Destiny 2 gets an alien-smiting free trial today
Guardian-in-training
Explosive numbers-go-up shooter Destiny 2 is getting a free demo this week, says Bungie. Starting today, the trial will let players begin the story campaign and bullet-hose other gunfolk to death in the multiplayer Crucible. I don’t know how long this will go on for, but probably long enough for you to experience one or both of the following:
a) a general sense of excitement and fun
b) a growing weariness at the MMO-like design principles of blockbuster games
This basically seems to be the open beta again. You’ll be able to play with friends, says Bungie, rather than being locked in a facsimile of the open multiplayer world by yourself, which would be weird. In short, it’s a taster of what feels good about the sci-fi-bang-bang. Jet-packing through the air, zapping aliens, hitting other humans with a big magic sword. It’s all there.
This coincides with a November sale that has the shooter down to about £30, and is likely laying some groundwork for the next expansion, Curse of Osiris, which is out next week. Rich thought the game itself was a decent romp with a huge arsenal, saying: “If a slick, beautiful shooter is keeping you up at night for a month, isn’t that sometimes enough?” While Matt and I disagreed over how much suffering is caused by the bad writing.
(He’s wrong, it’s lots.)
For the trial, you’ll need the Battle.net app, which you get if you download the installer for Destiny 2 on this page. It's not up yet, but should be there by the end of the day. We'll update this post when Bungie wake up and press their big red "get more players" button. [Update: They've pressed it.]