Destiny 2

Been a hater for a long time because I felt like this game never came close to a fraction of its potential. But now that the monetization has been gutted, and you can just play everything(except the stuff they deleted lol) for cheap with no FOMO and no worrying about catching up to endgame players, it's quite pleasant to play.

I skipped out on this one until the very end of its life. I was on the other side of the coin for so many years, watching Destiny from afar and witnessing how many times Bungie pulled horrible stunts on their community who was hopelessly addicted to the game. Watching how many times the community would implode because of predatory garbage. So finally playing it now, when it's missing huge swathes of the game, so much story is missing, so much content is just gone, and as a fresh player, it's genuinely one of the most confusing experiences I've ever had. I wander around wondering what's going on; nothing is explained to me, and I'm expected to know things. The story is just a bunch of confusing dialogue between characters I don't understand or know. I got FOMO'd out of having a complete experience. I have personal gripes with a few things, but at least the gunplay and visuals are immaculate-- when they're not taken out of the game. I just had to be there when everything was together, clearly. For as dumb as an experience as it was to me, I wonder-- for those people who spent thousands of hours on this game, played every last bit of content, had all the context- are they okay? It must hurt so terribly watching this game turn out the way it did. My heart goes out to those who got abused by these creators and this vile studio.

Despite everything, You're my favorite. Don't ever forget that

I'll confess much to my regret I've not actually played this game really at all, so I shouldn't be writing this 'review', but I just wanted to send my condolences and best wishes to those whom this game clearly meant a lot to. Reading many of the other heartfelt reviews of good times gone by really makes me appreciate how games aren't just mindless dopamine generators; they are impactful, social experiences that for all the inevitable toxicity and corporate greed, also have a brighter side of hilarious memorable moments, the forging of friendships and the belonging to a wider community of accepting, like minded gamers. Video games to me are capable of reaching the same heights as the greatest literary work, the most intricate picture and the most detailed film. They are in many cases exceptional expressions of human genius and creativity, something to be celebrated and something I am honoured to be able to experience. So to all those who had the privilege of playing this game, of forging bonds and experiencing it's rich world; please know that whilst it's terribly sad it has come to an end, as all things inevitably must, you can still find happiness in the fact that it was most certainty time well spent. Technology is advancing fast my friends, so it is not out of the possibility that a future, fan led revival project could return this masterpiece. Until then, I'm glad to be apart of this global gaming community and deeply proud to call myself a gamer. I wish you all the best wherever life takes you, here's to 1000s more hours of funny moments, great friendships and brilliant memories.

Very creative and artistic people made this game, then it fell to company greed and was abandoned by shareholders while leaving the game in a buggy mess

A staggering amount of content that people paid for had been removed from the game. It's either been rendered unusable in just about every activity or it's been removed entirely. If their game was getting so large that they decided to cut the entire base game campaign and most of the vanilla content, they should have started thinking about Destiny 3. But of course they didn't, because D2 has been such a huge cash cow that they couldn't risk changing the number from 2 to 3. Destiny 2 has been altered so much over the years that it's essentially already Destiny 3. The issue with that is they took away most of D2 to do that. If they had started making a Destiny 3 when Destiny 2 got too big to add to, then people who bought all the expansion content wouldn't have been robbed blind as they watched all the stuff they paid real money for get taken away.

Have put around 900 hours in this game. Pretty good so far. Wish Sony kept supporting development.

With thousands upon thousands of hours logged on console, through the highs and the lows, and I can safely say this is one of the greatest games ever made. There really is nothing like it, and I honestly don't know if there ever will be again. The feeling of late nights raiding with friends, mindlessly talking while grinding out a catalyst, or locking all the way in on comp crucible. The gunplay is literally unrivalled, even by the same studio. The lore is possibly the best in the business. Not to mention that it gave many in its community a sense of belonging and peace. This game meant so much to me, and so many others, and while it's sad to see it get its last update, I am completely content with its Final Shape.

Something is really funny to me, about the fact that the one time Destiny 2 feels accessible to a new player is when they put it in maintenance mode. If you were ever on the fence about this game and it seemed impossible to get into, this is probably the best time to do it. Fun gameplay with things to do pretty much everywhere. I like the amount of exploration available. No more stress over getting the most I can out of the current experience before the next experience begins. No more confusion of what to buy and what you will still be missing after buying what you see on the steam store page. (The answer to this question was everything, and then the keys - something that is now taken care of by the Collection bundle) Could do with a bit more guidance to the first available campaign (After finishing tutorial -> Go to your quests -> The past -> Legacy: Shadowkeep)