​Destiny 2 (PC) Review

By Kevin Mitchell Posted on November 2, 2017

Editor's Note: The following review covers the differences between the existing PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game and the newly released PC build. Please read the existing review for our analysis of Destiny 2's story, and gameplay mechanics.

Over the years, Bungie turned their shared world cooperative sci-fi shooter, into a bonafide franchise. While the reception for Destiny was initially lukewarm, by the time the final expansion, Rise of Iron released near the end of 2016, the game has been refined and improved in almost every perceivable way. Even then, Bungie decided not to port the game to PC, keeping it exclusive to consoles. However, shortly after the release of Destiny 2 on Xbox One and PlayStation 4, the game is finally ready to broaden its audience.

Destiny 2 on PC features the same cooperative gameplay as its console counterpart, but some fundamental differences help propel it to be the best way to play the game. First and foremost, the game is best played with a keyboard and mouse, especially if you wish to become competitive. However, the game does have full support for controllers, but more importantly, you can switch on the fly between the two control methods at any point. Depending upon your control preference, recoil in the game behaviors differently. If you are using a controller, the patterns will seem familiar to the console version of the game. Aim assist is removed when using a mouse compared to playing with a controller. When using a mouse and keyboard, however, the recoil will be close to nonexistent. If anything, shots may scatter slightly, but you won’t have to correct your mouse steadily due to an upward moving recoil pattern.

Without a doubt, the most significant upgrade is the enhancement visual fidelity and options. The framerate is unlocked, so you can easily push the game well past 60 frames per second (the console version is 30fps). There’s a field of view slider and support for 21:9 displays, as well as additional anti-aliasing options. Of course, the increase in resolution is immediately noticeable, as everything looks cleaner, sharper and smoother thanks to the increased fps.

Regrettably, Destiny 2 doesn’t feature any cross-save or cross-play functionality. Although I can see the reasoning to not support cross-play in the competitive crucible aspects of the game, there is entirely no reason to not allow it for the cooperative gameplay. Cross-ave would have been a bonus, letting you share characters on any platform. Perhaps we will have to wait for Destiny 3 for these type of features that are sorely missing.

Simply Put

Destiny 2 on PC is mostly the same game in terms of content to the console build, but the improved visual fidelity and the increased frame rate is well worth double dipping. Playing the competitive multiplayer modes with a controller will put you at a slight disadvantage, even then I had fun with the game, and I didn’t feel gimped.