Long Ramble: (Criticism)

by cheapLEY , Sunday, July 24, 2022, 09:04 (635 days ago) @ Cody Miller

I will always wish that Destiny was a more cohesive experience that made use of old stuff in interesting ways instead of just moving on to the next thing. That's unrealistic, I think, as it would mean continually developing old stuff, bringing it up to snuff, integrating it with new stuff. I just don't know how they would realistically do that (especially when you know at least half the fan base would just bitch about reusing old content).

See, this is so interesting to me. Halo was generally criticized for making you play AotCR backwards in Two Betrayals, and reusing content and geometry in general even though the experience is pretty different each time. So that's… suddenly good now?

I’ve never had that complaint. I love the back half of Combat Evolved taking us back to old spaces. The problem with doing so in Destiny is just burnout. I liked running Blind Well again, but how many hundreds of times had I run it previously? In an ideal world, they make use of that space and format, but actually develop it and twist it somehow to make it feel fresh. They nailed that this season by bringing the Leviathan back and making it a patrol zone with a new aesthetic, then setting the weekly story missions in familiar areas in the underbelly. It’s truly brilliant. It’s returning to familiar ground in a new way. It’s the back half of Combat Evolved executed nearly perfectly.

I'm not sure it's true anymore, but I still envision Bungie designing Destiny as a buffet of things to enjoy. Lots of options to cater to many tastes.

This is MY general problem with MMOs and Live Service games. I dunno, in my opinion it's just better to have a focused experience that's always great for the people who like it, and those who don't just won't play. The buffet just means everyone is kinda sorta pleased, but never reaching the highs of fine dining. I get that's the type of game that makes the most money, but it's not the type that makes me most happy to play.

I used to agree with that. I still do in many ways. But I’ve come to appreciate the things live service games like Destiny and Warframe and Genshin bring to the table. I’m not sure I could really articulate exactly what it is. I’m honestly not sure I’d still be playing Destiny if it had just been Halo, as much as I always talked about wishing for exactly that. There is absolutely something compelling about being able to return for new stuff every few months. And, for as many problems as it causes, there’s something pretty awesome about the PvP side not being some partitioned mode with separate rules, and instead utilizing all the same gear and abilities I use in everything else. It’s just neat.