I thought this would be an interesting topic now that this generation's final Destiny-like has hit shelves and is being played by the masses. When Destiny launched to massive long-term success, I was kinda surprised that nobody else in the AAA space was really trying to rip off its formula. The game enjoyed a pretty big space all to itself for quite some time; some aspects of it were aped, but developers often failed to replicate the "full package" of Destiny (PVE + PVP + Raids + Dungeons). Slowly but surely though, contenders to the throne have appeared but they are few and far between.
Answer using whatever criteria you like to decide whether a game is better or worse than Destiny, but at least please state your criteria and rationale.
My answer is pretty decidedly NO. And I'd even include Destiny 2 on the list of games that just really couldn't match Destiny 1. D1 was just built on an incredibly solid gameplay foundation, and similar games that came after has felt pretty middling and formulaic. Developers just seem to think that if they can bolt a half-dozen progression hamster wheels onto a product with mediocre gameplay, that will drive success and engagement. I don't think that's really been the case for titles like The Division or Anthem. I think D1's strength is that they were willing to introduce weird, wild weapons and skills that could possibly break or unbalance the game.....but since then Bungie and others have been obsessed with creating watered-down weapons and skills that could never be good enough to change or affect the status quo. Instead you were just stuck chasing boring homogenized items in search of a min-max setup that wasn't all that satisfying. This pursuit of balance has largely been to the detriment of D2 and other Destiny-likes. It's no fun just hunting down weapons that have slightly better numbers associated with them -- I need something unique, strange, and exciting. D2 was the only game that really stood a chance at snatching the grown since it had Bungie's incredible gunplay hardwired into it, but the loot was just uninspiring.
Answer using whatever criteria you like to decide whether a game is better or worse than Destiny, but at least please state your criteria and rationale.
My answer is pretty decidedly NO. And I'd even include Destiny 2 on the list of games that just really couldn't match Destiny 1. D1 was just built on an incredibly solid gameplay foundation, and similar games that came after has felt pretty middling and formulaic. Developers just seem to think that if they can bolt a half-dozen progression hamster wheels onto a product with mediocre gameplay, that will drive success and engagement. I don't think that's really been the case for titles like The Division or Anthem. I think D1's strength is that they were willing to introduce weird, wild weapons and skills that could possibly break or unbalance the game.....but since then Bungie and others have been obsessed with creating watered-down weapons and skills that could never be good enough to change or affect the status quo. Instead you were just stuck chasing boring homogenized items in search of a min-max setup that wasn't all that satisfying. This pursuit of balance has largely been to the detriment of D2 and other Destiny-likes. It's no fun just hunting down weapons that have slightly better numbers associated with them -- I need something unique, strange, and exciting. D2 was the only game that really stood a chance at snatching the grown since it had Bungie's incredible gunplay hardwired into it, but the loot was just uninspiring.
