All activities in Destiny 2 can be played cooperatively, but the real test of a Fireteam’s comradery comes in Strikes, which Destiny 2 provides plenty of. There are five Strikes in Destiny 2, and each is meticulously crafted to test a Fireteam. They’re far more exciting than the Strikes in vanilla Destiny and dole out some quality loot. Those looking for a challenge and some of the top-of-the-line loot will want to try the Nightfall, however, which is unlocked later in the game.

At the moment, there’s probably no finer example of this than Destiny 2 . Among the many problems afflicting it, the most basic is probably the fact that, at its core, the game is a compromise. It’s a watered-down version of what made the original Destiny enjoyable, done for the sake of attracting a more casual audience. Annoying grind or not, Destiny 1 was more about the hunt than it was the acquisition. Rather, it might be better to say that the hunt was what made the acquisition fun. The hunt took commitment though. Gathering exotic, raid and perfectly-rolled gear took time. It took patience. It meant throwing oneself into the grind until they finally earned the prize they sought. The lack of content variety was certainly annoying, but the way Destiny was set up made the effort feel rewarding all the same. Not everyone enjoys this sort of game though. It’s not as easy to drop in and play as, say, Call of Duty or Halo 5. This is what Bungie "fixed" in Destiny 2. Now, the hunt is basically gone. Every piece of gear one can get is exactly the same as everyone else’s. "Rare" loot can be earned by literally doing nothing, exotics no longer feel special and character builds are practically nonexistent. It’s much easier to jump in as a new or casual player, but why should they bother? In its pursuit of the casual audience, Destiny 2 wound up sacrificing the very thing that made the original fun engage in: the actual hunt and effort required to obtain rare loot. Destiny 2 isn’t the only game to suffer in this way though. Just look at Fallout 4 or even Dead Space 3.

Destiny’s sequel still has a stunning lack of features, of new things to do in and with its content. Where’s the variety of Crucible modes? Where are the custom lobbies? Where is Horde mode and strike scoring? What about customizable difficulty and gameplay modifiers? Why don’t we have any in-game systems we can use to challenge ourselves and our friends? If incentive is necessary, why not offer emblems for running strikes, story missions or even raids with certain modifiers turned on? How about a system to share or feature custom-made challenges and offer a small sum of Silver for popularity? Additional raids, strikes and explorable spaces are nice, but they don’t solve the problem. Features, things to do with that content, do solve the problem and Destiny 2 currently doesn’t even offer as many as its predecessor.

Now let’s talk about the changes to the PC version. Overall, not a lot has been added in terms of content. Like the original release, players will need to wait a little bit before jumping into the Leviathan Raid and Trials of the Nine, which is a little disappointing for those transferring over, but it makes sense in the overall timeline. It’s up to Bungie to bridge the gap between PC and console updates moving forward, though. The mouse and keyboard controls are a welcome addition to the formula as Destiny almost feels perfect for the twitch-based shooting. Granted, this can be said about almost every first-person shooter, but Destiny feels even more attuned for keyboard and mouse controls than say Halo. I’m still unsure why Q was assigned to grenade when G is wide open, but thankfully you’re able to completely remap your commands to better suit your style.

It wants to be a sci-fi epic, but also a dedicated "fan’s game." It wants to welcome in new players, but old systems built in are great for pushing them away. It wants so much, and it can’t focus on what. This can most prominently be seen in the new Raid-lair coming out. Destiny as a series has gained a reputation for world-first completions of its raid, something to be seen as a race. What happens then to those who casually play that might want in on the action? It pushes them away, like everything else in Destiny 2. Why would anyone want to try their hand at the end-game content when it’s advertised as something for the best of the best.

There is one final note to touch on. Bolt Charge Destiny 2 2 has made the same mistake as its predecessor. Introducing a new expansion has now locked out many Guardians from participating in some of the easier end-game content, and if those Guardians don’t pay up, too bad. It perfectly sums up the open arms of the Destiny franchise, while only having room to hold so many. Much like the Infinite Forest, Destiny 2 looks to be in a constant state of flux and can’t quite figure out the right simulation.

We’ve created a game that has its own culture now and every Destiny player has adapted to the current classes. What we wanted to do was strip those powers away, make players think about their characters in some new and exciting ways, and then embrace new forms of fighting within each subclass.