A Gamer’s Guide to Destiny

I played Destiny for two hours last night.  I will probably play Destiny for more than two hours today.  But last night was a special night for me, I got my Hunter to level 32.  I now have a level 32 Warlock, a level 32 Titan, and a level 32 Hunter.  As Destiny currently stands level 32 is the maximum level a player can achieve.  I do not mean to toot my own horn in regards to my Destiny accomplishments.  I want to explore why gamers play Destiny so much and what keeps attracting them to play more. 

In the past 30 days I have purchased more than 10 games.  In February I bought Super Mario 3D World, Super Smash Bros for Wii U, Evolve, Resident Evil for Xbox One, IDARB, and Metroid Prime Trilogy for Wii U. Just in the past couple days I bought Resident Evil: Revelations 2 and Rayman Legends; along with Super Mario Bros 2, Super Mario Bros 3, Metroid, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the Virtual Console on Wii U. Yeah I like games.  However, at the end the day I usually decide to play Destiny.  I bought all of those games because I was getting bored with Destiny and wanted something else to play.  But no matter which game I played, I still wanted to go back to Destiny. 

Playing Rayman Legends helped me understand why I enjoy Destiny so much.  Rayman Legends is a very fun game, but I often find myself fighting the controls and the level design and just being frustrated with the overall platforming of the game.  I do not consider myself a bad gamer, but I died 10 times on the first level.  The loose sprint physics just didn’t make sense.  I love the music in this game, but the gameplay wasn’t satisfying and I don’t see myself playing Rayman Legends ten years from now.  The buttons don’t feel like they are where they should be and it doesn’t feel natural to control Rayman.  Compare that to Super Mario Bros 3 which is still fantastic 27 years later.  Even though both games have great art, music, and fun level design, Super Mario Bros 3 stands above because of its simple and intuitive controls. 

Destiny reminds me more of Super Mario Bros 3 than Rayman Legends.  The control scheme is fantastic, the art and music are exceptional, and movement through a space is a joy to experience.  As a gamer you might be bored with the repetitive nature of Destiny.  However, I feel that the repetition is the game’s biggest strength.  Bungie did not try to make each level vastly different from the next, their are no stealth levels or long driving segments or auto scrollers.  The scenery changes and the enemies change, but the gameplay remains the same.  The system of progression gives you a reason to play the game, and the controls and gameplay make it a joy to pick up day after day. 

The gameplay in Destiny is its clear strength.  Destiny players are not there for the story, I would be happy if they just told us to rescue a princess in another castle.  When there are so many other games out there, Destiny remains my primary gaming experience.  I will never feel at home controlling a character with a mouse and keyboard, there’s just too many buttons.  Limiting the number of inputs makes developers really focus on giving each button a purpose.  Combining the controls, the gameplay, and the system of progression and there is almost nothing like Destiny on the market. 

I might eventually stop playing Destiny.  Maybe I obtain every exotic and fully upgrade of them.  Maybe Bungie updates the game and changes the key fundamentals and pushes me away.  If they re-release Destiny in 27 years, I will play it and I will fall in love all over again.  Just like jumping on a goomba is still fun, punching a thrall with storm fist never gets old. 

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