Destiny: The Dark Below

 PlayStation 4
User Score
3.1

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 281 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 43 out of 281
  2. Mixed: 43 out of 281
  3. Negative: 195 out of 281

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  1. Hyperborean
    Dec 9, 2014
    5
    So little so late. This DLC does not add to the current end game so much as add a new end game. And its just a barren and empty but now the focus is on a new raid. The new raid makes the old raid obsolete. If you have not bought this DLC and you like destiny you might as well wait for the next chunk of DLC that will make the dark below obsolete. Why grind for hours to get to level 32So little so late. This DLC does not add to the current end game so much as add a new end game. And its just a barren and empty but now the focus is on a new raid. The new raid makes the old raid obsolete. If you have not bought this DLC and you like destiny you might as well wait for the next chunk of DLC that will make the dark below obsolete. Why grind for hours to get to level 32 when you could just wait three months and jump to level 33 in a few days? This is the worst sort of way to update an MMO style grind game.… Expand
  2. LVCritic
    Dec 10, 2014
    6
    I played this game like nuts disagreed with most reviews on it. I just really wanted so much to love it. I still have all 3 classes at lvl 30. But after the dark below DLC I can see were this is headed and I will have to agree with critics this is a 6 to maybe 7 on the rating. I would give it now a 6.5. I love the game-play but trust me playing tons of strikes/nighfalls and raids I can seeI played this game like nuts disagreed with most reviews on it. I just really wanted so much to love it. I still have all 3 classes at lvl 30. But after the dark below DLC I can see were this is headed and I will have to agree with critics this is a 6 to maybe 7 on the rating. I would give it now a 6.5. I love the game-play but trust me playing tons of strikes/nighfalls and raids I can see that for the new DLC they are really stretching the grinding to a crazy slow paced grind who would think 2 extra levels would be so hard. all my exotics have to be reforged which is the near 50x exotics. the old raid gear is garbage I have to dismantle them all it hurts just cause I had to grind for all 3 classes to get the 30 gear. Raid weapons I achieved are garbage and I had collected all of them too. It seems to me like the DLC doesn't have enough content and they are pushing slow grinding on us till next DLC and we rinse and repeat. It was a hard decision to uninstall the game but it was for the best. Bungie I loved the halo series, but it seems that's all you ever got right. Destiny has solid game-play, but nothing else. My rating 6.5.… Expand
  3. jedi5diah
    Jan 6, 2015
    5
    4 points for interesting raid and
    1 point for some excellent design for weapons (husk of pits)
    minus 3 for all the rest of repetitiveness.
    minus 2 for breaking original gear effectiveness, they are useless upon the release of dlc
  4. Malooga
    Dec 23, 2014
    5
    Huge fan of Destiny here. Have to be completely honest, this DLC was lacking HARD. What happened to the rumored "4 new strikes" planned for this release? People who hacked the game and saw points on the map tallied over 14 new locations, where the f*** are they? We get 3 missions, 2 strikes and a raid. I count 6 Bungie, and that's if I let the spouts off existing maps slip by. Would itHuge fan of Destiny here. Have to be completely honest, this DLC was lacking HARD. What happened to the rumored "4 new strikes" planned for this release? People who hacked the game and saw points on the map tallied over 14 new locations, where the f*** are they? We get 3 missions, 2 strikes and a raid. I count 6 Bungie, and that's if I let the spouts off existing maps slip by. Would it have been that hard to make a new planet for this DLC? It could have been exactly the same content, just on Mercury or something, and would have totally been worth it. No, better I trudge the same trodden path and complete the same mediocre tasks. New weapons were cool, if half of them weren't literally "your old weapon 2.0" and there was still a place to buy the old Crucible/Vanguard legendary weapons. Nope, they're gone, and now we have these "better" weapons. C'mon Bungie, I've been more than fair and overlooked a lot of simple mistakes in this game, but damnit I paid a third of the price for this DLC and I got a tenth of the value. Where are the risks? Where is the content? Today, as a Destiny fan, I hang my head low. My hopes for any future DLC has also been smashed, but since I paid for it already I'm sure Bungie could care less. 5/10, wait for a cheaper bundle of ALL content, don't waste the money now.… Expand
  5. Tinrod
    Dec 16, 2014
    5
    First of all I think Destiny is the most fun I've had in AAA gaming for recent years, and I intend to keep playing it. But Bungie really does make some really bad calls that are slowly turning me off.

    I like the encounter design and the level of challenge in the DLC content. At it's best it feels like Halo games on Legendary, but with personalised weapon selection and perks. I don't    First of all I think Destiny is the most fun I've had in AAA gaming for recent years, and I intend to keep playing it. But Bungie really does make some really bad calls that are slowly turning me off.

    I like the encounter design and the level of challenge in the DLC content. At it's best it feels like Halo games on Legendary, but with personalised weapon selection and perks. I don't really mind the lack of storytelling as I don't play shooters for the story.

    But I have to say I'm bummed out that the DLC completely trivialised the Iron Banner marathon I did just couple of weeks ago in order to get to level 30. I played the PVP mode for 3-4 hours every day for a week in order to get the gear I wanted, just to find out that now I could buy better gear from the vendors with all the marks I hadn't spent. Basically nothing from November Iron Banner tournament even is useful anymore.

    9/10 for the combat design

    1/10 for very little respect for the audience's time spent on their game.    … Expand
  6. SchroederRock
    Dec 9, 2014
    7
    For whatever reason Metacritic hasn't opened up the opportunity to grade for the XB1. There are some content differences since Activision made a deal with Sony for an extra strike mission and standard story mission content, but the major emphasis of The Dark Below remains the same between the two consoles in that the Hive are ascending to major threat status against Earth. The expansionFor whatever reason Metacritic hasn't opened up the opportunity to grade for the XB1. There are some content differences since Activision made a deal with Sony for an extra strike mission and standard story mission content, but the major emphasis of The Dark Below remains the same between the two consoles in that the Hive are ascending to major threat status against Earth. The expansion content extends what Destiny is, but @ $20 it isn't really a great sell. Yes, you'll get a couple multiplayer maps and more stuff to do in a solo or group setting. There can be many hours of content here, but it all hinges on whether you do the six-man raid content. If not, this isn't really worth your money. If you are big into this game, you're going to buy this anyways. But the flaws of Destiny are in no way remedied by expanding content - those flaws being well-thought story telling and meaningful ascension through player development (leveling). Destiny plays well but still has a hard time being taken seriously as an MMOFPS. The second expansion set will really be the final nail in the coffin depending on the quality & quantity made available to players, otherwise those that hoped for a bigger Destiny will have to wait for the confirmed sequel.… Expand
  7. felasi
    Dec 28, 2014
    7
    Only by the Dark Below if your are hungry for more, and feel like Crota (the new raid boss) needs to die.

    Playing this, it seemed that bungie took onboard feedback from the community on destiny and made some changes. The few missions that come with the expansion had some good fights. However, all those hours I put in the vault of glass (previous raid) to reach level 30 seem for naught,    Only by the Dark Below if your are hungry for more, and feel like Crota (the new raid boss) needs to die.

    Playing this, it seemed that bungie took onboard feedback from the community on destiny and made some changes. The few missions that come with the expansion had some good fights. However, all those hours I put in the vault of glass (previous raid) to reach level 30 seem for naught, as now I can just go buy armor from a vendor to reach level 31.

    The expansion really is more of the same and if your interested in taking on the new raid (which seems alot shorter than the VOG raid) and using your exotic weapons in PVP or PVE, then you should get this expansion.

    For those of you who weren't impressed with destiny in the beginning then there really isnt a need to get this. For an expansion, its OK.    … Expand
  8. Hi_Im_Game
    Dec 14, 2014
    6
    Well, I'm still enjoying the game but mainly because I play with a group of five friends who have all put in over 300 hours+ together. If I didn't have that, I don't think I would be playing this game as much anymore. That being said, if you aren't fully maxed out on several characters (level 29-30 with 300+ raid + exotic weapons) and don't do the raids then I can't recommend thisWell, I'm still enjoying the game but mainly because I play with a group of five friends who have all put in over 300 hours+ together. If I didn't have that, I don't think I would be playing this game as much anymore. That being said, if you aren't fully maxed out on several characters (level 29-30 with 300+ raid + exotic weapons) and don't do the raids then I can't recommend this expansion other then getting access to ROC strikes and some nightfall/weekly missions. I no longer play PvP because it is horrible with the current radar system they are using IMHO. They have at least fixed several of the map related issues that make the PvP a bit more bearable but it's something I am over at this point.

    Here is one of my main issues with this expansion:
    Everyone who didn't buy the expansion been locked out of strikes that drop engrams and some of the weekly strikes. This should not be the case especially since they had access to these things before the dark below.

    Now my problems are probably not the same as other people. Here are the problems for the people have extensively played the game up until this point:

    - All my 300+ legendary weapons I have (30+) are now not as good as the 331+ legendary weapons
    - All my raid gear I spent months getting to help me get that elusive 30 is now useless because you can buy better gear with more light at the Vanguard or Crucible quartermaster on the first day of the expansion
    - All my exotic weapons I leveled to 300+ (around 7-8) now have to be traded in and reset to 0% progress to be re-leveled and with an insane amount of glimmer (7000+)
    - You are locked out of many of the items needed from Eris till rank 3 or 4 to level items such as the Murmur upgrade or the trade in's for radiant shards/energy for one or the other
    - Limited vault space along with capped marks and glimmer trying to prevent you from leveling too fast
    - Locked out of the raid helmet again until the hard mode raid in January

    My biggest and possibly the worst thing they have done is make a whole new raid currency. All that hard work you spent getting all those energies and shards you can now no longer use for raid gear that drops from Crota's end. It's just just a bull**** excuse from Bungie to control you on how quickly you can level. The term to use for this is "artifical" content. By simply limiting you on how much you can level each week with the raid they can make sure you won't get too high level before they make the hard mode in January and make it seem like there is a lot more content then there really is. This is also evident by forcing you to do Eris's bounties till you get to rank 4 which there are only four of each day.

    But again, as bad as it all sounds there are some good things that have come from all this.

    + 8 strikes now cycle in the strike playlists
    + There are brand new exotic gear and weapons and some of them are pretty awesome (Ruin Wings for example)
    + Brand new legendary ships, legendary weapons, and shaders
    + Some of the raid weapons and gear are pretty awesome

    This expansion gets a 5 from me solely for the raid. I find the raid to be challenging at times and fun. It incorporates the sword on several sections just like the relic on the VoG raid. They have done a great job on encouraging teamwork on several sections as well as rewarding players with a more fair drop system on gear. For this sole reason, you should get the expansion especially if you enjoy playing the more challenging content in the game. And for all you people complaining about raid matchmaking, please stop because you don't realize how difficult the raid is for people who have never played it before. Go on destinylfg and look for a group if you are so interested in trying out the harder content. There are plenty of good and friendly people on that site who are more than willing to help you out. I agree that they should have made a system such as LFG in the game but it is what it is at this point so please get over it.

    There is still more to come with the January update where they will add the hard mode Crota's end raid along with a new weapon that can be leveled from white to legendary and then to exotic (can only get it to exotic by doing the hard mode raid). This alone gives me something to strive for in my new quest for 32. I still enjoy this game because, as I've said before in my Destiny review, the fundamental FPS gameplay is the best around.

    I hope from this whole experience Bungie will realize some of their main flaws in their game are with the RPG elements and not with the gameplay itself. In addition, the story telling and mission structure needs a large overhaul. There needs to be more than just strikes and raids, maybe something along the line of firefights from ODST. If you are expecting a new game each expansion, don't get your hopes up it will always be more of the same. If that is not what you want, I encourage you to look elsewhere or wait for Destiny 2 in a couple of years. Thanks for reading    … Expand
  9. Jordanrosser13
    Mar 6, 2015
    5
    This add on adds a very minimal amount of content and does it very poorly in some respects. The new strike (or strikes on Playstations) are decent additions to the playlists and the new raid is a blast. However, things such as the three story missions and the limiting of certain in game options (i.e the nightfall and weekly requiring this $20 purchase in order to play them) is veryThis add on adds a very minimal amount of content and does it very poorly in some respects. The new strike (or strikes on Playstations) are decent additions to the playlists and the new raid is a blast. However, things such as the three story missions and the limiting of certain in game options (i.e the nightfall and weekly requiring this $20 purchase in order to play them) is very uninteresting, greedy, and flat out absurd at $20. You will gain a cool sparrow and 2 extra possible levels which is ok I suppose but honestly only two levels to the cap is not a very cool thing to do considering that now, four months down the road we still don't have the follow up DLC so the game is now just as monotonous as it was in November. If you were angered by Destiny's anemic amount of content but still want to play it, buy this. If you hate Destiny's guts, this will not sweeten the deal.… Expand
  10. TheDude-
    Sep 17, 2015
    5
    while the loot is excellent and the raid is very creative there is pretty much nothing to the story and the raid while creative is extremely easy and often leaves with nothing to do not to mention the story missions feel lazily put together.
  11. KukistajA
    Nov 11, 2015
    6
    The Dark Below was fairly decent DLC, adding enough content for the price. It doesn't change the fundamentals though, so if you enjoyed the grindfest this is more of the same, if you didn't, this DLC won't make you like it.
  12. Jaidenbrkl1
    May 8, 2023
    7
    Now you may be wondering why I didn’t count Expansions 1 and 2 for Destiny and that is because it is just a Destiny update with more new weapons.

Awards & Rankings

37
#37 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
63

Mixed or average reviews - based on 41 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 41
  2. Mixed: 29 out of 41
  3. Negative: 3 out of 41
  1. Games Master UK
    Feb 22, 2015
    79
    An extension of Destiny's triumphs and flaws that ultimately wins us over with its new raid. [Mar 2015, p.68]
  2. GameOver.gr
    Feb 10, 2015
    60
    Once again Bungie has failed to deliver what was expected by most of its following. This DLC's additions to the main game are almost superficial with the repetition, the main flaw of Destiny's design, being its bane.
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  3. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Feb 7, 2015
    80
    The Dark Below doesn't revolutionise Destiny's addictive endgame, but the superb new missions and the lure of new gear should tide you over 'til the House of Wolves. [Feb 2015, p.91]
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