What We Played #178: Destiny, Borderlands & Styx

In terms of gaming, it seems to have been a surprisingly quiet week here at TSA Towers. Either that or our writers are simply too transfixed on what they’re playing that they haven’t the time to inform the general public. Either way, this week’s edition of WWP is short and sweet.

One game still doing the rounds is Bungie’s divisive MMO/FPS hybrid, Destiny. Although a minority (including myself) haven’t touched it since launch week, many TSA regulars have been hammering away at the Activision best-seller on a near-nightly basis. Having reached the end of the Destiny’s conventional singleplayer trappings, both Blair and Tef have found themselves embroiled in endgame content. For those who don’t know, reaching Destiny’s modest level cap is only the beginning with players then having to accrue “Light” via flashy, rare loot. It’s a bit of a slog yet, as in many MMOs, legions of players have consistently returned to the game in order to find those all-important Legendary Engrams.

For Blair and Tef, the hunt has led them to Destiny’s first and only raid, the Vault of Glass. Not accessible via traditional matchmaking, this mode relies on players to form their own fire-teams before braving a scenario specifically meant for precise, tactical team play. Needless to say it’s tough, especially if you’re looking to blitz it on a higher difficulty setting.

Switching to another sci-fi first person shooter, Blair has also spent a bit of time with Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. Praising the game’s focus on co-operative play, he also went out of his way to talk about the loot system, which he much prefers to Desinty’s. You can read his justification here.

Tef has also been mixing things up a little this week, sneaking a fair few hours into Styx: Master of Shadows. Ironically, the Cyanide developed title slipped under the radar though we’ll have a review on-site in the coming days. Tef’s impressions are mixed; on one hand he’s picked up on the number of bugs there are, as well as the lack of checkpoints. However, he’s been equally as vocal when it comes to just how hardcore the gameplay really is, eschewing combat for a true-to-form stealth action title.

As for me, it’s been another mixed week. Having tied up our review for Skylanders: Trap Team I then turned my focus to Samurai Warriors 4 – easily the best Musou game available on new-gen platforms. Aside from that, I’ve had a fair few kick-abouts on FIFA 15, as well as returning to my PlayStation 3 to catch this week’s hot PSN deals. For just over £7 I managed to net myself Season 2 of The Walking Dead. Like its predecessor, it’s a slow-starting game yet one that’s already forced me to make numerous tough choices within the first hour of play.

Finally, having only just watched Valve’s “Free To Play” documentary, I decided to go ahead and reinstall DOTA 2. Having poured an embarrassing number of hours into the game I decided to wipe it from my PC during the Summer after realising just how much time I had spent gorging myself on the superb MOBA. Though I’ve yet to actually play a round this week, I’m sure the weekend will give me plenty of opportunities to grab maybe one or two matches.