Destiny Gets Hotline Bling, Napoleon Dynamite Emotes
By Cody Gravelle 26 January 2016
Bungie’s February Destiny update might be mostly talked about for the Crimson Days event, but it also provided Guardians with a few more ways to express themselves.
The Destiny February update went live mere hours ago, and patch 2.1.1 includes a slew of new content: the Crimson Days event taking place in the Tower, new Eververse items, freelance PvP playlists, and a number of much needed bug fixes. While all of those upgrades will receive their fair share of the spotlight, however, it would be an injustice to Destiny‘s hard-working development team if gamers ignored another addition made in the latest update, as demonstrated in the video below.
YouTuber Arekkz compiled a video of the new emotes that went live with update 2.1.1, and it is frankly amazing Bungie was able to keep these under wraps. Destiny players will now be able to perform rapper Drake’s Hotline Bling dance, and Guardians who were looking for ways to lament how former raid buddies used to call them much more frequently can now do so via interpretive dance. Those looking for a way to romance that special Guardian in their lives just in time for the Crimson Days event have also been given the option to evoke the classic Napoleon Dynamite dance that was nearly impossible to avoid on the internet over a decade ago.
The update also adds a few more tame emotes like fist bumps and secret handshakes to the ever-growing roster of ways that Destiny players can express themselves online. Of course, while the emotes might be a nice little distraction for players looking to mess around in between the often demanding PvE or PvP events that await high-level Destiny players, Bungie’s decision to include some light-hearted callbacks to famous moments in pop culture is likely small consolation to an increasingly agitated player community.
After all, the fact remains that Destiny remains a game plagued by a dry spell in major content updates and annoying, often rage-inducing bugs like the special ammo exploit that surfaced just after patch 2.1.1 went live. For all the gameplay depth and content that Year 1 featured, Year 2 has brought Destiny‘s forward momentum to a screeching halt, and it’s incidents like these cropping up almost immediately after the developer introduces something that might reign in player interest for a while that have caused such a big disconnect between Bungie and its annoyed but loyal playerbase. Bungie has even asked Destiny players to help improve the game moving forward, although this in turn has led some to speculate that there isn’t any big content planned until Destiny 2.
That lack of compelling content might be fine if the next instalment of Destiny was on the horizon, but if rumors are to be believed, Destiny 2 has been delayed past its internal release date. It’s certainly unfair to criticize Bungie for including minor emote additions to a game that at its heart is largely about social interaction, and Guardians will hopefully enjoy the increased variety featured in spur of the moment dance parties at the Tower. However, the fact is that as fun as the dances might be, without a steady stream of reasons to play the game they’re found in, there might not be that many people left around to enjoy them.
What do you think of the update’s contribution to Guardian expression? What’s your favourite emote in Destiny? Let us know in the comments below.
Destiny: The Taken King is available now for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
Source: YouTube
