After that first mission, though, players are immediately ejected to space, where a limited number of things to do sits in a classic Destiny menu. Like, what? I can’t even land on a planet and just wander around? With nowhere else to go, it’s either hop in the Strike or hop in the Crucible.
What is surprising is the antagonist, Gaul. Presented in trailers as a hulking brute, Gaul appeared to be a walking cliché. The end product is the complete opposite with Gaul having much more depth than anticipated. Gaul doesn’t get the amount of screen time he deserves, which is disappointing considering he’s the best part of the story.
The one thing that continually will linger on the mind while playing is the exact sentiment above. Why was Curse of Osiris not included in the base game? Curse of Osiris is small, adding only one new destination, a new raid space next week and some other minor things, which I’m sure you can guess. It’s grating, because for such a slice of content, it could have easily made its way into the base game — obviously I’m not a developer nor do I pretend to know the ins-outs of development — that said, this DLC really is small enough that if booting up Destiny 2 for an outside party, they might think it’s part of the base game.
The Destiny 2 beta is showing positive things, but the cracks are easy to see for any veteran Destiny player and that’s nerve-racking. Destiny 2 Patch notes 2 should not just be a glossed-up Destiny with a fresh coat of paint, it needs to prove that it is the FPSMMO it always intended to be. When hiding things like the item menu from players, however, those feelings of unease just won’t go away.
Looking back at the original beta for vanilla Destiny, there was a tremendous amount to do and see, even some leveling involved. The Destiny 2 beta feels like Bungie is keeping their cards close to the chest because anything that could rock the boat might just tip it over. Destiny is successful, but it comes with a reputation, and scuffing up that reputation in anyway could make or break sales numbers once September rolls around. The beta gives enough of itself to put players at ease while also remaining the carrot and the stick. For a Destiny fan, it’s easy enough to digest; take everything learned from Destiny and apply that to this beta, it’s a guaranteed good time. For those who might be making their way back though, this might look more like a shooter than the online multiplayer game Bungie promised. While I can only speculate as to why the amount of content was significantly trimmed down, it’s probably for good reason or it’s just actually a beta.
It wants to be a sci-fi epic, but also a dedicated “fan’s game.” It wants to welcome in new players, but old systems built in are great for pushing them away. It wants so much, and it can’t focus on what. This can most prominently be seen in the new Raid-lair coming out. Destiny as a series has gained a reputation for world-first completions of its raid, something to be seen as a race. What happens then to those who casually play that might want in on the action? It pushes them away, like everything else in Destiny 2. Why would anyone want to try their hand at the end-game content when it’s advertised as something for the best of the best.
Destiny 2 is laying the groundwork for outstanding storytelling and unforgettable moments. It’s setting a solid foundation for the game it always wanted to be, while delivering the things Destiny never could. It’s an exciting time to be a Guardian even if it means the Last City falling only to pick ourselves up one more time. At least this time, there are those worth fighting for.
The other side of the loot pool is the now titled “Illuminated Engrams” (previously Bright Engrams) which drop all sorts of cosmetic goodies and sometimes an exotic ship, sparrow or Ghost. Bungie is sticking to their guns with how these engrams function — aside from the debacle of XP gain — a minor complaint comes against it. With so many new cosmetics, mainly shaders, why can’t these items be locked like armor or weapons? Why can’t they be deleted in mass? Having to systemically break-down shaders one by one is tedious and a waste of time. No one wants to sit around and delete 65 bland shaders, “wooo, look how much fun I’m having.”
With the Destiny 2 Beta in full swing now, there’s a lot to unpack. Many changes have been made from the first game, but much will be recognizable. While the Beta shouldn’t be taken as a done deal — they could still change things — it’s good to talk about the balance the team at Bungie has struck between the new and the old. And with many people unable to play the Beta, as access is limited to those with a pre-order, hopefully this preview will give you a good feel for where the game is at right now. The Beta comes with the first story mission, a strike, and two multiplayer game modes, and all have changes that we’ll get into right now.