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. Bloubul1
    Dec 10, 2014
    4
    The Good: The new raid, strike missions and multiplayer maps are a nice addition to the game. The graphics as always are brilliant. Like the main game its kept its excellent multiplayer charm and FPS mechanics.

    The Bad: The story as before is not up to par, one gets this feeling of emptiness. Very poor narration and back story to the missions. Same old mission structure as well. The    The Good: The new raid, strike missions and multiplayer maps are a nice addition to the game. The graphics as always are brilliant. Like the main game its kept its excellent multiplayer charm and FPS mechanics.

    The Bad: The story as before is not up to par, one gets this feeling of emptiness. Very poor narration and back story to the missions. Same old mission structure as well.
    The fact that they re-use the same planets is poor as well from Bungie. There are so many other options that could have added much needed flavour to the game. Like using Mercury or one of the many moons of our solar system. Bungie could have added heat damage or anti gravity to these worlds to add new game mechanics. The loot system is still the same. I really can't see any change in this. Boring as hell to be honest. The price of this expansion is way to hefty. 20 Bucks? I would say 10 bucks at most.

    Conclusion: The same issues that hampered the main game still persist in this expansion, and to top it all of Bungie charge us 20 bucks for this, shame on you Bungie. This expansion is below average at best.    … Expand
  2. Katalkyste
    Dec 10, 2014
    2
    Its a patch not more.. the "story" contains of 10 sentences from eris, even dumber than the lines Dinklebot had.. and its about 35 minutes playtime with the exact same locations you had before plus some mini expansions to the game aka the bunker ras2 and the jovian complex which are both pretty tiny.. plus the extended temple of crota tube level.. the mission are all the same, go to endIts a patch not more.. the "story" contains of 10 sentences from eris, even dumber than the lines Dinklebot had.. and its about 35 minutes playtime with the exact same locations you had before plus some mini expansions to the game aka the bunker ras2 and the jovian complex which are both pretty tiny.. plus the extended temple of crota tube level.. the mission are all the same, go to end room, kill boss.. finished..
    nothing new, no challenge. just grab your heavy and let it go.. finished. PLUS it doesnt integrate with the curent game.. the speaker does not do anything, even afte killing the second god of the darkness.. no reaction, no response.. on top how can a studio be so stupid and put a shady dark character up the balcony in the blazing sunlight?    … Expand
  3. linkenski
    Dec 10, 2014
    0
    This is the first time I give something a '0' and as ludicrous as it sounds it's the only right thing to give it. Now, Bungie might've spent the time between the release of the game and to the release of this DLC to tweak, test and improve the content but the problem is that the DLC has basically no filesize. Why? because IT'S ALREADY IN THE GAME AT LAUNCH! It offers 3 story missions, 1This is the first time I give something a '0' and as ludicrous as it sounds it's the only right thing to give it. Now, Bungie might've spent the time between the release of the game and to the release of this DLC to tweak, test and improve the content but the problem is that the DLC has basically no filesize. Why? because IT'S ALREADY IN THE GAME AT LAUNCH! It offers 3 story missions, 1 new strike, 1 raid and two new MP playlists to grind reputation for the factions of the game.

    Simultaneously it makes weekly strike playlists unavailable to anyone without the DLC whenever there's a week with the DLC-exclusive strikes. I don't know how they should've avoided this, except for, oh, well... maybe release this "Expansion" as a PATCH instead! Does that sound greedy of me or entitled? Well, you decide, but just know that I have seen every darn location of this DLC MONTHS before it released because all it adds are the same repetitive mission objectives to areas that are already in the main game, but were simply unused at the time.

    There is no reason anyone should pay for this because it adds nothing substantial maybe except for the new raid, but we got the first raid for free as part of the main game and if we have to pay for this new one, why the hell is it over 15 bucks!?

    In the end this is just more idiotic grinding, incompetent writing, mission-design and samey strikes and a somewhat unique Raid. That's all you get and don't presume the next "Expansion" is gonna be any better. This is an intentional waste of your money, schemed by Activision and for all we know this could've easily been in the game already at September 9th.

    In fact there's evidence online of all scripts, dialogue, weaponry and even trailers showcasing this from months before the main game released.

    0/10, Don't even bother touching this unless you want to feel stupid.    … Expand
  4. Guy_McDude
    Dec 9, 2014
    3
    I've played a lot of hours in Destiny. I've platinum'd the game and now I've played the expansion. However, if not for the friendships that functioned like duct tape on a dying engine I would have long ago scrapped this game.

    This expansion fails in almost every way that the main game fails. The narrative is lazily told not shown during loading screens. The common thread is that Crota    I've played a lot of hours in Destiny. I've platinum'd the game and now I've played the expansion. However, if not for the friendships that functioned like duct tape on a dying engine I would have long ago scrapped this game.

    This expansion fails in almost every way that the main game fails. The narrative is lazily told not shown during loading screens. The common thread is that Crota is big and bad and yet like all other Destiny bosses seems content hanging about his home in his pajamas waiting for guardians to storm the gates and kill all of his friends. The story missions are laughably short and retread patrol maps again rather then adding content (with the exception of a short part of one mission and a short part of the strike).

    Fortunately for me (though maybe not), I had the seasons pass included with the game but for many others this release actually subtracted from the base game rather than adding on top of it. For players without the expansion they are now occasionally shorted weekly missions like this weeks nightfall (one of the only missions with sizable rewards). On top of that all previous armors and weapons see enemy and new weapon stat inflation rendering them obsolete. Knowing that this will happen again when the next one releases in mere months sucks out all motivation to continue. What's more mind boggling is that in a game with so many issues Bungie has decided to add even more forms of currency to limit armor purchases in game by restricting vendor items to require an item that takes grinding out faction reputation. In a game where a 4 minute patrol rewards 10 reputation and guilds require 5000 to level up, you're looking at a minimum of two hours of nonstop hyperefficient grinding just to buy a single item WITHOUT even accounting for the second and third currency required (marks and glimmer).

    It's too bad too because once again the raid is beautiful in tone, atmosphere, and intensity. Outside that though there just isn't anything here. The game somehow feels even smaller now.    … Expand
  5. KingReux
    Dec 9, 2014
    2
    There is nothing substantial from this DLC (Not Expansion) other than new exotic (normal) items and a Raid. Other than that its dull. The strikes are the same as any other strike... The story missions are laughably pointless. 2/10 in comparison to what an expansion should actually do.
  6. pago2
    Dec 9, 2014
    2
    I'm officially done with Destiny. I can't fathom why in 2014 we are being handed a game with the biggest capital investment of ANY game to date that has less content then a private indie developed game. The base game had NO content, NO Story, NO Replay, NO REAL competitive multiplayer experience so you would naturally think there would be some sort of admission of wrong-doing by bungie inI'm officially done with Destiny. I can't fathom why in 2014 we are being handed a game with the biggest capital investment of ANY game to date that has less content then a private indie developed game. The base game had NO content, NO Story, NO Replay, NO REAL competitive multiplayer experience so you would naturally think there would be some sort of admission of wrong-doing by bungie in the first exspansion. Well..there isn't. Bungie almost flaunts the fact that they only have to put out a few hours worth of content to warrant fanboys praise. The Dark Below is an unethical cash grab. Still NO story, NO new characters (if you think Eris is a character I honestly don't know what to say) and NO replay. There is one new enemy, recycled world zones, new "ships" (just a pretty overlay for your 3 minute long loading screen) Additionally, there's the new raid which has been beaten within 6 hours of the release. It would be wise of anyone who is involved with this franchise to view the debriefing of an insider dev. that was released on reddit. The dev. goes on to say that most of the game was cut prior to release due to turbulence in the company, including, most of the story. How can a company who values its fans release this game for $60, and then release an exspansion (which is all content that should have been in the base game) and charge an additional $20? Bungie needs to answer for the blatant consumer misleading and rectify this trainwreck of a game or they will easily take the crown that EA games so shamefully wears. And before anyone disregards this review as an attempt at bottoming the review score please realize I have put 270 hours into this game and have already CLEARED The Dark Below. I feel like as a fellow gamer I have to let the community I love know that this game is not worth the investment you will put in it, even if its only a few hours.… Expand
  7. Phil_Panteleit
    Dec 10, 2014
    2
    I have to get this off my chest. BUNGIE what the #@ck are you guys doing. Deej you say you listen to the fans. Funny, i never heard any of the fans ask for CRAP!!! 20 dollars for a glorified Vendor. 3 story missions in which when your done you find out that you have to do 4 bounties just to unlock the weekly and daily. This is the last straw, i'm done with this game. I deleted it rightI have to get this off my chest. BUNGIE what the #@ck are you guys doing. Deej you say you listen to the fans. Funny, i never heard any of the fans ask for CRAP!!! 20 dollars for a glorified Vendor. 3 story missions in which when your done you find out that you have to do 4 bounties just to unlock the weekly and daily. This is the last straw, i'm done with this game. I deleted it right after this. 10 year plan my ass!! you can't even last longer than 3 months without pissing off your consumers. Don't buy this if haven't. Save your money. Buy anything else that is not made by Bungie or Activision.… Expand
  8. cusman
    Dec 15, 2014
    1
    Destiny is a game that continues to become worse with each new patch that tries to force more players into bland repetitive grind activities for increasingly useless rewards. The Dark Below is roughly 60 minutes (story mission) + 20 minutes (strke mission) + 30 minutes (raid) worth of "new" content with the same enemies you have aways fought, to cycle into your repetitive grind gameplayDestiny is a game that continues to become worse with each new patch that tries to force more players into bland repetitive grind activities for increasingly useless rewards. The Dark Below is roughly 60 minutes (story mission) + 20 minutes (strke mission) + 30 minutes (raid) worth of "new" content with the same enemies you have aways fought, to cycle into your repetitive grind gameplay time.

    Oh there are also 3 new crucible maps added, but you can only play them in their own playlist, not mixed with the larger set, and they suck.    … Expand
  9. hooplad
    Dec 16, 2014
    0
    This is a weak analogy but when you buy a radio you don't expect stations to stop working because the new single you hadn't bought is being played at that time.

    Yea, that's what Destiny is with it's locking out core areas of the "base game" because you hadn't bought the DLC. The gall that Bungie/Activision has to reach into your console and basically do whatever anti-consumer thing they    This is a weak analogy but when you buy a radio you don't expect stations to stop working because the new single you hadn't bought is being played at that time.

    Yea, that's what Destiny is with it's locking out core areas of the "base game" because you hadn't bought the DLC. The gall that Bungie/Activision has to reach into your console and basically do whatever anti-consumer thing they want is shameful. Absolutely shameful. Good job on squandering any goodwill, Bungie/Activision. Going forward people are going to be suspicious and negative of anything that this game does.

    And you know what? I can't blame them. Because at this point all we have to look forward to is 10 years worth of whatever surprises that Bungie/Activision has in store.    … Expand
  10. Eidi91
    Dec 18, 2014
    0
    I'll make this quick. Another DLC to have a couple of minutes of gameplay. I did it wrong. I trusted again bungie. This game was born bad and will continue again to be awful
  11. WARCHILD
    Dec 19, 2014
    4
    It's too late for me... I paid for the DLC because I was enjoying the PvP aspect of the game. However, it has been 2 months of PvP disappointment. There is chronic lag that was effecting my gameplay severely. That was resolved and I pre-ordered the DLC. Since then, the chronic lag has been plaguing at least 1/3 of all the players I encounter in every match. Their severe lag makes it nearIt's too late for me... I paid for the DLC because I was enjoying the PvP aspect of the game. However, it has been 2 months of PvP disappointment. There is chronic lag that was effecting my gameplay severely. That was resolved and I pre-ordered the DLC. Since then, the chronic lag has been plaguing at least 1/3 of all the players I encounter in every match. Their severe lag makes it near impossible to kill them and routinely you will find their names at the top of the standings after each match. Bungie has never addressed the lag -- They simply say they are aware that some are having problems. It's nearly impossible to enjoy one hour of PvP without the frustration of severe lag.

    The currency system is trash. It was terrible and now it's just bad... slight improvement I suppose. The problem is that you will grind and grind and grind for nothing. If you didn't buy the DLC you have a brick for a game. If you did buy the DLC you are now in a new grind for glimmer. If you are primarily a PvP player -- you can write this game off for good. The PvP event called Iron Banner awarded us with "epic" gear the three times you could play it. Now with the DLC all of that epic gear is rendered "beta" and you get to start over from scratch because you can't upgrade what was the "best" PvP gear in the game.

    The imbalances for PvP weapons is severe and very punishing to players who don't exploit the imbalances. Suros Regime is a prime example of a weapon that has dominated all of PvP since the very beginning. A token "nerf" did nothing to resolve the imbalance. I wish I could say that was the worst but it's not. Now that the new DLC is out, we are finding that virtually any new weapon in the game is going to wreck all the work you put into previous weapons. Again, the only way to upgrade is via the exotics which, unless you are a no-life neckbeard, you probably only have one and it's not your weapon of choice either.

    It just gets worse and worse as time goes on. As a congratulations from Bungie for buying the new DLC I got some in-game mail with some bonus items. I was excited! I went and opened the mail and found that good old Bungie had awarded me with COMPLETELY WORTHLESS items that were dismantled and thrown away because they could not be used by a single one of my characters. Worse than that, the quality of the items were blue... that's level 20 gear in a game where if you're not level 30 you can't even attempt the elite battles. As a long time fan that was the ultimate slap in the face. How insulting can you get???? I buy your game and you send me thank you mail. In that mail you give me a handful of dog sheeeit! WTF is wrong with you Bungie?

    I have waited all this time to write my review of the game. I know one thing for sure. There are millions and millions of fan boys who have not snapped out of their initial phase of addiction. Many shooter fans are having their very first MMO addiction experience and so they have no idea how bad this game is. They're hooked on the "progression" and because they're new to the MMO effect on the mind, they have no idea that ultimately they are getting bent over. They don't even realize that they are suffering from chronic connection issues. They don't care that Bungie just walled off half of the game and nullified 90% of there invested time. One day they will wake up and learn what most of us MMO players already have.    … Expand
  12. Xug
    Jan 9, 2015
    0
    Dear Bungie. I can only assume a best selling game doesn't pay enough these days, as I can think of no other reason to charge loyal customers additional money so that they can keep playing the game together. I actually feel embarrassed that I convinced my friends to buy this game now, as they can't play with me!

    You've actually slashed at your own game prior to release, and then    Dear Bungie. I can only assume a best selling game doesn't pay enough these days, as I can think of no other reason to charge loyal customers additional money so that they can keep playing the game together. I actually feel embarrassed that I convinced my friends to buy this game now, as they can't play with me!

    You've actually slashed at your own game prior to release, and then released and charged for content that was already there, just to make a few extra dollars. It's obvious your heart was initially in the right place as the story now lies in tatters, but you must have lost your way when the accountants drew an extra zero on the white board.

    So how about some good will guys? Release the next expansion as a combined pack. If you bought TDB, you should get the next expansion for free. If you didn't get TDB, you should get both for the same price as TDB.

    As for the issues - not being able to play with friends, no fix to joining parties, pre-nerfed guns, a poor upgrade system, an ongoing atrocious story line and an overall lack of content for the additional price.

    Sigh. What a disappointment.    … Expand
  13. Kataklyste
    Jan 2, 2015
    1
    missed opportunity.. all way long..
    no new story, the "lore" is 12 sentences long, no insight, no explanation, just "Eris Morn", an old guardian that tells you again where to go and who to shoot.. no decisions needed, just go there shoot this..
    reskinned weapons, or weapon handles with new poop on top.. reskinned armor , old armor and legendaries obsolete, if you arent hardcore into    missed opportunity.. all way long..
    no new story, the "lore" is 12 sentences long, no insight, no explanation, just "Eris Morn", an old guardian that tells you again where to go and who to shoot.. no decisions needed, just go there shoot this..

    reskinned weapons, or weapon handles with new poop on top.. reskinned armor , old armor and legendaries obsolete, if you arent hardcore into PvP like bungie aparently is, still no matchmaking in raids. still dependend on out of game websites to actually play the game.. no new enemies, just bigger versions of the old ones, and the raid is a joke, soloable and full of bugs and exploits.. took the hardcore gamer a puny two weeks to get to the new level cap.. lame bad design and NO they arent listening to the players, they ignore it best they can..

    and still no improvement on the basic faults, still no exploration, still no customization, still nothing "new"..

    sad.. and with the new release leak of the coming dlc /"Comet" release, this is unlikely to change until the users vote with their wallet.. -.-    … Expand
  14. Mojodog360
    Dec 30, 2014
    0
    One of the most blatant money grabs in gaming history. Almost no new content. This DLC basically sends you back to parts of the game that you've already played. You're mostly paying for some new guns and a very short raid that can now be beaten solo. Not even worth your time, let alone your money.
  15. afreeman25
    Jan 29, 2015
    0
    Truly dissapointing. Loved destiny and bought this hoping the experience would keep up. Worse dlc ever.
    i believe destiny can bounce back from this, but only if the house of wolves is awesome.
    Do not spend your money on this. there are a few good crucicble maps and thats it. It is a total grind and yoy are buying grind time. Bungie couldnt have done worse. There is unanimous consent    Truly dissapointing. Loved destiny and bought this hoping the experience would keep up. Worse dlc ever.
    i believe destiny can bounce back from this, but only if the house of wolves is awesome.

    Do not spend your money on this.
    there are a few good crucicble maps and thats it. It is a total grind and yoy are buying grind time.
    Bungie couldnt have done worse.
    There is unanimous consent that this is a steaming pile. Dont know why so many critics would give it such a great review.

    Save your money guys.    … Expand
  16. Thegodfatherson
    Dec 30, 2014
    0
    This is the DLC that Bungie shoved plot holes in? Well it's WAY worse than the game itself, the characters are boring and it's the same old bad RPG everyone knew months ago. The Dark Below claims the title for the worst DLC of the year or of the history. IAM not spending more money on this stupid game!
  17. XxNotSatisfiedx
    Feb 8, 2015
    1
    GO THROW YOU'RE MONEY IN THE TOILET THAN SUPPORTING BUNGIE , 20 EURO FOR THIS CRAP !
    People asked for this when they buyed the first paid dlc . Now we are happy if game have nice marketing . wtf is this zombie land ? Where zombies work like zombies ! maybe I expected more than rebuying cut content , I dont know ... YES YES GO WATCH ANGRY JOE REVIEW OF DESTINY !
  18. Jyykson
    Feb 24, 2015
    0
    This does not deserve to be called an Expansion, and it does not deserve to cost more than $5. This is an embarrassment to the term Expansion, and even an embarrassment to DLC. A low point for the Destiny franchise. More wasted potential.
  19. Clond
    Jan 20, 2015
    2
    This expansion DLC is nothing more than re-used content, 3 short "story" missions, and little more that is not worth the ridiculous price of 19£... Bungie lost it respect for the fans. Shame on you Bungie.
  20. milero91
    Feb 20, 2015
    3
    Very little content for £20 and although there are new story mission, they are in the same locations as the others. This expansions add very little and users without it will have difficulty playing the "end game" content without it as the Weekly, daily and nightfall missions are often only available for The Dark Below owners. There is about 2 - 3 hours of story content within this and aVery little content for £20 and although there are new story mission, they are in the same locations as the others. This expansions add very little and users without it will have difficulty playing the "end game" content without it as the Weekly, daily and nightfall missions are often only available for The Dark Below owners. There is about 2 - 3 hours of story content within this and a raid which is about 2 hours… Expand
  21. ToatzMcGoatz
    Mar 8, 2015
    3
    To me, this seems to be merely content that was purposely left out of the finished game in order to stretch the revenue. There were two distinct flags that led me to this conclusion. First, this came out exactly 3 months to after the initial launch. This just screams withheld content. Second, there is a early plot point regarding Rasputin that is introduced in the original game, butTo me, this seems to be merely content that was purposely left out of the finished game in order to stretch the revenue. There were two distinct flags that led me to this conclusion. First, this came out exactly 3 months to after the initial launch. This just screams withheld content. Second, there is a early plot point regarding Rasputin that is introduced in the original game, but IMMEDIATELY forgotten. In the expansion you actually find out what Rasputin is in a level where you have to defend it from waves of monsters.

    Even if that is the only point of withheld content, the overall content is mostly more of the same. While the new NPC's (Eris) quests deviate in style slightly, they ultimately come back around to feeling the same. And don't you worry, there is still a massive amount of grinding with Eris with a small reservoir of bounties ensuring you can do the same exact tedious game play over and over and over. If you want to take advantage of some of the best new weapons, it is mandatory to level your respect since upgrading some of the new weapons requires specific items only obtainable by her at higher levels.

    I have not yet tried the raid and don't plan to since I don't have the patience to grind anymore. Not worth the money and time    … Expand
  22. buggy226
    May 30, 2015
    2
    The Dark Below makes the exact same mistakes as Destiny, only with poorer production values. The one good thing about The Dark Below is the inclusion of a second raid. Crota's End is not as fun as The Vault of Glass, but it does provide some variety in 6 player PVE.
  23. Dinamyk
    Dec 12, 2014
    4
    The Dark Below is a huge disappointment because not only is the content not rich enough, but also because it introduces problems with new level cap at 32.

    The new character, Eris, which acts as a vendor and quest giver, just appears in the Tower out of the blue with no background or introduction whatsoever apart from the trailer, might as well be a posting board . The 3 new story    The Dark Below is a huge disappointment because not only is the content not rich enough, but also because it introduces problems with new level cap at 32.

    The new character, Eris, which acts as a vendor and quest giver, just appears in the Tower out of the blue with no background or introduction whatsoever apart from the trailer, might as well be a posting board . The 3 new story missions are just more of the same "go there, kill everything along the way, use the bot sometimes", there's virtually no storytelling or character interaction whatsoever. AND they're relatively short and mostly on the same kind of areas as before on the Cosmodrome and on the Moon, except on the second mission which is literally two corridors and one large room. Not having a completely new setting, like for instance a new planet, which would be very cool is a huge detriment to this DLC. And being on the same locations it really makes it feel like this was content removed from the original game only to be sold as DLC later... They did, however, take care to prevent exploiting the maps on these missions, you actually can't stay safely back where the enemies won't follow you, behind the door/passage to the main boss area, which was usually possible before. Before starting them and after finishing them, the world is very much the same as before, there is absolutely no impact in defeating the so-called almighty Crota... These missions are harder than before too, for instance a level 26 mission here is harder than a level 26 mission before. The same goes for the strikes. The one on Earth is hard because it's a constant shooting gallery mostly on closed quarters with little room for flanking and strategy, which makes for more than a grind overall. The one on Mars is more interesting, due to its location - the Black Garden. Didn't play the new raid yet, but I've heard good things about it. The 3 new multiplayer maps are ok: they're entirely new maps, one on the Moon in the style of the Temple of Crota (only darker), one on Earth, a bigger, more open sniper's map with vehicles as well, and a corridor heavy map in the Black Garden.

    The level cap is now 32, and new weapons go to 331 attack, making your old weapons kind of obsolete, especially if you aim for doing dailies, weeklies, nightfalls and the new raid at the max level of difficulty (30, 32 raid is coming later). So all those hours you spent grinding? Get ready for a lot more... You can technically update your old exotics (ONLY EXOTICS, no luck with legendaries) with Xur, but doing so resets your upgrade progression and in practice costs ~7500 glimmer and 8 strange coins... FOR EACH weapon and armor piece. And you can only do this for a random selection of 6 weapons and 6 armor pieces that Xur has available each week. Furthermore, Vanguard, Crucible and Faction weapons and gear require not only rank 2 or 3 and marks as before, but you need one new item (vanguard or crucible commendation) that you can get only as a reward for ranking up levels. So, effectively, you will only buy one of those items per 2500 reputation points, forcing more grind for reputation even on players that are high level on that faction (if you're level 9 say on vanguard, you don't get commendations retroactively). People who just got into Destiny are actually better off than veterans because they don't have the huge history of the previous grind. Furthermore, the new missions and strikes are now part of the daily and weekly pool of missions, so when the daily or weekly is one of the new ones, people that haven't bought the DLC will not be able to play those and get rewards. They paid money for Destiny, and now they have access to even less content... This DLC is not exactly "extra content" then, people that don't buy it are actually penalized for not doing so... And the DLC effectively forces a new grind phase if people want to keep going after higher level stuff. This is what Destiny keeps boiling down to: keep grinding the same missions/strikes/raid/locations over and over again.

    I started playing when the demo came out, about 2 weeks ago and met nice people to play with. Everyone that started playing since the game came out or a little later are very frustrated with these changes. It's true that the shooting mechanics are very well done, playing feels good, the game is addictive, and playing with friends provides fun in doing things together - if you're already fan of Destiny this DLC is kind of obligatory. But if you're on the fence about buying or not, know that the new content is short and poor, mostly more of the same, still no storytelling whatsoever, and overall promoting and being based on continuous grind. And even for veterans I've met a few that actually are giving up on the game due to extreme dejection and frustrating.    … Expand
  24. dashawnthl
    Dec 10, 2014
    2
    3 stories with no content. In order to find out more about Eris i had to go on Bungie.net and read what little there was on the stupid Grimoire cards(and why does she have 3 eyes?? Only the geniuses at Bungie knows) After you beat the 3 dlc missions which were clearly cut from the original game and resold as a cash grab. Bungie makes you run around recycled zone doing bounties before you3 stories with no content. In order to find out more about Eris i had to go on Bungie.net and read what little there was on the stupid Grimoire cards(and why does she have 3 eyes?? Only the geniuses at Bungie knows) After you beat the 3 dlc missions which were clearly cut from the original game and resold as a cash grab. Bungie makes you run around recycled zone doing bounties before you can even play the new strike. I brought the season pass just because of Bungie's name alone, but looks like Bungie is nothing more but a name and a shell of it former self after they left M$. Come to find out alot of the original Bungie crew that created great games like Halo stayed behind at Microsoft or just left and went else where. I mean really how can you fan boys defend such a crap of a game??? This is easily my worst game of 2014 along with Rambo the game and Elder scrolls online. This DLC is a insult to gamers who value their hard earned money!! Really Bungie?? A boss battle where you battle a Crystal?? Wow!! I will Never and i mean NEVER buy other Bungie game again!! This DLC was Horrible. Period… Expand
  25. Super_Ted
    Dec 13, 2014
    0
    $20. $20 for the same non-narrative, deploy Dinklage, await waves, story missions. $20 for more currencies (are we up to 7 now already?). $20 for rendering your previous upgraded items useless. $20 for a raid that has today, been cleared in 30 minutes. $20 for more RNG. Make no mistake, Destiny is a freemium game with a pretty face and a $60 price of admission. This DLC is a$20. $20 for the same non-narrative, deploy Dinklage, await waves, story missions. $20 for more currencies (are we up to 7 now already?). $20 for rendering your previous upgraded items useless. $20 for a raid that has today, been cleared in 30 minutes. $20 for more RNG. Make no mistake, Destiny is a freemium game with a pretty face and a $60 price of admission. This DLC is a micro-transaction that happens to cost $20. The fact they call it an expansion, when it does nothing of the sort, is insulting.… Expand
  26. servo_mervo
    Dec 11, 2014
    0
    Having played the raid, all 3 (((A WHOPPING 3!!! new missions ) and 2 horrible rehashed strikes, I can with out a doubt say that this is the worst DLC "Expansion" I have ever witnessed.

    Story: A new vendor, who just stands there and tells you incoherent things. Environment: Maybe 10-20 mins worth of new environments in the story missions... WOOOOOW!!!! Xbox One: You're **** out    Having played the raid, all 3 (((A WHOPPING 3!!! new missions ) and 2 horrible rehashed strikes, I can with out a doubt say that this is the worst DLC "Expansion" I have ever witnessed.

    Story: A new vendor, who just stands there and tells you incoherent things.

    Environment: Maybe 10-20 mins worth of new environments in the story missions... WOOOOOW!!!!

    Xbox One: You're **** out of a mediocre raid and pay the same price....

    Bungie: HAS COMPLETELY LOST IT.    … Expand
  27. lilissun
    Dec 11, 2014
    1
    I do not think this game is moving on to the right direction. It seems that old consumers get cut from the original game. Initially, we paid the full price for the game. But once we decide not to buy the new DLCs, we can only access part of the original game, just like the weekly strike become not accessible for some of us this week. I am afraid this will happen to us all once we stopI do not think this game is moving on to the right direction. It seems that old consumers get cut from the original game. Initially, we paid the full price for the game. But once we decide not to buy the new DLCs, we can only access part of the original game, just like the weekly strike become not accessible for some of us this week. I am afraid this will happen to us all once we stop buying new DLCs. This is not a good marketing strategy. Do not defend it by saying players who do not have the DLC can still play weekly strike when the selected maps are not in the new DLCs, Bungie can always add a new weekly strike for the DLC or give different players different strikes. I do not think the original content should ever get moved out.

    For the DLC, only after releasing the game 3 months, your weapons become outdated and you need to go over the upgrade process again? What about the next three months? and six months? It is a waste of time indeed. I do not aware of any other game whose content get outdated so quickly and frequently.

    For the matchmaking of weekly strikes, it seems that Bungie do not want us to have it on purpose, but not because of a better experience. If you want to do the strikes, we need to have some friends who plays it. So you may ask some of your friends to buy the game! This sounds a good reason for not having matchmaking in the game since they are not that hard and you can always do it without too much communication (strangers with, or even without, microphone will do). And, this also applies to VoG naturally.

    By the way, the content is too little and the story still does not make any sense to me. At least, they are not attractive even in my first play-through.    … Expand
  28. Vyrotix
    Dec 12, 2014
    4
    I am honestly disappointed with this DLC. I won't be going into any specifics, but I was expecting way more than just -complete a mission, go back to mission giver, get another, complete the mission..- and the cycle repeats.

    I was expecting more of a story driven DLC pack, and not a lazy layout that has you going back to the damn vendor every time you complete a f***ing mission or now    I am honestly disappointed with this DLC. I won't be going into any specifics, but I was expecting way more than just -complete a mission, go back to mission giver, get another, complete the mission..- and the cycle repeats.

    I was expecting more of a story driven DLC pack, and not a lazy layout that has you going back to the damn vendor every time you complete a f***ing mission or now what they call "quest", which is the same f***ing thing!

    And don't even get me started on the vendor! She doesn't even have anything! She has emblems, and materials that help you upgrade Hive weapons. Why can't she sell weapons or armor? She is so useless, you'll never find yourself using her unless you buy those hive materials that help you upgrade.

    And how is this expansion even fair towards light leveled players? Unless you are under LL 27, you'll find yourself constantly dying because of the unfair amount of skilled enemies the game throws at you! I kid you not, there was a story mission where you find yourself killing three yellow wizards, a yellow ogre and an almost impossible wizard. Oh and did I mention they are also throwing insane amounts of knight's and thrawl's at you?

    I don't recommend this pack, and I most certainly do not recommend getting an expansion pass if you don't have one yet until it is determined that the next drop "House of Wolves" will be better than this abomination of a DLC.

    The Crucible maps are okay, but not really enjoyable IMO. I would talk about some of the fun that I had during playing in Crucible, but all of that crumbled to the ground when I was the MVP on my team (In Clash, I went 24-3) and the worst player on my team got the new Hive exotic, called No Land Beyond, and a combination of Runed Core materials also. And I received the best of all... zip f***ing zero items whatsoever.

    It would be a totally different subject bringing in the topic of the awful loot drop rate, but this review is for DLC, and in this review, I give The Dark Below, a 4.2.

    If you disagree, I don't really care. if you say this isn't helpful, you are probably right. I submit my opinion on to this site, just like you. We in the MC community respect each other, or that is what I hope happens.    … Expand
  29. Captiosus
    Dec 16, 2014
    2
    I cannot, in good faith, give this anything higher than a 2. For all of October and November, Bungie made lots of claims that they had listened to their community on common issues. Bungie even took to Eurogamer, claiming that The Dark Below would offer a much more engrossing story with more player involvement. These claims turned out to be little more than smoke and mirrors.

    The "story"    I cannot, in good faith, give this anything higher than a 2. For all of October and November, Bungie made lots of claims that they had listened to their community on common issues. Bungie even took to Eurogamer, claiming that The Dark Below would offer a much more engrossing story with more player involvement. These claims turned out to be little more than smoke and mirrors.

    The "story" is just as mediocre and head-scratching as the original only instead of Ghost directing the player what to do, we have Eris. The story design itself is a reskin of September's "Queen's Wrath" event where everything is tied to the bounty system with a separate NPC, separate faction, and separate rewards tree. Outside of the raid itself there are only TWO legitimately new area opened to players (Seraphim Vault, Hall of Darkness [inside Temple of Crota]) while the rest of the story missions take place on the same maps we've played to death. Even more egregious is the fact that players are forced to return to the Tower between nearly every stage of the new story arc; this flies in the face of Bungie's claims that they've listened to the community as most of the community has complained copiously about the sheer amount of time we're forced to return to the Tower and suffer through multiple load times.

    The new strikes are the same "go here, press button, defend against waves" design and the Playstation "exclusive" strike is literally nothing more than fighting from the end of the Black Garden story mission back to the beginning while pausing to kill waves of Vex.

    Like MMO expansions, new loot has relegated old loot to the dustbin - with exception to exotic items that can be expensively upgraded - but unlike MMO expansions this one hit a mere 3 months into the game's lifespan. In typical MMOs such gear destroying EXPANSIONS are on 12-24 month cycles.

    Speaking of "expansion", The Dark Below actually CONTRACTS the game by removing previous vendor gear and blocking out non-DLC players from content updates Bungie had made in months prior. For example, Bungie added Cryptarch Engrams to the Vanguard Tiger playlist as a way to incentivize play. With the DLC, this has been moved to a DLC only playlist, so anyone without the DLC are back to the same issues the game had back in September. Likewise, the Hive-based DLC strike is added to the weekly rotation and will occasionally lock out non-DLC players from weekly and nightfall strikes (the latter of which was ALSO upgraded to level 30, also making it far more difficult for non-DLC owners to complete, even when it's not a DLC strike).

    For the hardcore, this game penalizes them by significantly invalidating time spent in the base game. For the casual, the added currencies and increased grind have all but ensured that they're left behind if they can't spend 4-8 hours (or more) a day behind the game. Not worth $20 base or the expansion pass cost. Having purchased the limited edition, I had hoped they would address some of these issues but, instead, I'm left with severe buyer's remorse. Meanwhile, the vast majority of my friend's list are off playing everything BUT Destiny and my former 70+ strong Playstation Destiny Clan are now split between GTA Online, Far Cry 4, and The Crew.    … Expand
  30. commenter-x
    Dec 12, 2014
    2
    This is DLC, not an expansion. No new planets, no new abilities, no new game modes. What you get is handful of uninspired levels, unimaginative game design, some new gear among many re-skinned ones, and an even more constipated leveling system, making your experience even less rewarding than before. This is to add forced "value" to their lacking content, by making you play hundreds ofThis is DLC, not an expansion. No new planets, no new abilities, no new game modes. What you get is handful of uninspired levels, unimaginative game design, some new gear among many re-skinned ones, and an even more constipated leveling system, making your experience even less rewarding than before. This is to add forced "value" to their lacking content, by making you play hundreds of hours so you level cap. It's the kind of un-fun grinding F2P games use to make you pay extra not to do (except in this case, you are paying to do it). The crown jewel of the DLC, the raid "Crota's End" is still locked to many who purchased it because the developers stubbornly refuse to add matchmaking, to compensate for the difficulty to socialize through the game. You still have to get out of the game to learn key story points, and to find raid players in most occasions. The loot system is still dumb luck, with emphasis on the word "dumb". On a fair note, the PvP maps are decent, making you wonder if a straight FPS is what the developers would have done. The whole experience is frustrating, disappointing, irritating, and only suitable for hardcore fans. The Xbox version of this "expansion" would get a 0/0. Destiny has taken a turn for the worse, and doesn't seem like there will be a change of direction any time soon.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

37
#37 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
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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