Through the use of the Bungie mobile app you’ll be able to utilize the Companion. It’s Bungie’s second-screen experience that will keep you connected to the game, while you’re in the world of Destiny and while you’re away from it. It has a ton of features that are very useful, such as checking your gear, checking on what’s new for the week as far as Daily Heroic Strikes, Nightfall Strike and even the capabilities of transferring items to and from your vault to your character(s). The official app is available for iOS and Android, and there is a third-party app (Destiny Stats) for Windows Phone users.
Visually the Destiny app captures the hard sci-fi feel of the game with its subdued, but not bland color palette, and clean, easy to manage menu system. Within the app players have access to regular news from Bungie, regarding in-game events, updates, patch notes and easy access to the game’s forums. Very useful to check and read every Tuesday morning when reset day comes along and you’re already at work for the day and can’t get to a computer.
There is a fantastic Grimoire section, presented as a collectible card set with great art work on one side, and flipping over to reveal informative blurbs about Destiny’s lore, tips and general knowledge. It’s beautifully presented, providing great incentive to explore and collect. To me personally it’s my favorite part of the app as there is a ton of information to absorb from this section of the app.
Functionally, players have hands-on access to their weapons and equipment, with the ability to change your set-up, which then reflects within the game itself the next time you load it up on your console. Or, if you forgot about something in the vault, and you’re in the middle of a big boss fight and need something like a Heavy Ammo Synthesis, then you can quickly pull up the app and transfer any that you have in the vault to your character and it will transfer immediately and be ready to use in-game.
There is a ton of stats that tell the story of your successes and failures in numbers within the game itself. All your story missions and competitive runs in the Crucible are displayed such as kills, deaths, assists, scores etc. Again all of this is presented in a very easy to read, clean style and accompanied by some great art work depicting where the mission was carried out. It’s a great way to measure up your adventure with friends in the real world.
Then there’s the Vendors section where you can check any vendor within the game to see exactly what they are selling as far as special items, weapons, armor or anything else. One downfall is that you can’t purchase items from these vendors via the app and that’s something that I certainly wish Bungie would add.
You can even go as far as to check on your current bounties that you have and how close you are to completing them. And now with Year 2 here, you can also check in on your progress of any quests that you are currently working on within the game.
Whilst the Destiny Companion doesn’t really add anything essential to the game, nor is it something that you have to have installed for any reason, it is a nice accompaniment, tastefully designed and a joy to navigate. The collectible card system of the Grimoire alone is definitely worth the 27MB download.
What We Liked:
- Easy to use and to navigate
- Very informative
- Well designed
Where It Comes Up Short:
- Can’t purchase gear or armor
- Can’t get any gear from the new kiosks
Google Play Store: Destiny Companion App
