One Year Anniversary (Destiny)

by Korny , Dalton, Ga. US. Earth, Sol System, Monday, December 23, 2019, 12:52 (1802 days ago) @ Cody Miller
edited by Korny, Monday, December 23, 2019, 13:05

I stopped playing Destiny one year ago today. I've made it a year. I wanted to be on board with Destiny. With the world. With the co-operative play. But enough was enough.

And while I do miss the raids, the folks who have played with me over the years, and some of the mystery, I look over what this year has brought and I see a game I was absolutely right to abandon. I see a game that's doubled down on the grind, on the routine rather than on a story and a universe to explore. A game which has all but abandoned storytelling and is instead focused on lore and mindless mechanics to keep you interested.

I see a game now in year six that has not even lived up to the basic expectations laid down by Bungie. Does this honestly feel like the halfway point in an epic 10 year journey? It feels like several aborted starts to me.

And so I feel better than ever about leaving it behind. And part of me is sad about that.

At this point, you beat the game, and Bungie for that matter. The terrible grind that the streamers clamered for failed and collapsed under its own wait (geddit?). Destiny as it stands is a neat game with polished gunplay and fun abilities, but if you aren't chasing anything specifically, there's no feeling that you're missing out on anything (especially not story, or whatever writing potential we saw in a game that started out with Joe Staten at the typewriter).

It's liberating, in many ways. I, for example, only play occasionally to help others run missions, or whatever they're chasing. If I wanted one of the not-Pinnacle Weapons, a dedicated evening or two is all it takes to get them now, so you don't have any pressure. You can seriously just pick it up and play for fun.
Plus, you get to make your own fun challenges now, instead of sticking to a rigid ritual like we used to (F in chat for the DBOers who are still trying to beat the GoS raid boss, lol).
I love that we aren't strong-armed into playing Destiny anymore. A lot of us have finally been able to play other games without feeling the pull of the tow-line that caused resentment towards the game.

So yeah, you're not missing much from jumping off a year ago, but you won't feel punished if you ever do decide to hop on and play again, and I think Bungie did a great job for making it more respectful towards people who actually have a life.

So, yeah, tl;dr you win, but you don't lose if you ever decide to pick it up again.