The Remarkable Thing About The Destiny Beta

Destiny has been making waves this week with their beta, and for good reason. The overall concensus is very positive, showing that most players are pleased with how the beta is turning out. I am one of these players. I absolutely love Destiny, and I can’t wait to see it in its final form. With that being said, there is one portion of the beta that is a bit lacking: the story. The storyline so far is pretty vague, and as a huge proponent of having sold stories in games, that should annoy me, right? Oddly enough, I don’t mind. In fact, I couldn’t care less at this point. Do you know why? Because Destiny is still engrossing, fun, and entertaining.

The Destiny beta does not do a wonderful job at storytelling, but I’m understanding the story well enough to get by. More or less, here is the basic story:

You’ve been dead for a long time, but you aren’t told quite how long. A Ghost finds you, revives you, then becomes your personal AI as you fight back the Darkness. The Darkness has been attacking the Traveler (the giant orb that hovers over the Last City), and sadly, the Darkness is winninDestiny First Look Alpha_20140614152324g. It is up to you and the other Guardians to push the Darkness back. Along the way, you’ll activate an Array, recover a ship and refit it with a warp drive, fight off a Spider Tank, a Wizard, and other enemies, annihilating any of the Fallen who stand in your way, eventually leading to the beta’s final battle against Sepiks Prime.

That’s really the summary of Destiny’s story. You don’t really know why you’re fighting the Fallen, or how they relate to the Darkness. For that matter, you don’t really know what the Darkness is. Is it a singular being, or is it a coalition similar to the Covenant in Halo? Or, is it something completely different? Is the Traveler the orb, or is there something inside the orb? What did it do, and how did it do it? Why is it fighting the Darkness? So far, there have been no important characters to connect with, so nobody has really given answers to these questions. On the upside, I can grasp all the information given; I’m not overwhelmed by facts. On one hand, I can understand clearly the story presented. On the other hand, that means the story is basic, cookie-cutter, and has no life to it.

As I’ve seen online, it is possible that Bungie is withholding vital plot information until the game’s release so that spoilers don’t get out a month and a half before street date. It is possible that cutscenes, characters and other tools will be implemented into the final edition of Destiny that will flesh out our understanding of the world. Although it is confirmed that the beta campaign encompasses the initial levels in the final game, who’s to say that all the cutscenes are there? Destiny First Look Certainly, we cannot judge the story entirely based on how it appears in the Beta.

However, I don’t really care, although it amazes me to admit it. Even though I deeply care about stories in games, I’m so engrossed by Destiny’s stupor and wonder that I am perfectly content roaming the world and fighting foes. Sure, having a vague backdrop is nice, but at this point, the most important aspect is the engrossing, addicting gameplay. I am constantly mesmerized by the incredible views and the expansive world. I am continually hooked by enemies that require my full attention. I’m routinely consumed by the armor and weapons I receive, swapping them out to have the best armaments in the heat of a battle. I am frequently lost in the addictive combat and fluid gameplay, so much so that the lackluster story cannot mar how marvelous the experience feels.

Of course, during cutscenes and walking segments, I am brought down a bit by Peter Dinklage’s lackluster performance. Yes, he’s robotic and awkward in his speech. Yes, his lines are stupidly written and come off as amateurish. Yes, he lacks charisma. However, I am able to dismiss this in favor of gameplay.

In its final form, I would love for Destiny to have a gripping, engaging story. Compounded with the overall experience given right now in the beta, I have no doubts that Destiny would achieve a score over 9/10 from me in a game review. Even still, I feel that Destiny is an extremely fun, solid experience in its current form, and I will be content to explore Mars, Earth, the Moon and beyond for hundreds of hours upon release. Destiny’s story so far is stupid, but I don’t even care. How about you?