Destiny 2

I've played quite a bit of this game across two platforms, and three characters. I'll try my best to clearly identify what I liked and what I did not from the PC version, coming from the PS4.

Firstly, the game looks and feels great... but that's to be expected from this developer. The most important piece here is that the game itself is a lot of fun to play (more so if you have a friend or two) and is rewarding in a number of different ways. I found myself participating in a nice blend of private and public events; making sure to utilize the game's fantastic combat mechanics. Like the console version, the controls work great and being able to use a mouse without assist features is a true game-changer. The shooting feels so damn polished, despite the hit boxes being a little too forgiving.

The story missions in the game are few, but this is one of the only games I know of where it actually gets better once the story has been finished. Ghaul was a good antagonist, and the developers did a superb job of making the odds seem hopeless in the beginning. The final fight was somewhat anti-climatic for me but still made for an enjoyable experience. I would recommend playing through the story missions with at least one other person, but it is totally enjoyable alone as well. The cooperative play is where the game really shines; like the original, the more players who are able to communicate, the better.

I only experienced a few technical issues with the PC version of the game, all of which I contributed to AMD display drivers and the RX Vega series of GPUs. However, AMD was quick to release a fix for players using such hardware, in Radeon Software package 17.10.3, so that was much appreciated. The game now runs fantastic and does not crash to desktop as it was before installing the newest drivers for my Vega 64.

I almost regretted pre-ordering the PC version of Destiny 2 because I spent many hours on the console. I am very happy that the game is on PC and I think Battle.NET is a much better option than Steam at this point. I never once encountered any connectivity or matchmaking issues. The game also loads much faster on a full-size hard drive when compared to the factory 2.5" drive that comes installed in the PS4. Unless your console has an SSD/SSHD then you'll certainly appreciate the snappier load times. I have not tried the game with an Xbox controller, but I don't see the need either. This is a polished FPS after all.

At the end of the day, Destiny 2 is a worthy successor to the original and sports some needed design changes. Series veterans might notice some omissions but I haven't missed much of the old locations. The worlds are a bit more interesting and there's even more to do this time around. The characters, especially Cayde, are fun and expertly animated. The humor is a bit PG rated but the game is rated teen (T) and there is no visible gore. This is okay, because it's more of a whimsical/fantasy type game anyways, and I don't mind that it caters to a younger crowd also.

This game is clearly popular but also easy to recommend--especially on PC if you're running a decent machine. As a side note, my Ryzen 5 coupled with RX 480 8GB struggled to keep the frames smooth @ 4K, but it was playable with some sacrifices in visual quality.