Destiny 2 – Digital Deluxe Edition Review – PlayStation 4

Today marks the three-year anniversary of the FPS game that took the gaming world by storm, so what better way to celebrate than with a review of its stunning new sequel.  Destiny 2 descends upon our planet with the foreboding scale of a giant sentient sphere, and much like the Traveler will overshadow the next several months (perhaps years) of countless FPS gamers. Bungie has had three years to perfect the formula that, despite a rocky start in 2014, was slowly polished, tweaked, and tightened through countless upgrades and expansions, so expectations for this sequel were high.

After a four day, 20-hour marathon session I’ve knocked back the single-player campaign, completed about half of the side content, and dabbled with the Crucible PvP. Strikes and Raids are next on the list and I’ll be sure to update my review if this content demands, but so far, what I have played has been pretty close to perfection. Every quibble I had with the original has been addressed, and Destiny 2 is fast on track to becoming one of the dominant forces in FPS gaming through 2020.

For those who played the original, Destiny 2 will find and import your save data from that game, bringing over your character (likeness only) along with a fun little historical recap that will highlight your various milestones from the first game and any completed expansions, even tagging the person(s) you played with. Then the game drops you into an hour or more of solo gameplay, much of which will be familiar to those who played the BETA, before the game opens up to cooperative play and access to the Director.

The Director has been revamped for the sequel, and while it still offers you access to all the major destinations like Earth, Titan, Io, and Nessus, you now have much greater freedom when accessing these large and complex planetary maps. You can now choose where on the map you want to get dropped off, and there are Fast Travel options to quickly move among the major sectors. These are invaluable since you probably won’t get your Sparrow until late in the game – perhaps even after completing the story.

This is actually by design, as Bungie wants you to walk the maps, at least the first time you play, so you don’t zip by all of the fantastic little secrets and events they’ve stashed around the maps like Adventures, Lost Sectors, and those infamous Public Events. Adventures are these cool self-contained stories that reward you with insightful background on characters and events, while Lost Sectors are more like these mini dungeon challenges with a big chest waiting for you when you clear the area. Nine-player Public Events roll in at random intervals, and when the sky darkens you had better hope other players are nearby, otherwise just move along.

As before, Destiny 2 is designed for both the solo and the social gamer. There is easily 30-40 hours of content you can play all by yourself, but you can just as easily bring up to two other players along with seamless drop-in/out co-op and the game will scale the difficulty and the loot accordingly. They really do need a four-player co-op mode though, as it always seems somebody is left in the lobby to chat while the other three play. Even the Strikes are limited to three players.

Raids support up to six players and offer the most challenging gameplay events in Destiny 2 as well as the best rewards. And then you have the 4v4, PvP Crucible events with all new modes and maps that will keep competitive gamers playing until Destiny 3 arrives. A new integrated Clan system makes it easier than ever for gamers to gather together, create their own unique look, and work toward their own rewards and XP bonuses.

So what else is new? How about three new character Subclasses including the Dawnblade Warlock, Sentinel Titan, and the Arcstrider Hunter, along with other subclasses you can unlock by completing various quests. PlayStation gamers get some exclusive content at launch including; a competitive multiplayer map, a three-player cooperative Strike, a personalized ship, 3 Legendary Armor Sets, and an Exotic Sniper Rifle, as well as early access to future DLC. The $100 Digital Deluxe version also includes the Expansion Pass granting you access to the two big expansions that will feature all-new content for both the solo and multiplayer portions of the game.

A lot has happened with gaming tech since 2014 and Destiny 2 delivers a total next-gen presentation on the PlayStation 4 with a locked 30fps at 1080p. Despite the significant upgrade to 4K using a PS4 Pro, albeit with some dynamic resolution that shifts between 3072×2160 and 3840×2160 on a scene-by-scene basis, I have to wonder if my PS4 Pro could manage 60fps if they had given me a 1080p render option. The textures, architecture, lighting, and special effects will blow you away. There is no HDR support despite several dark areas that would have benefited greatly from it, but the rich vibrant colors and real-time lighting and shadows are so good you won’t have time to miss it. Character modeling and animation are gorgeous both in the game and the in-engine cutscenes, and the movies are of such quality they could easily be cut together to create a feature animated movie.

Each planet/moon offers its own unique theme which is carried over in subtle design touches in both textures and the most intricate details found in the outdoor environments and indoor locations. There is a true air of sci-fi sophistication to the look and feel of the game that carries over from one jaw-dropping moment to the next. There is one mission in particular where sunlight becomes more deadly than any enemy in the game, and I swear you could almost feel the blinding white heat coming off the TV.

The audio package is also pretty amazing with a score that literally sends shivers down my spine when it starts. Borrowing on themes from Halo and the previous Destiny game, the score dynamically shifts, dips and soars with the action, suspense, danger, and mystery of each moment in the game. And nothing can beat the parts of the soundtrack when that awesome choir gets added to the orchestration. The voice acting is pure perfection with great dialogue from every major character and many of the subordinates.   Nathan Fillion steals the show as Cayde-6, delivering his lines with perfect comedic timing and just a hint of Captain Reynolds inflection. Peter Stormare, Claudia Black, Bill Nighy, Gina Torres, Lance Reddick, Nolan North, and John DiMaggio are just a few other big names to lend their voice talent to what is actually a quite compelling script.

One of my big complaints with the first Destiny was an overall lack of story. Even after multiple expansions it just seemed like Bungie was having trouble properly motivating players through the narrative; instead relying on OCD loot collection. Destiny 2 kicks off with an epic opening movie and keeps the drama unfolding throughout with periodic cutscenes and loads of backstory revealed through primary mission-giver NPC’s as well as the ramblings of your Ghost (Nolan North) when you explore new areas and make new discoveries. Interestingly enough, the story far exceeds the dramatic scope of the slightly disappointing final boss fight, but does tease a peek at what’s to come in future content drops.

Other than that, Destiny 2 doesn’t attempt to fix what isn’t broke. You still have the three classes of characters and their subclasses that can all easily hit the level 20 cap by the end of the story content; probably before if you do a few of the side missions. You have your energy, kinetic, and power weapons along with assorted armor slots that will quickly become your new obsession in keeping them filled with the best loot you can collect while recycling the rest.

I did enjoy the new reputation system that allows you to redeem various collectibles and scrap parts with various key NPC’s in the game to level-up your reputation with each character in order to earn valuable Engrams that will unlock loot. Thankfully the RNG loot system has been refined so, not only do you get class-specific loot, it also comes close to level and usability. The only exception to this is certain quest items that, if you wait too long to collect, will likely be lower than what you already have. As always, the best loot is always out there in the world to be found, usually as Strike and Raid rewards, and almost never on sale in a store.

But if you like to shop the new Tower that unlocks after you’ve completed the story has all your favorite destinations for weapons, armor, engram decryptions, Sparrows and ships. It dwarfs the tower from the original game is size and complexity, and took me nearly an hour to fully explore the first time I was permitted. And you can always return to the Farm if you prefer a simpler shopping experience or an impromptu game of soccer.

Even after 25 hours it almost seems too early to review a game like Destiny 2 – the Raids don’t even unlock until next week. So I’ll make this review somewhat provisional in that I will continue to update when and if the need arises. For now, the game is pretty much perfection in presentation, gameplay, content, and the promise of what’s to come. If the first game is any indication, Destiny only gets better with age; at least for the people who are in this for the long haul. But even if you are only interested in the solo and co-op stuff and never touch the PvP, you’re looking at 80-100 hours of quality content before there is any chance of getting bored, and by then the DLC will start rolling out, making sure you’ll be playing Destiny 2 until you can get your hands on Destiny 3.

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