Destiny 1 is the most played game I have on PS4. Endless hours spent collecting loot, dominating Raid runs, and long loading screens. As a veteran PC gamer it was annoying knowing that I couldn’t experience it to its full potential. “It was fun” I thought to myself. Then I played Destiny 2 on PC.
Destiny 2 PS4 BETA didn’t blow me away. It felt more like an expansion on the first one with some much needed improvements. Yes, it does have a new plot but the mechanics are all the same with just a few tweaks. I was hungry for something new. Destiny has a lot of potential and just feel like 1 barely scratched the surface. Thankfully my time spent with the PC version this week has elevated my look towards the sequel.
It’s not just the framerate, it’s gameplay that’s different.
Say what you will about FPS and how it doesn’t matter. For a game like Destiny 2 the difference is night and day. I’m not even talking about picture clarity, or the fact the annoying grainy edges are gone, but how responsive it feels. My aiming became easier and more precise as I was able to land headshots without trouble rather than wrestle with an aim assist mechanic. Jumping and overall movement is quick and smooth, and as someone who mains a Hunter the mobility plays a big role and it shows here.
More importantly I didn’t notice any weird lag that’s been plaguing the PS4 version. Oddly enough for a service that I’m paying for I hardly see the value in PlayStation Plus. Crucible matches tend to be filled with lag. A widespread example of the terrible netcode is when an enemy’s death animations gets delayed causing me to waste ammo and precious time shooting nothing. To my dismay this was also found in the Destiny 2 PS4 edition. The PC version however completely eliminates that and works as intended.
Speaking of fast, everything in terms of managing items feels smoother. Destiny’s UI is built to be used with a mouse but rather than waste time moving a cursor around with an analog stick, navigating menus is no longer a chore, further helped thanks to hotkeys that take me where I want instantly. Loading has also been practically eliminated. Prior I would wait almost 30 seconds if not more just to go from A to B but thanks to modern PC hard drivers including SSD’s this has been reduced to 5 seconds.
I can go on and on at how much the PC version pretty much decimates the console equivalent including the option of adding an FOV slider (which finally eliminates having the gun take 25% of the screen.) Instead I would just say that if you do have a fire team on consoles, ditch them. Yes, I know that’s harsh but you can always make new friends and who knows they might join you eventually. There’s honestly no reason to play this console, not even for friendship.