When Destiny first came out, I ignored a lot of the shortcomings of the game. To be frank, I had so much fun playing with my friends and enjoying the on-point shooting mechanics that it was easy to look past issues with the game, repetitiveness and longevity. With the first DLC, The Dark Below, I’m not as forgiving — mainly because Bungie continues to make mind boggling decisions that upset its fan base. For every good thing, there’s something equally bad, and it feels like for every step forward Destiny takes, it takes another back.
While there are some atmospheric moments in The Dark Below, it’s hard to feel impressed by what Bungie has offered. As someone who found the story lacking in the main campaign — and didn’t care for the use of Grimoire Cards — I didn’t see a vast improvement in story for The Dark Below. There is a new vendor and storyteller in Eris Morn of Crota’s Bane, bringing yet another reputation to grind. Gone is the voice of Peter Dinklage, as his Ghost falls silent in the DLC. Through a couple of new missions, you hunt down the Hive Witch Omnigul, from beneath Earth’s Cosmodrome to the Moon… which now has a Witch on it. The story is delivered via spoken lines and no cutscenes. I hated Titanfall for delivering what they considered a story the same way, so when I know that there is untapped potential in this lore and story, it pains me to see it brought about in such a rushed manner.
With that said, the missions are done well. There are some really great and creepy atmospheric moments where music is playing and you’re trying to help Rasputin that had me genuinely nervous. There are even some funny acknowledgements over the use of Ghosts and the reason they were created. The mission format isn’t anything new, though. While they all don’t end with you standing there protecting robotic Tyrion from waves of enemies, there’s nothing really new going on. Also, you’re revisiting places on Earth and the Moon that you’ve already been to.
Fans of the Crucible are treated to three new maps — Skyshock, a vehicle-based map; the Cauldron, a close-quarters battle in a Hive dungeon; and Pantheon, a labyrinthe in the Black Garden with long lines of sight and sniping alleys. I really like the new additions, and I think they’re some of the best work in The Dark Below.
Depending on which console you play on, you’ll have one or two Strikes to have a go at. The PlayStation 4-exclusive Strike, The Undying Mind, is pretty much taken from the last campaign mission. The Strike has you take on tons of Vex with what amounts to a reskinned Nexus boss fight. The better Strike is Will of Crota, bringing tons of Hive at you in a crowded complex, complete with the boss fight against the hard-hitting Omnigul.
I’d like to be able to speak about the raid because it’s the bread and butter of the expansion, so until I have a chance to run it, most likely this weekend, I’m going to avoid assigning a score to The Dark Below. That said, the new raid and gear available from vendors has essentially made Vault of Glass obsolete. Since Exotics now have upgrades, and purples from the expansion are better than purples from the main game, Bungie has replaced content instead of adding content. In the end, it’s not worth putting in the time to run Vault of Glass to get gear that is outdated.
And that speaks to a larger problem with this expansion. Players that have put in hundreds of hours over the last three months have had that progress basically wiped out. Their grind was for nothing, when all they have to do is buy new gear with better Light ratings. The grind continues with a level (Light) cap that now going to 32, and the addition of Vanguard and Crucible commendations. So now you not only need to farm the marks needed to buy gear, but you need to get commendations (of which you get one when you gain a new rank). Players welcome more levels and new gear, but they don’t want all of their gear that they’ve worked so hard for to feel obsolete. At least, I feel that way. Luckily my Suros is the best weapon for me that I’ve come across still. Upgrades for your Exotics are also tied to Xur, so it’s horrible in design.
The Dark Below is a great reminder of what Destiny could be, but isn’t. Its best content is the raid, the gunplay is smooth and playing with friends is a great time. Unfortunately, Bungie doesn’t seem to have any clue how to give players a sense of progress without giving them hundreds of hours of grinding and then releasing better gear. If all of the content was like that found in the raids, Destiny would be so much better. That and I think the whole Light armor system is broken and stupid.
This review will be updated upon completing the new raid
Reviewed with a provided code on PS4.
