Destiny 2 : Why I Did Not Buy The Forsaken DLC

Hear Me Out

I want to start by saying that Bungie has made some great improvements to Destiny 2 in the weeks leading up to the Forsaken DLC. All while swallowing their pride and admitting their mistakes in the process. They have been slowly reminding us that their link to the community is not a PR stunt, but a strong line of communication that has not gone ignored. The newly released DLC looks to fix many issues and add new features and collectibles that add many new layers for the player base to chew through. But wait, if that's all true then was this title simply click bait? Just something to clash against the popular opinion that is the hype for all the goodies the new DLC holds? Well, no, I just wanted to clarify my love for the game and for Bungie as a studio. I have invested many hours playing everything from the original Destiny beta to the current state of Destiny 2. I was there for the vanilla, and I was there when Cayde became the turning point for the game. But I have chosen to not be there for Cayde's final hours, and here's why.

The Price is NOT Right

Unfortunately I'm a man on a budget, a man who has to decide whether he has enough money for rent after purchasing a video game. And I originally dropped $100 on the Destiny 2 limited edition which came with the first two DLCs because I had hope that Bungie would build off of what they created after the conclusion of Destiny. It goes without saying that the honey moon phase of Destiny 2 was fun, but after about a month, I soon realized I made a mistake. I bought a game that simply wasn't finished, and didn't cater to it's dedicated player base, or the 'hobbyists' as Bungie prefers to phrase it. Gear was easily accessible, tokens gave RNG new meaning, and overall it felt like the the soul of the original Destiny was removed. So my hope of Destiny 2 being a step forward, ended up becoming 10 steps back, leaving us in an arguably worse place then the original launch of vanilla Destiny. And now, after a year of minor tweaks to set up the ground work towards finally moving in the right direction, we're told it's going to be another $40.

Another $40 after I bought the limited edition of Destiny, bought the Taken King, bought The Rise of Iron, and bought the limited edition of Destiny 2. At one point I was disappointed with Destiny in it's early stages, but my faith in Bungie kept me around so I invested in the Taken King and I felt like my faith was rewarded. But since Taken King, my faith in the game, and in Bungie, has slowly dwindled, and later took a dive after all the wrong decisions made in Destiny 2 were unavoidable. And to add weight to that statement I'd like to remind you that Taken King was released exactly 3 years ago. Remember that, because that 3 year gap leads me to my next topic.

There Is A Bad Pattern In Development

Before I continue I want you to look at the image Bungie has provided in the past with great pride. This ever changing wall art in the production studio lists all of Bungie's crowning achievements, and they should truly be proud of all the influential games they have been a part of. Just saying the word Halo brings a flood of great memories in my friends' basement (see what I did there?). But ever since Destiny was added, something changed. Look closely, all the beloved releases of the acclaimed Halo series has about a 3 year gap between releases. Those 3 years are presumably the time frame they required and were given to give their fans the games that surpassed expectations, all while building off of the previous release in nearly every way. But when you hit Destiny that time frame goes from 3 years to 6 months between each DLC release. 

With that in mind, all the mistakes, sacrifices, and lack of content made can be summed up by their tight release schedule. They simply don't have the time to do everything they want to, and may even have to cut corners to keep up with this honestly ridiculous time frame. Imagine yourself, at your job, being praised for the work you've done in the past, work that carried a comfortable 3 year window in order to excel. Now imagine you're asked to do the same thing, but in 6 months time, all while your link to the community is adding a nearly unending wish list of fixes to previously released content. Clearly this was a business decision that looked great on paper, but in practice has led to underwhelming results. So, since this pattern seems to be Bungie's new development cycle, why should I invest in the new DLC when I know that nothing after that DLC will be given the necessary amount of time and care. And if I continue to invest, am I not just encouraging them to continue this lack luster development cycle? This is the main reason I have decided not to buy the Forsaken DLC, I'm speaking with my wallet, but that's not the only reason.

Big Games Are On The Horizon

This year is shaping up to end with a bang, and no wallet is safe. This month alone is seeing a couple big releases such as Spider-Man and Fifa 19. And Broke-tober is shaping up to be a big release month with Super Mario Party, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, and Red Dead Redemption 2 to name a few.

I also have my eyes on Overkill's The Walking Dead and Battlefield V, later in the year. And as I made it clear from the start, I'm a gamer on a budget, so I think $40 is better held on to for another month for the wave of big releases coming our way. And nearly every one of these games hold hundreds of hours along with it, so why buy a DLC I'll only play for a month or 2 only to drop it once the next big thing comes out.

But what do you think? Does Bungie still have your attention, or has your interest faded and gravitated towards one of the next big upcoming releases?