Last week I wrote a list with 5 reasons to play Destiny. I stand by that list and if any of those reasons really leap out to you, then you should definitely give the game a shot. However, no game is perfect and Destiny is definitely not for everyone.
If any of the items on this list really hit home for you, then chances are you may not find a whole lot to love with Bungie’s latest sci-fi epic. At the end of the day though, you should definitely form your opinion – I just want to help inform you about one of the biggest games this year.
5) The Player-Base is Fragmented
It’s no secret that millions of people are playing Destiny right now, I mean, it broke records and was heavily advertised leading up to launch, so that was expected. What those numbers and sales don’t show though, is that while a whole lot of people are playing the game, it’s across 4 game systems. People are playing on the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
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Each system has a relatively healthy community supporting it of course, but as a console game, it’s still fragmented by nature. And with different activities to partake in without a true persistent MMO world, that means that people won’t all be doing the same thing. No matter how many people are playing at any given time, it’s essentially divided by 4, for each system, and then even further for each portion of the game.
4) Horrible Loot Drop Chances
Everyone knows that the nature of a loot-driven game means rolling the dice any time you do anything to determine loot and rewards. Kill a random enemy in the wild during a patrol mission? There’s a die roll. Just finished a match in the Crucible? There’s a die roll. Kill a big boss at the end of a Strike or Raid? There’s a die roll.
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Obviously you can’t get Legendaries and Exotics every time you kill something – that would be absurd and make the game boring and meaningless. But when you kill a boss and get next to nothing, but then randomly find an amazing new gun in a random chest, the loot chances are off. There is a certain item in the game called an engram, which are just like unidentified items in other similar titles, and the purple ones, which are supposed to have a higher chance for better items, seem to never result in actually valuable items.
3) Repetitive Content
Yes, the content in Destiny is varied and repetitive at the same time. While you have free roam areas, story missions, dungeons, raids, and PvP to partake in – it doesn’t take long to get to the point where you end up doing the same thing over and over. All of the Strikes aren’t as lucrative as others, Raids can be more difficult than their rewards warrant, and PvP, while fun, is entirely hit-or-miss.
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Bungie has done a decent job in the opening weeks of the game creating new and varied things to do, but how long will it last? Even if Bungie continues to release large and new raids for months to come, it’s still the exact same type of stuff everyone has done before. Gear treadmills are fun, but that isn’t enough to prop up a game all by itself. If only Destiny had something like a compelling story to keep it interesting…
2) The Story is Awful
…but it doesn’t. To be clear, I’m sure if you went to Google and looked up what Destiny is about, researched the races, and read all of the Grimoire cards as you found them, you’d have an incredibly rich and detailed base of information about the game. But I don’t think I should have to proactively go outside of the game to find out what’s going on – that isn’t the way it’s supposed to work. Seconday content is supposed to be just that, secondary – not required.
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When you start up Destiny, you’re treated to a great cinematic that sets the tone and mood really well. Then you make a character, picking from one of three races that are never explained at all. After playing a few missions and seeing a few cutscenes, that’s about it. I wouldn’t even go as far as to say that the game gives you a reasonable reason to keep killing things. The loot is about all that keeps anyone going, and that’s not a terrible thing, but it leaves a lot to be desired. Especially when compared to the rich and detailed history of Bungie’s previous franchise – Halo.
1) No PC Release
For the majority of people that visit this site, this is the biggest reason not to play this game. Despite the fact that Sony has a fancy white console bundle that includes Destiny as a pack-in, I don’t think most people would recommend the multi-generational console-only game as a real console seller. You can still get it on the 360 and PS3. That means, most people are buying it for what they already own.
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The problem is that, millions of gamers around the world use a PC as their primary platform for gaming. In fact, its where shooters and MMOs thrive the most. I ask then, why in the world was Destiny not released on PC? I get that Bungie favors console, but it doesn’t make the move any less nonsensical. The fact is that if PC is your main gaming device, not only can you not play it, but you should you not go buy a console just to play it. Just sit back and enjoy your Firefall, Planetside 2, and Defiance – free of charge.
Conclusion
Destiny is a huge game, both in terms of early success and scope. There are tons of things to do and surely plenty of reasons to play it, but no game is perfect. Continue to check back with us for our continued coverage and review-in-progress of Destiny as the weeks carry on. Are you passing on this one? If so, let us know why!
