Arguably weak when it first launched, Destiny 2 got a major new lease on life with the release of Forsaken, its biggest expansion ever, which effectively doubled the amount of content the game offers by default. Come September, we'll receive Shadowkeep, another Forsaken-tier DLC, and Destiny 2 will relaunch on Steam as Destiny: New Light. All of this is incredibly exciting for those who do know what this game is all about and what its main draw is, but what about those who are still on the fence about it?

Those who aren't in the loop about Destiny 2 are probably just wondering what makes this game special or even worth their attention, and that's possibly the best question one can ask about any given game, really. For the purpose of this article, we'll attempt to go into some length why Destiny 2's core gameplay loop is, indeed, quite amazing, and why you, too, should give the game as a shot when it goes free-to-play.

The catch with Destiny 2's core gameplay mechanics is that they are very much designed to be extremely responsive and form a positive feedback loop for the players to get lost in. In practice, this means that virtually every element of the game serves as a dopamine injector of this or that sort. For a straight-forward example, look no further than the game's UI: though the Pursuits tab is arguably clunky, the majority of the interface is sleek and snazzy, and with great sound effects. Merely going through the menus or just organising your inventory is quite a satisfying predicament in Destiny 2. In terms of gameplay, on the other hand, each enemy has a special (and very visceral) animation that plays out when they're killed with a critical shot. Helmets burst, excessive amounts of energy and particles spawn, and for a game that really isn't very bloody at all, Destiny 2 does certainly deliver in the hit feedback category.

Character movement is decidedly chunky and deliberate, yet just snappy enough to make getting around places a breeze. Combined with double or even triple jumps, and a high-speed Sparrow, your Guarding will be leaping across any given Patrol zone with ease.

All of this is just the first layer of making Destiny 2 feel good no matter what is it that you're doing. If you're all about collecting and unlocking stuff, the Collections interface is going to be your best bud, as it catalogs and keeps track of virtually everything you find in your travels. Majority of items can even be re-crafted with relatively up-to-date stats/power level, which is particularly handy for accidentally dismantled exotics, or for creating stacks of shaders that you might enjoy the look of.

At the heart of Destiny 2, however, is the grind, and we won't lie, some of it is rather extreme. Certain Exotic weapons send you on galaxy-spanning quests that will take literal hours to complete, and we won't even go into the business of acquiring Pinnacle weaponry, but the thing is that there's a certain charm when getting some of these ultra-rare items isn't easy as pie. Whether the game's grind should be alleviated in this way or the other is a discussion for some other time and place, but the way it works now is not half bad. Not half bad at all, in fact.

In most cases, Destiny 2 can easily draw you in and set you up with the 'just one more unlock' mentality that's not all that dissimilar from what you get while playing Civilization, or something of the type. The truth is that playing Destiny 2 is now a deeply satisfying and fun experience that few other contemporary games rival with such zest and polish, and that alone is something that's worth plenty of praise.