Bungie's Destiny 2 is Shaping Up To Become the Ultimate Online FPS RPG
The chance to finally explore Destiny 2's rich world is tantalizing for adventure-seekers.
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Bungie descended on Los Angeles today to spill the details on Destiny 2, and one thing is mouth-wateringly clear: Destiny 2 will be bigger, and more dense in a lot of new ways. In fact, it's become very apparent that Destiny 2's primary goal for players is to open up its universe for a more narrative-rich, and even MMO-esque experience.
As Luke Smith, director for Destiny 2, took the stage he explained that for Bungie the chance to make a Destiny sequel was a chance at a fresh start. And while it might sound like an opportunity for a do-over, the things that Bungie showed-off seemed more like an actualization of all the things the first Destiny wanted to do, but was hesitant of committing to.
These changes include a stronger emphasis on story– with the Destiny vanguards Zavala, Ikora, and Cayde-6 featured more prominently in the game's campaign– and a more refined matchmaking system. But the biggest changes for me personally is what Destiny 2 wants to do with its solo play, separate from the campaign. These solo enhancements include a far more open world populated by NPCs who deliver quests, public events with multiple objectives, and most excitingly, something Bungie calls "Lost Sectors" which will act as dungeons complete with loot and minibosses.
For players like me who managed to reach the level cap, find a fireteam to play with (for about 75 percent of the time at least), and actually did a good chunk of the things Bungie put out for Destiny, the game was a pretty good online shooter.
However, the first Destiny also promised much more than it ultimately delivered. The online suite beyond just PvP and PvE felt half-finished, and despite boasting several traversable planets, they mostly felt hollow. Destiny didn't have so much of an open-world as it did just very big, mostly empty levels.
Which was a shame because Destiny was also a really gorgeous game, boasting an art direction that felt refreshing in a sci-fi shooter–full of bright colors, and luminescent alien terrain. Unfortunately, most of these worlds just served as waypoints for story campaigns, without much else to do in them aside from patrol missions, which were frankly kind of boring. And almost all the NPCs were centralized in the game's hub tower and served as merchants or power dispensers. Both of these key grievances appear to be addressed in Destiny 2.
Ultimately what it sounds like is Destiny 2 will at least lean harder into the MMORPG elements that make up a core part of the game's online suite. And while I wouldn't consider myself an avid MMO player, I love Destiny, and I wanted desperately for a richer solo-player experience in the unique world Bungie created. From the looks of it, that's exactly what I'll get with Destiny 2.
Destiny 2 will launch on PC, PS4, and Xbox One on September 8. Until then check out Everything We Know About Destiny 2 Here.