The First Descendant Vs. Destiny 2 - Which Game Is Better? (2024)

In this age of free-to-play online loot parties, we have established semi-titans like Destiny 2 trying to hold their own against demi-divine upstarts like The First Descendent. At a glance, you could be forgiven if these games take place in the same universe but with their galaxies on the opposite sides of it.

They are both facing a reality-ending threat and must rely on the designated "chosen few" (Guardians and Descendants, respectively) to use their plot-convenient powers to save humanity. Even though you're not the only one who was roped into this assignment, there are multiple ways you can go about completing it. What matters is which game presents it more appealingly.

The Story - Destiny 2

We're not going to act like Destiny 2 is masterful storytelling, but there was some sort of plan in place. The guys at Bungie had an idea for a universe, a full compendium of lore, and presented it in a way that drew us in. There's not nearly enough time to go into all of it, but when boiled down, it still works.

The game establishes a conflict between light and dark, the presence of multiple species drawn to the dark, the main source of light energy being a giant sphere that hangs over humanity. It shares its light with a select few to turn them into Guardians, they get superpowers, they use those powers to fight the darkness, and the show goes on. Things have to be intentionally unresolved to allow for expansions and new threats to come to the stage, but at least the stage is solid with good production value behind it.

The First Descendant struggles with a story that is both overly simple and weirdly confusing. Humans are fighting an evil force called the Vulgus, which came from "the other world". It looked like humanity was doomed and then a "thing" happened and a random bunch of people got oddly specific superpowers and were labeled Descendants.

With the arrival of these guys, humanity now stands a chance to fight back, but not really because they still need to get some artificial hearts that will help in some way. There's also an ancient AI system that wants to help and people keep talking about the Ancestors who are important because… they're old. It's a game where the sooner you can ignore the story, the more fun you'll have.

Character Customization - Destiny 2

Even though The First Descendant is going for the MMO sci-fi shooter angle, it has a more simplified structure. Instead of letting you create a character, it instead gives you a roster of pre-made characters. In this sense, it's a Heroes or Champions-based system where each of the Descendants has their own style, personality, and abilities.

It offers a lot of convenience to be able to switch between them before going on missions so that you play around with them in the field. However, most of them are unsurprisingly locked behind in-game currency, and you're not making your character. You're picking out a car and deciding what bumper stickers to stick on it.

Destiny 2 goes for a more player-insertion route with how you make your Guardian. Since it's from a first-person perspective, it's already easier to slip into the game. You can choose some of your Guardian's physical features, their race, and what class they take. You also unlock subclasses which add a bit of extra flavor to the abilities, both active and passive effects.

Your equipment is one of the defining features of your character, not only serving as their main attack but as a conduit for the different powers' side effects. Your Guardian is a silent protagonist because the game is counting on your loadout to speak for you.

The Combat - Destiny 2

While The First Descendant is trying to stand tall in a very competitive market, it needs to pour more of that into the combat. This is a game where you need to play with friends or strangers to get true enjoyment out of it. Combat just isn't balanced for solo players because of how relentless the enemies are.

Some Descendants are better for solo play while the rest have to stand off to the sides until another player asks them to dance. It does have potential with Colossi missions that drop you into an open area to run and grapple around as you fight a Colossus boss enemy, but it's not enough to hold up everything else.

Due to all that experience working on the Halo games, Bungie has brought solid combat into Destiny 2. Movement is quick, shooting is responsive, and accurate, and has some satisfying impact when it hits enemies. You have different abilities that you can slot in based on your class and subclass, as well as extras that will affect how your weapons behave and your movements.

Not only that, but you gain access to Supercharged moves, which are always a welcome sight against bosses and the average firefight. While Destiny could benefit from a grappling hook, the double-jumping, sliding, and vehicles still make it fun to move around.

Online Functionality - Destiny 2

This may seem an unfair point since Destiny 2 has had years to perfect its servers and stability, but when an online connection is necessary to play, then it's necessary to judge. Bungie has done a good job at keeping the Destiny 2 digital world running, especially as it continues to grow with expansions, DLCs, and more players.

In addition to that, it's much appreciated that more effort has gone into developing the cross-platform functionality. Chances are if you have something that can play video games, it's likely that Destiny 2's on it, and can connect to different video game-playing things.

The First Descendant is still fresh out of the gate because part of it is still stuck in it. Even though the game is not as large as Destiny 2, it has trouble maintaining stability, especially in the more chaotic parts. That would be understandable, but when most of the missions invite chaos to the party, you have to hope that there are enough cups.

Your character may lag during exploration or missions, enemy behavior will change randomly, and oh my, the shaders. Every time you boot up this game, you will need to load the shaders and there's always a chance they'll crash the game before you get a chance to play.

Accessibility - The First Descendant

At this point, if you haven't kept up with Destiny 2 since its launch, you should consider the story and events a lost cause. There's just so much stuff that's happening with characters appearing and dying, villains popping up now and then to be smacked down, and new realms to explore. This makes for more games, but Destiny 2 is not what could be called a casual game.

It requires a fair amount of investment to feel like you're making decent progress so that you stand out in the sea of pro-level Guardians. It's not impossible to break into it and the game even gives you missions tailored to clue you in, but you're better off getting a gaming group together to play catch-up.

For those looking to get into this kind of game, The First Descendant works as an entry point. Since all the Descendants are already built, you don't need to worry much about ability or skill management, and just focus on swapping out gear and leveling up.

It's a game where you can quickly jump into a mission hub, pick a mission, and spend about 20 minutes defending something, breaking something, or killing something and getting some good rewards from it. You can even shadow other players in the hubs, follow them to missions, and join right in the middle of them or at the very end, and still get to reap in the fun (and loot).

The Winner

This was kind of a blowout in favor of Destiny 2 and you could say that The First Descendant has its work cut out for it in trying to compete. However, if you were to say that, you shouldn't think that you should write off The First Descendant.

Destiny 2 has more planning, structure, and customization behind it, but it's more of a commitment. The First Descendant has a simple charm to it, like a soap opera that goes from one to 100 without ever leaving the laundromat.