Note: This article is not to bash Bungie’s Destiny in any way. I actually have it pre-loaded on my console and can’t wait to try it out.
Destiny is undeniably the biggest game of the year with its sheer amount of content, scope and scale, and all around hype surrounding it. Plus, with over 4 million people that tried the Beta over the Summer, it seems to attract the interest of players a lot. Bungie hopes that its new IP will be its gaming platform for the next 10 years with the hundreds of possibilities of innovation that will be available in it, however I honestly wonder if it will be able to remain relevant after 2-3 months of release. 2014 still has tons of releases coming soon and other established Multiplayer juggernauts, such as Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, are sure to deliver satisfying experiences all around. There is no doubt in my mind that Destiny will sell millions of copies within its first week of release, but, if it eventually fails to capture the attention of players on a longer term, will we actually consider it as a success?
There are multiple things that can go wrong for Destiny. First of all, is the inevitable server crashes that will happen during the initial 48 hours of availability. The game is going to launch across 4 different platforms on Tuesday and, with the high install base on each console, it has a higher risk of having connectivity issues than other disastrous launches like Sim City and The Elder Scrolls Online that were only released on one platform. Bungie and Activison have probably prepared themselves for the worst, but, with the recent hacks and server downs of both Xbox One and PlayStation 4, I remain extremely skeptical towards that aspect. Heck, the PlayStation 4 launch of Minecraft caused issues for the PlayStation Network. I can’t imagine what it will be like for a game as big as Destiny. Crashes will definitely not be why the game could be an all around failure, but it can obviously prevent it from having a successful launch.
Will its similarities hurt of benefit the overall experience?
If you think about it, Destiny will be going up against multiple AAA established franchises in the coming months. It is extremely hard for a new IP to stand out against these juggernauts because players always want to stick with products that they are already familiar with. Though, it won’t be case for the its first weeks of release since there isn’t anything big coming out for a while, Destiny could most likely be a game that will only fill the players’ First-Person Shooter needs until Halo or Call of Duty comes out. And that’s definitely not what Bungie wants. We have seen it with 343 Industries’ Halo 4 where it has a high install base during the initial month, but rapidly got forgotten when other games came out. It would be disappointing to see a game that has one of the biggest development and marketing budgets of all time get left out because players want to go back to the Multiplayer franchises that they are already used to. Another perfect example is with Titanfall; despite the massive hype around it, it got abandoned after a month because of the staggering lack of content within it. Bungie says that Destiny cannot be completed because of the high amount of content that will be in it, but if it’s the same thing over and over again, it will be hard for players to be invested in this game.
From what I’ve played of the Alpha and Beta, Destiny’s single player missions look awfully repetitive in the sense that they always revolve around getting to a specific location, killing the enemies and moving on. Like I said, this was in pre-release builds, so I am hoping that it won’t be the case. The story also needs to be captivating and interesting in order for me to keep an investment throughout the entire experience. If there isn’t enough variety in the quests, strike missions and raids, I will personally be playing more Multiplayer than Single Player because I feel like I am going to get a lot more out of the experience that way. Plus, with the soft level cap of 20, who knows if the game will still remain fun after reaching it.
Will Multiplayer be a sustainable alternative to Single Player?
Additionally, Destiny could be perceived as yet another First-Person Shooter that has nothing special to it. It look so similar to so many other games that players could definitely skip passed it because they are looking for something new and revolutionary. Though, with its great combination of RPG elements and always-connected Multiplayer, I’m sure that it will deliver some great wow-factor moments.
And so there you have it; there are a lot of ways that Destiny can fail to deliver on its promise whether it is because of its release window, repetitiveness or familiarity to other franchises. It will be interesting to see if players keep supporting Destiny after other Online Multiplayer games launch, and if Bungie has a long term plan to keep its game relevant for a long period of time. With all that being said, there is no doubt in my mind that Destiny will be the best-selling game of the year, if not of the decade. But I worry it will be forgotten as soon as Halo: The Master Chief Collection, which looks absolutely amazing, and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare launch. But, then again, that’s my own personal opinion. There are always hundreds of questions raised when a game that big launches, but, fortunately, all of these will be answered when the Destiny launches on September 9.
Are planning on playing Destiny? If so, do you think it will be as successful as Bungie and Activison hope it will be beyond its initial weeks of release? Let us know in the comments below and as always, stay tuned to Gamer Headlines for all things gaming.