First 'Destiny' reviews officially hit: A mixed bag of galactic proportions

Destiny is without a doubt the most hyped game of the year, with a marketing campaign that went non-stop for nearly two years all the way up to the game's release. It looks like all that effort paid off, because Destiny raked in more than $500 million in its first day on sale.

All the while, though, some fans were cautious. Bungie opted to not send out advance review copies of Destiny to press outlets, meaning reviews of the game wouldn't be hitting the web until later in the week. While the developer cited that servers would not be online until Sept. 9 for players (including reviewers) to play on, a developer electing not to have reviews on day one is usually a telltale sign of game creator fearing negative reviews and their possible impact on sales.

Well, the first Destiny reviews are finally here (you can see our review here), and they are an astounding assortment of mixed opinions.

Video game speciality sites like Polygon and The Escapist didn't have kind words for Bungie's sci-fi shooter, each giving the game mediocre reviews. Due to the size of the game and the huge level of hype behind it, Polygon tasked two people to review the title, and both came to similar conclusions. The game, they say, tries to be an MMO, an FPS and an RPG, but can't seem to shake the problems of each:

"As just another game, Destiny is a confusing combination of often at-odds elements - it presents itself as ambitious, almost boastful, while seeming strangely safe and reserved. It wants to eat its cake as a shooter, and have the longevity of an MMO - but it lacks the combat sophistication of the former, and the deep well of content native to the latter."

Jim Sterling of The Escapist says much the same, commenting on what he says is the game's poor writing and voice acting (in particular the phoned-in performance from "Game of Thrones" star Peter Dinklage as the player's AI companion) along with its unimaginative setting and boring mission structure. He does admit that the game looks stunning, and that Destiny's plaver vs. player mode, the Crucible, is a lot of fun:

"With its banal universe and flavorless style, Destiny is packed with content, but just ... well ... content. There's a great PvP mode, and the leveling system can be rewarding, but nonetheless this is a pretty, rock-solid, ultimately pedestrian product."

Giant Bomb's Jeff Gerstmann also wasn't terribly impressed. A good shooter, but one with too many ideas that it can't make into a cohesive whole is what he says in his review:

"Destiny is a beautiful but hollow experience with most of the pieces you'd expect from a great multiplayer shooter. It just can't find a way to fit them all together."

Many of the less than glowing reviews, like the ones above, focus on a handful of aspects that drag the game down: its (almost) complete lack of story, its lack of content and its highly reptitive nature. Even the more positive reviews touch on all of the above, but the solid shooting and beautiful alien worlds were enough for some to recommend the game, like The Guardian's Keith Stuart:

"Make no mistake, Destiny is fun. It is stylish and technically amazing - it will provide weeks of enjoyment if you are committed to its vision."

What does all this mean for the future of Destiny and Bungie's new franchise? The game will continue to be updated in the coming weeks, months and possibly even years, and it very well may be a much different game further down the line. As it is now, it looks like Destiny couldn't live up to the hype.

Below are a collection of tweets from game critics, developers, and others. While some are positive (and funny), most are pretty bad.