I feel a similar way. I mean, in my opinion the literal character dialogue during the seasons is currently leaving a LOT to be desired, it feels spoon-fed and almost like it's talking down to me, like the game thinks I am not smart enough to handle slightly more complex, rich and mature exchanges.
The game isn't perfect, it leaves a lot to the imagination. But I've found the "cure" for not being one of the insane people who spends all day and all night seething in hot rage about this game's very existence, is to, you know, get a life. Like, seriously. Play other games, go outside and touch literal grass, whatever it takes. A video game having flaws should not produce this white-hot shrieking fury that it does in some people. I'd almost dare to say we're approaching the realm of temporary mental illness here. Something less-than-lethal and certainly curable, but a derangement nonetheless. There's also a clear set of completely outrageous expectations that I see pretty frequently.
Personally, I'd love to see Destiny take a year off after Final Shape, and for them to turn the next big expansion after that into a Destiny 3. I'd like to see them leave the oldest consoles behind and embrace the future. I'm not even thinking of or expecting any massive over-night changes as a result, but rather clearing the path ahead to remove limitation and expand the scope of the game further, down the road.
In the end, I enjoy the game because I don't over-play it. I sign in once a week on Tuesdays to enjoy new story content, and then maybe once more a week for a couple hours of Crucible. That's it. Expecting ONE game and ONE game studio to produce ENDLESS content that INFINITELY hits your computer week after week at world class quality is absolutely childish.
Also, I'm super excited for Baldr's Gate 3 and I can't wait to split my time between these two games. I haven't even played it yet, just waiting for the full release.
[quote]it feels spoon-fed and almost like it's talking down to me, like the game thinks I am not smart enough to handle slightly more complex, rich and mature exchanges. [/quote]
I think it’s the writers who aren’t smart enough to handle complex, rich exchanges.
I've been cool with the seasonal stories, though, the strongest seasonal arc was Arivals, Hunt, Chosen, Splicer, Lost, Witch Queen. That stretch was phenomenal, my personal favorite.
Your point about "playing other stuff" is right on the mark. I sneak in about an hour of Street Fighter for every two hours of destiny in a given week. It's up to players to regulate their relationships and expectations with a given game. Fighting games helped me a lot with that, but it took a long time and some reflection.
Destiny 3 is something I've always been welcome to. Though, the overhauls we've received? The game is next to unrecognizable next to vanilla Destiny 2. I wonder what a low-stakes year of destiny might look like. We take out the Witness, then, what? We have two entire civilizations of refugees among us. We have Nimbus, a cloudstrider standing alone, Rule of Two unfulfilled. We have scores of humans likely left sick from being held prisoner on pyramid ships. We have an enemy so convinced life is without meaning, but characters like Eris and Drifter, Saint and Osiris, who find meaning in companionship.
One season where we train the new Cloudstrider. A season of rooting out The Witness' forces for artifacts and cure Darkness Sickness. A season to resettle the Cabal, another for the Eliksni. What does the game look like in 2025, say, with an expansion and a raid that match the tone of Grasp of Avarice? A journey for storied treasure, rather than to curb the apocalypse? I can only hope.
I've had an idea for a long time now for a full expansion where we reclaim Torobatl and allow the Cabal to return home. That would be such a heroic story that they could do a full expansion. Same thing with retaking Riis. Imagine, Eramis fully transforming into a proper anti-hero and coming to lead her own House in peace alongside Mithrax. I always imagined those two stories as two years of Destiny set in far-flung extra-solar destinations, with the seasons acting as themed acts for that story.
I also don't imagine Destiny 3 as a hard reboot but a soft one. We bring our weapons and our triumphs with us. But it would be a great opportunity to do some heavy-handed tuning where it is needed. But the challenges for Bungie is giving us different and new reasons to play the game. To do that, I believe they need to go bigger and leave the elder consoles behind.