Why Destiny 2’s Renegades Brought Me Back to Play Again (Pt. 1)
Welcome to the first publication of HB Theory! I’m glad you’re here and I’m extremely excited to start things off with a game I hold so dear to my heart. In today’s article, we’ll be focusing on Bungie’s Destiny 2. Specifically, the latest expansion of the franchise, Renegades.
But before we begin, lets discuss —the almost comedic cycle— that most, if not all of Destiny’s player base have gone through.
The Cycle
It begins with a release of a new expansion. Players are thrilled to get their hands on the new content and everything that comes with it. Powerful gear and potent weapons, guardians can’t get enough. In this “honeymoon” stage, players are infatuated for a few months until all the hidden easter eggs1 are found and YouTube tutorials reveal the secrets laid behind by the developers.
We then move into the next stage, Stasis (pun intended). All the content begins to feel overly repetitive and stale —like the chip bag you forgot to put a clip on two weeks ago. This stagnancy isn’t fully to blame on Bungie though. Much like toddlers, gamers attention spans are swayed fast and very easily.
Destiny aside, to keep up with the demand of a large audience isn’t realistic, and in my opinion, doing so only harms the game in question.
I would allow Bungie to walk away scott-free in the question of redundancy, but there is a real debate to be had regarding the release schedule of expansions. A conversation for another time, but the main point here is that the game becomes monotonous.
Often times, players will drop the game for a couple of months out of boredom. The motivation to grind the same item for the 20th time in a row for a 2%+ damage perk sure makes booting up the game a real kicker.
Trust me, with someone who has clocked nearly 1400 hours of in-game time on PC alone, I’ve dropped the game a few times for the same reasons. But sure enough, I always come back.
We then enter our final stage in the cycle, hype and play (again). You find yourself having fun on new games, spending time on other hobbies, or swiping through the for you page when a trailer begins to play. A new expansion of Destiny 2 is releasing. And damn does it look good.
You got to give Bungie’s media and marketing team their flowers. The levels of anticipation they are capable of creating through a few voice lines and cinematic shots is honestly pretty electric.
And we are, the honeymoon phase yet again.
I’ve heard the cycle be described as having Stockholm Syndrome, but I digress. Simply put, Bungie has a way of bringing back Destiny’s Players, and they are highly effective at it. Let’s get into why it’s happening to me again this time.
The Money Grab?
It’s no secret that the franchise isn’t doing the best right now. Or at the very least, not seeing the levels of success they’d hope to see.
At the time of writing this, according to SteamCharts, the current player count is sitting at 28,819. A stark contrast to an all-time peak of over 315 thousand players.
This is of course PC only, and only speaks to the list of concurrent players, but I believe that it illustrates the trajectory that Destiny has found itself on.
The first time I saw the promotional material for Renegades I thought it was a last-ditch effort from Bungie to revive a dying game.
It’s sad to say, but the game had been on a decline for some time now. The devs2 introduced some changes, that unfortunately, weren’t received well by the community. It was a rough situation to be fair. We are 8 years into Destiny 2 and innovation and the alterations it brings, aren’t always met with positivity.
And while I can’t say for certain that the game planned Star Wars inspired content before it wasn’t doing so well, I can say that Renegades has blended seamlessly into Destiny’s expansive lore. Almost too well I might add.
So, who knows? Maybe Bungie planned this from the beginning. Riding on the coat tails of another iconic franchise, putting a wind behind Destiny’s sails AND linking new oddities to preexisting lore? Good move Bungie, good move.
I mean, there were so many call backs. Lightsabers? Stormtroopers? Even Mr. Vader himself? Are you kidding me?
I asked myself, “What are they gonna do? Give us lightsabers?” And sure enough, as Bungie rolled out additional teasers, they dropped that “Praxic Blades” would be available for Guardians to use against their enemies.
“Well shit, I can’t not check this out now.” And that’s how I got here.
Before you form any opinions on me and how I spend $40, let me walk you through why I spent it.
- Easter Eggs are hidden features added into video games by developers. These features range from jokes, additional content, or even callbacks to previous games.
- Short for developers
This has been the first article on HB Theory, and I hope you have enjoyed the read!
The second half of “All Roads Lead to Destiny” is set to publish in a few days’ time, but until then check out my other socials linked below for further content and updates.
HB Theory is a community first, and driven space, so please feel free to share any thoughts or opinions down below.
And with that, I’ll see you next time!
Title Image © Bungie, Inc. All rights reserved. This artwork is the property of Bungie, Inc. and is used here for informational and editorial purposes.
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