Destiny 2 has been around for nearly a decade now, and somehow it's still one of the biggest shooters out there. But if you're like me and you've never played it before, jumping in today can feel a bit like starting a TV show halfway through season six.

So the big questions are: can a brand new player actually enjoy Destiny 2 in 2026? Do you need to spend money to have fun? And can you even follow the story anymore? So I jumped in blind, and the answers turned out to be... a lot weirder than I expected.

Video version of this retrospective (~11 minutes) 

A Rollercoaster of a Start

The rollercoaster started the moment I pressed play. Within minutes I was drowning in exposition, menus, currencies, upgrades, abilities, DLCs, and oddly enough... legendaries. Somehow I went from a basic starter gun to a legendary bow that felt like it could probably one-shot a god. And all of that happened within the first 15 minutes. It was... a lot.

But as I quickly learned, you don’t actually need to understand all of that right away. In fact, the best way to start playing Destiny 2 is to ignore most of the menus and just focus on the thing the game does best: shooting weird aliens with even weirder guns. Because the moment thirty enemies flood the room, it becomes very obvious why people are still playing this game a decade later!

Ah yes... numbers! My favorite! 

Is the Combat Really That Good?

Even in the very beginning when I had no idea what I was doing, shooting stuff was fun. So much so that I started doing something I normally avoid in these games: constantly swapping weapons. And you know what? I'm glad I did.

Because even the basic guns feel great to use. Which means that when I eventually found a handcannon that makes enemies explode - which then makes even more enemies explode - I started picking random fights in the overworld just to go 'bang, bang'. It was fun. Pure and simple.

There is, however, one small problem. The supporting characters never. Stop. Talking! I can't tell you how many times I was knee-deep in enemies, having the time of my life, only for the moment to get ruined by pointless chatter. The good news is you very quickly learn to tune out the sci-fi gobbledygook.

But what you definitely won't tune out is the enemies themselves, because this is another area where Destiny 2 really shines. Not only is there a good variety of enemy factions, but they've also got a bit of that classic Halo DNA in them. They don't just stand around waiting to die. They dodge, fly, wiggle or run around the arena - constantly forcing you to react. Which makes nailing them in the face with a bow all the more satisfying.

One day I'll have to replace it, and that will be a sad, sad day

Does the Story Make Any Sense?

So yeah, I knew going in that Destiny 2 has great gunplay, and I'm happy to report that reputation is completely deserved. But I've also heard a lot of great things about Destiny 2's lore! So even though I knew jumping into the story this late might be messy, I was still excited to dive into the campaign. So was it worth the trouble?

Sort of. The background lore is exactly as interesting as I hoped. The little details about the different alien races are genuinely fascinating. For example, the Fallen were apparently once in the exact same situation as humanity - protected by the same mysterious, godlike entity - before being abandoned and left to rot.

The problem is that Destiny 2 delivers all of this with the same grace as a nervous high schooler giving their first presentation. There's a lot of "tell, don't show", and most conversations are either over-explaining obvious things or throwing around sci-fi terms that sound grandiose and epic, but don't actually mean anything. Which made it really hard for me to connect with the characters since most of them feel like walking clichés.

But I was still determined to give the story a fair shot, so I kept pushing through the campaign. And I was not even remotely prepared for what happened next. Why? Because the moment I finished the tutorial campaign, the game suddenly time-jumped into the future, a bunch of insane shit happened, and I somehow ended up in a Star Wars parody. Now you might be thinking that's a joke or an exaggeration - it's not.

The first mission after the tutorial straight up recreates the opening of A New Hope. Rebels are fleeing with important schematics, there's a discount star destroyer, and even fat stormtroopers accompanied by Blarth Grader. And don't you worry, there's also a lightsaber duel. Why did this happen? I have no idea. Who are any of these characters? Also no idea. Have I gone insane? Probably!

Now to be fair, these missions are still fun to play, and I'll get into the gameplay side of them in just a moment. But when a brand new character opened a conversation with "I died, you probably remember that" I finally realized something important. The answer to my original question is no. As a brand new player, you have basically no hope of following Destiny 2's story.

The campaigns are disjointed, messy, and heavily dependent on nostalgia and prior knowledge. Which isn’t exactly ideal when the game also gives you no real guidance on where a new player should even go.

What is even happening...

Does Destiny 2 Still Look Good?

The end result is that I was often very confused... but also genuinely awestruck. Because what Destiny 2 lacks in storytelling, it more than makes up for in atmosphere.

Whether it's the big bombastic cinematics or just a random firefight in a corner of the city, every location in Destiny 2 looks like somewhere you'd love to explore. The environments are strange, creative and often downright alien - and I mean that in the best way possible. It's the kind of world that pulls you in even if you have no idea what's actually going on.

The only real downside is that some of these locations are so unusual that it can be hard to tell where you're supposed to go. Which means you'll often find yourself relying on the almighty quest marker to stay on track, which I'm not a big fan of. The levels could've used a few more natural signposts - lighting, color or just major landmarks - to guide the player forward.

But honestly... is that a really big problem? Are you kidding me? Just look at this place. I'd happily wander across these landscapes even if there weren’t any enemies to shoot at - purely to see what kind of bizarre sci-fi nonsense is waiting around the next corner.

When it tries, Destiny 2 can look downright spectacular

Is the Campaign Fun to Play?

But that does raise a few questions. Is actually playing through the missions any fun... even if you have no idea what's going on? And how does the DLC fit into all of this?

Well, one of the best things about diving into an older game is that there's already a huge amount of content waiting for you, and so I was constantly running into new and exciting things. Every few hours the formula would shift - new enemy types, new mechanics, and completely new locations. So even when the story left me scratching my head, I can safely say I was never bored.

But more importantly... was it actually fun? Absolutely. While each campaign does include plenty of filler fights, they're frequently broken up with cool setpieces, short platforming sections or unique mission gimmicks. Which meant I was always eager to push onward to see what bizarre location I'd end up in next... or what kind of alien I'd be shooting in the face today.

My only real issue is that a lot of the content is hidden within random submenus you just have to stumble into. Once you know where everything is, it's not a big deal. But for a new player? It definitely adds to that overwhelming first impression.

And what about the DLC? Do you need to pony up cash, or can you play for free? Well, as a free player you get access to three full campaigns, an hour-long sampler of the paid ones, on top of a random smattering of other activities. Altogether, that's probably around 10-20 hours of quality content before you start running into paywalls. After that, you'll pretty much have to buy whichever expansions actually interest you to properly continue.

But honestly? I think that's a pretty fair deal. The free content is fun enough to stand on its own, and it gives you more than enough time to decide whether you want to invest further into the game.

After 10 years of updates, there's a ton of stuff to do

Would I Recommend Destiny 2?

Which brings us to the big question - is it actually worth starting Destiny 2 as a brand new player? After doing it myself, the answer is yes... but with a few caveats. Because Destiny 2 is a very, very strange experience when you're coming in fresh.

On one hand, it's messy. The story is confusing, the menus are overwhelming, and the game does a pretty poor job of guiding new players through ten years' worth of content. But once you push past that rough introduction, it starts to become obvious why Destiny 2 has stuck around for so long.

The gunplay is fantastic. The enemy designs keep the fights dynamic and interesting. And the missions constantly throw new ideas and setpieces at you. So while the storytelling might feel like you're jumping into the middle of a TV show that's playing in another language, the actual gameplay is so good it almost doesn't matter.

So whether you're just planning to try the free stuff, or eventually pick up some of the expansions, there are easily dozens of hours of genuinely fun gameplay here. And personally? Even though I spent half the time wondering WTF is going on, I still had a great time... which I guess is just Destiny 2 in a nutshell.