Square-Off is a recurring feature where PlayStation LifeStyle staff members defend or attack a recent title, putting its positives and negatives under the microscope for the world to see.
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Section 1: General - Chandler
When I reviewed Destiny a year ago, I admitted that it felt like just a prologue. It was the foundation for something that was going to be really cool, though I have to say I had my fair share of hundreds of hours with my Fireteam, creating our own awesome memories in the various modes like strikes, Crucible, and of course, the Raids. Yes, I was the one who fell down the pit in the Vault of Glass on our Flawless Raider run. Did it feel perfect? No, but I'm happy to say that I was a part of each and every change that came along, for better or for worse.
I was there for the whole Christmas cave grind. I lagswitched Crota in The Dark Below more times than I care to admit. I was among the first of my group to have a Mythoclast. For me, Destiny is a game that continues to evolve and grow, and it has had so many iterations and changes over the last year that it is hardly the same game that initially released. Growing with this evolution of the game has been eye opening about a developer that really does listen to their fan base and adjust as necessary.
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Section 1: General - Ben
Destiny is a game that's always dangling the carrot. One minute you're tearing apart a new strike with your Fireteam, reaping some epic loot and the next you're standing in the Tower thinking 'now what?!'. That's the problem, Destiny is actually good fun - for all of a few hours until you've finished the skeletal story missions.
It suffers greatly on the endurance front, it plays blindingly well the first time around, but, going forward it's the same rehashed rubbish pushed in front of you in a bid to keep you playing. I don't care for trekking around Venus a bazillion times to find bloody spirit bloom or pursuing a Fallen captain for the 15th time, all for some loot that's not even for my goddamn class.
It's even worse when they wrap up new stuff behind a pay wall that only ends up delivering a handful of hours extra. Sure, they listen to consumer feedback heroically well, but at the end of the day, they nerfed my exotic shotgun in The Crucible and I'm pissed.
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Section 2: Loot - Chandler
Alright, I’ll give your point about grinding some merit. Year one Destiny did begin to feel more like a chore and a checklist than an engaging experience, though that was some hundreds of hours in for me. Their loot game was completely off point too. I am fine with locking things behind a paywall. It’s an always online game that is being constantly worked on without a subscription fee, and the developers need to put food on their tables. What I hated was locking content behind good ol’ RNGesus!
Oh, you want to hit max level? Too bad. You need boots. Special boots. Boots you can only get from the Raid, and none of your friends want to run the Raid. You want to beat that tough boss? Sure would be easy if you had a Gjallahorn, but none of your friends will give you the time of day because you don’t have one. This is what excites me most about The Taken King, is the prospect of a radically improved loot game.
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Section 2: Loot - Ben
I think it's great that The Taken King is looking to reinvent the way loot works, but if I'm honest, it's too little too late. Millions have been lumbered with a ridiculously backwards system of levelling up, only made worse by conventional XP being present initially. It's like Bungie just decided to over complicate things mid way through for the pure sake of it. The loot system is arbitrary and works swiftly to make any previous efforts redundant, not to mention broadening the gap between players that have forked out for the extra content and those that have not which is simply crass in my mind.
Managed to gather enough friends to go on the Raid? Sweet, copped yourself some legendary gear. OH WAIT! It's for Warlocks and you're a Titan. Sure, great news if you have three accounts on the run, but a bloody joke for those of us that hardly have the time to run one, let alone three. For a game based on level progression gained predominantly via gear, the ultimately random loot system is so backwards I'm surprised it even exists at all.
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Section 3: Story - Chandler
Again, those are things I think will be drastically improved on in The Taken King. Whether it will be too little, too late remains to be seen, but at the very least they are seeking to improve in Destiny’s second year. As we’re debating the merits of what has already released, however, I’ll stick with what we know so far. Let’s talk about the story, shall we?
Hidden somewhere on the website, or deep in an app on your phone, is a veritable treasure trove of fantastic lore and history for the Destiny universe in a little thing called the Grimoire. I know you’ll probably say it was stale in the game, and it was, but rather than say Destiny lacks a story, I would say that Destiny is filled to the brim with awesome lore on other guardians, the state of the solar system, and even weapon histories, but Bungie went about delivering it poorly. You really had to dig, and even then, it was particularly abstract.
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Section 3: Story - Ben
I'm actually with you on the Grimoire front, they harbor some truly original takes on our solar system and prove how deep and well thought out almost every aspect of Destiny is. The big issue is they're not even in the actual game, a simple Grimoire section on your menu would solve this, allowing players easy access to this archive of lore. The actual story most players will experience simply name drops foes as if we're best mates with them and rattles on about The Darkness with no real substance.
Destiny doesn't lack a story, it just lacks storytelling, which is almost worse. The epic voice talent and character design just seems thrown in to this hot pot of creativity and without the tethers of a strong tale holding them together, it all feels somewhat chaotic and intimidating. I want to know what's going on in Destiny but I shouldn't have go digging around for such a keystone element.
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Section 4: PVP - Chandler
You’re absolutely right, but I know there’s one thing you don’t have to dig too deep for, and that is shooting other people in face… digitally of course! I have a love/hate relationship with the Crucible. I really do like that it feels far more accessible than other “pro-level” shooters like Call of Duty or Battlefield, where I just get my ass handed to me on a bullet laden platter, but this accessibility is also what hinders its potential a bit by failing to reward good performance and skill. As someone who doesn’t often fit into either of those categories, though, it’s nice to feel rewarded.
Fortunately, they do augment the Crucible with modes that reward skill highly, such as the Iron Banner and Trials of Osiris, which require you to win to reap the rewards. This multi-tiered system, as well as tying it into the PVE portion, makes for a competitive mode that tries to carve out a place for everyone. It’s not perfect, but it’s different.
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Section 4: PVP - Ben
My biggest gripe with Destiny is actually the Crucible. It's a balancing act in a permanent state of flux that only works to highlight some of Destiny's most evident flaws. I love PvP and had a solid run with the Crucible initially, however, after not playing as avidly as I used to I feel like I've fallen behind. Everyone is speeding around brandishing Mythoclasts, rendering my Titan a pile of ash while I'm stuck with my pea-shooter auto-rifle until I grind some Marks.
I don't like the feeling of being at a constant disadvantage simply because I don't have the 'right' loot and event the special events like The Iron Banner only go to deepen this rift. Either you spend every waking moment grinding the Weekly Nightfall strike for Strange Coins, hoping to God that Xur has something decent or you just throw in the towel altogether. Plus, this new special ammo timer is an imbalanced joke and I'm still bitter about what they did to my sweet prince, Invective.
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Section 5: Conclusion - Chandler
Year One Destiny did put up far too many walls, having players hit cliffs when they didn’t randomly roll the right gear to get to the next level of the endgame. As I was one who found myself conquering those cliffs (due to the ridiculous amount of time I put into it), it’s easy for me to look back and have liked my experience, but I know the feeling of sitting at the bottom of those cliffs and being passed up simply because of chance.
I like Destiny a lot. I really do. But I also admit that it has many faults. My many hundreds of hours have been a rollercoaster ride of joys and sorrows, never actually “earning” a Gjallahorn. It’s not perfect but I’m happy that Bungie had the audacity to try something so different, and that they have the fortitude to stick with it, molding it into a better experience than it could have ever been in the beginning.
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Section 5: Conclusion - Ben
I like the premise, Bungie have plugged something very bold and for the most part pulled it off. I find the constant blockade of priced content a tad bitter, especially when it actually adds very little and only serves to divide players. Its story is there, but locked away while its PvP is so fluctuating in terms of balance its almost difficult to keep up with.
It's undeniable that most of my quarms can and will be fixed, many of which are being rectified in The Taken King if Chandler and the patch notes are to be believed (he's usually right). The first year of my relationship with Destiny has been a truly difficult one, but I'm not ready to give up on it just yet and well, that's got to count for something?
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Onwards and Upwards
We're now in the early stages of Destiny's second year expansion, The Taken King, with many tweaks and changes helping iron out the kinks while complete redesigns are sure to bring new solutions and issues to the table.
Destiny is in somewhat of a constant state of evolution, for better or worse. These are just two interpretations of the shared world shooter and its future, feel free to share yours in the comment section below along with suggestions for the next game to come under scrutiny in ____ .
