"Destiny 2 would seem to feature a lot more heart than the first. "
Destiny 2, the sequel to the 2014 online first-person shooter has been announced.
With the first entry in this ten-year projected franchise, making over $500 million (approx. £400 million) on its first day, the sequel is already one of 2017’s highly-anticipated releases.
The teaser, entitled “Last Call”, released on 28th March 2017. While the worldwide trailer, “Rally the Troops” released on 30th March 2017.
For the upcoming game, developer Bungie appears to make a number of things clear during two trailers.
Firstly, the sequel seemingly removes the safe haven of the Last City from the first game. The trailer shows the city coming under attack, and eventually falling to the forces of ‘the darkness.’
The Last City was central to the original Destiny’s experience, making this a major shift in the status quo. This would also appear to be the justification for why playing characters will start again when it comes to loot and powers.
Yet, the reveal also suggests changes to the first game’s tone. The original Destiny took itself rather seriously. Perhaps, justifiably considering the almost apocalyptic stakes of the story.
The Destiny 2 trailer is much more comedic than the first game. It features a character struggling to rally the crowd in a very Deadpool-esque fashion.
Fans of the first game will recognise the character as the sentient, charismatic robot Cayde-6, voiced by Nathan Fillion. His centrality to the trailer might suggest a greater role for him in the sequel too.
Watch the Destiny 2 “Rally the Troops” trailer here:
Barring the somewhat frustrating character reset, all this sounds like good news.
The original Destiny‘s story was thin on the ground. The game featured an abrupt ending and only the faintest traces of a consistent plot.
Indeed, many players perhaps felt betrayed after what the game had promised. This would explain the somewhat bitter sentiment found in the comments of the Destiny 2 trailer.
For all this bitterness, though, deserving or otherwise, the sequel’s first trailer suggests a very different game. Whilst the original game always had an epic backdrop and a rich world. Destiny 2 would seem to feature a lot more heart than the first.
Another arguable improvement is that the game is also taking itself a lot less seriously.
Yet, the uglier aspects of the first game still cast a deep shadow. Activision and Bungie have already announced an Expansion Pass for the upcoming sequel. Something which many criticised the first game for failing to follow up on.
With other sequels to overhyped games like Watch Dogs 2 and even Titanfall 2, having struggled after their disappointing predecessors, Bungie and Activision would do well to pay attention to their critics.
The entertaining debut has certainly put Destiny 2 on a strong foot. But, with some of the more insidious corporate aspects of the first game seemingly remaining, and little else known about the sequel, caution among gamers should hardly be surprising.
The sequel will release worldwide on 8th September 2017. Pre-ordering the game will gain access to the game’s upcoming beta. Fans can also expect a live stream of gameplay from developers Bungie on 18th May 2017.
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