Penny Arcade's Destiny Comic 'Fan Fiction'

Much has been said on the subject of Bungie's Destiny — it's certainly one of the biggest releases of 2014, but it's also proven to be one of the most controversial. The game has been subject to a thorough analysis by both its fans and its detractors, but it might just turn out to be gaming web comic Penny Arcade who manage to really cut to the core of what makes Destiny such a hot topic.

While Penny Arcade might be as well known for the Child's Play charity as much as the web comic itself these days, the team of Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik can still provide some very insightful commentary on the industry. Today's installment, entitled 'Fan Fiction', is a very good example of that.

Eschewing the lame gags that video game web comics all too often rely upon, 'Fan Fiction' lets us in on a private conversation between a Guardian and her Ghost. It's a simple scene, but it's well told — and it's the sort of narrative that many would say is missing from the game itself.

Penny Arcade's Destiny Comic 'Fan Fiction'

Earlier this week saw the release of the first expansion pack for Destiny, The Dark Below. Players desperate for more to do in the world of Destiny have attacked the new content with some vigor, with the records for fastest run through of the game's new Raid, Crota's End, being hotly contested over the past few days.

However, for anyone more interested in seeing Bungie follow up the intricate lore that they put together for the Halo series, the new expansion won't offer all that much. There are very interesting ideas going on in Destiny — the Penny Arcade comic demonstrates just how much potential the game has for 'Fan Fiction' — but it's disappointing to see how poorly it's capitalized upon in the game itself.

Penny Arcade's strip touches on things that the game should; the terror of the Hive, the loneliness of being a solo Guardian and even the personality of the Ghosts that accompany them. Destiny might be able to deliver the satisfying gameplay that made Halo a huge success, but it's difficult to argue that there isn't more than could have been done with its narrative.

However, given that we already now that work has begun on Destiny 2, perhaps we'll see the burgeoning franchise find its feet in its second installment. It'll certainly need to make good on the failings of its predecessor if it's going to prove to be anywhere near as financially successful.

Destiny is available now for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

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Source: Penny Arcade