Hard to believe, Destiny recently celebrated its 6th birthday. MeinMMO author Philipp Hansen looks back at the past years, wonders why he even goes through this, and feels old.
Destiny had its birthday: On September 9, 2014, Destiny opened its servers and initiated a love for many that has lasted for 6 years with Destiny 2. On the occasion of the anniversary, Bungie also released some numbers that dropped my jaw.
Apparently, we’ve spent three times as much time in Destiny 1 and 2 as modern humans have even existed. With over 3,000 hours, I’ve certainly contributed a bit, but 166,999,999 other players have also been diligent Guardians.
I want to take this opportunity to explain how I’ve experienced the MMO shooter over the past 6 years, which some players deemed doomed from day one.
Destiny was on everyone’s lips even before its birth: I first heard about Destiny when Bungie and Activision struck a staggering deal in 2014. Almost every serious gamer heard that $500,000,000 was to be invested . And an ambitious 10-year plan aimed to change everything in gaming – superlatives were abundant.
What I later found out: Destiny had actually found me back in 2009 during my Halo days and hinted at my future. After all, I primarily write for MeinMMO about that very franchise, about Destiny.
I just couldn’t interpret the signs back then. But even in Halo 3: ODST and later in Halo: Reach (both games are also by Bungie), Destiny teasers appeared. Great, when I think back to Halo, I really feel old.
I’ve played Destiny the “wrong” way
That’s how I became a Guardian: I became a Guardian twice. The first time, I played Destiny the “wrong” way, at least from my current perspective:
- Shortly after the release, I borrowed Destiny from a video rental shop. Six years ago, that was still quite normal (man, now I really feel old again). I completed the “story” in no time and had my fun, but didn’t really understand the hype. When the game went back, I didn’t shed a tear.
- Later, two friends and I were looking for a new game that we could play together on our newly purchased PS4 consoles. The choice fell on Destiny, and this time I became a real Guardian.
Only now did I really dive into the Destiny world. Previously, I only admired the pretty sky boxes (which I liked so much in Halo) and wondered about guys who were shooting continuously in caves, but now I paid attention to the unique weapons and abilities and wanted to own every exotic.
Soon, I was consuming in-depth videos and reading my first article on MeinMMO – I still remember the topic today: The Iron Banner – I really fell in love with that mode
Destiny, loving you breaks my heart
The same problems for 6 years: This “right” way of playing Destiny brought a lot of problems with it. You know how it is, a Guardian is insatiable. Once you grind out an exotic and defeat a raid boss, you don’t just sit back, pat yourself on the back, and think that’s it.
Such achievements want to be repeated – Bungie has not and cannot push content out as quickly as we consume it. Even small fixes in Destiny feel like they take an eternity. The blame is said to lie with the completely outdated engine. Later, more and more dark internal matters came to light that painted a bad picture behind the scenes.
As long as there has been Destiny and the hunger for content, there has also been the “PvE vs. PvP” problem. Achieving balance between the two modes seems impossible. Either items destroy the Crucible and are nerfed to uselessness in PvE, or vice versa. For many, it’s also incomprehensible why they have to visit the Crucible or, God forbid, Gambit for a quest.
No matter which camp you belong to – there’s always a reason to complain. Since I belong to both camps, I complained twice as much. I don’t even want to talk about “smaller” issues like connection quality or cheaters; I’m already annoyed enough.
Does getting annoyed even make me older? Is the first gray hair already showing?
Shouldn’t everything get better? The hopeful switch to Destiny 2 was supposed to usher in a second golden age – unfortunately, that was another pipe dream. The greedy cash shop, the Eververse, dug its claws deep into the game and destroyed what colleague Sven Galitzki considers to be Destiny’s soul.
The separation between Bungie and Activision reignited all hopes, but led to a rude awakening. And also upcoming worries like the guns retirement or the removal of half the game regularly drive the community and me up the wall.
The divorce papers were signed
This all sounds quite bitter, so why am I still on board after 6 years? One could quickly point out:
- that it has become customary, just routine
- that I don’t want to admit that I invested my time wrongly
- that I blame myself for suffering from separation anxiety
This is how I wanted to escape: But that’s not how it is. I have intensively looked into other games. In dry phases, I swapped the first-person perspective for the shoulder perspective of Warframe or Division 1 + 2. I even tried to play as a Pokémon trainer and regularly dived into the Warzone of Call of Duty and fought in Apex Legends.
But every time it’s the same: No game can keep up with Destiny for long.
As soon as a new expansion comes, the old gold rush feeling breaks out immediately. There it is again, that feeling of discovering something new, being in a distant world. Nostalgia grabs me by the collar and drags me into the depths of raids, keeping me grinding quests for hours.
A big factor is also my small, family clan. I believe that it is through strong collaboration with other Guardians that Destiny reveals all its facets. Who else should I tell about my new Godrolls? My better half just says again that I’m too old for video games. But stuffed animals on the bed are so much more adult…
That’s why the gameplay is unmatched for me: When I play my Warlock, I am the Warlock. Others curse about the jump, comparing it to a wet sack in free fall, but it has become second nature to me. I’ve come to love these character peculiarities.
As much as I wish for it, I have yet to hold a weapon in any game and say: “Hey, this feels better than in Destiny.” When I fire a heavy revolver, it kicks like a horse. I can feel through the controller as soon as another perk is on the weapon.
In my opinion, there simply isn’t a worthy challenger to date that combines shooting, sliding, throwing grenades or activating abilities into a choreography as well and feels as immersive as Destiny. None are in sight. And although many service games have tried – my aged space shooter cannot be easily dethroned.
With all due respect, I can confidently say that no other video game has ever had such an influence on my life and accompanied me for so long. That’s why I was happy about the now 6 years. May there be many more years to come.
Because the plans that Bungie has presented for the future of Destiny 2 hit me right in the feels. They aim for full throttle towards action-MMO. And even now, I know that the future will bring nasty problems.
But still, I wish you all the best on your birthday, Destiny! Let’s grow older together a bit more.
How did you come to love Destiny? Why can’t you get enough of the game, even though it often brings disappointments? Is there still no real alternative for you to this day?
