Destiny: The Dark Below 'The Undying Mind' Strike - hands-on at PlayStation Experience

Destiny is getting its new expansion, The Dark Below, on PlayStation platforms today. While Bungie and Activision did their best to help convey the sense of what the expansion would entail, there's really no other feeling like experiencing it. This past weekend's PlayStation Experience event offered up that opportunity and Shacknews took advantage of it, trying out the PlayStation timed-exclusive three-person Strike known as The Undying Mind.

The Undying Mind takes players to Mars, where an ancient evil awaits. There are also copious amounts of Vex forces patrolling the planet, ranging from standard Goblins, to the sniper Hobgoblins, to the tank-like Minotaurs.

The Vex will spread out across the map, with Hobgoblins taking elevated corners and Harpies attacking in numbers. They're easy enough to take out from a distance, especially with two partners drawing the enemy out into the open. The latter part of the stage will see Vex minions teleporting onto the planet in larger numbers, but there's a chokepoint near the end that allows parties to draw them in and pick them off in a pinch. In particular, the Murmur fusion rifle proved to be a godsend, since it can hit multiple targets on a full charge, thanks to a solar blast.

The major draw for the Strike is arguably the encounter with the titular Undying Mind boss, who emerged from the portal at the end of the stage. This boss was massive, with rotating shields keeping its weak points covered. This boss will hurl fireballs and cover a large stretch of the battlefield, making cover essential. It's also recommended that one member of the team draw its fire, allowing his two partners to fire away. The key to this battle is patience, as The Undying Mind will not go down easily, even as I was scoring multiple hits with the legendary Murmur fusion rifle. Worse yet, he'll call in Vex reinforcements every few minutes and they'll spawn in from just about anywhere. Careless players can quickly find themselves surrounded by Goblins or Minotaurs if they aren't paying attention.

The Undying Mind Strike is a long one, but it also serves as a reminder of how much fun the individual pieces of Destiny can be when played with friends. Even if the foundation of the game can feel cumbersome, there's no denying that Destiny Strikes in themselves are pretty enjoyable and The Undying Mind looks to be no different.

The Undying Mind Strike is part of the Dark Below DLC, which is out now on PlayStation platforms. Those Destiny players on Xbox platforms looking to play this particular Strike will have a long time to wait, unfortunately. The Undying Mind isn't set to arrive on Xbox until Fall 2015.

For a better idea of what The Undying Mind entails, Shacknews completed the Strike from start to finish. watch our full playthrough below.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?