Do you ever feel like an idiot for ignoring a game for literal years only to find out that it’s your new favorite thing? Don’t worry, you’re in good company.

That’s exactly what happened to me with a seemingly generic Ubisoft shooter from 2019. I’d go as far as saying that if Ubisoft had prioritized this series over its half-baked Star Wars RPG and the ill-fated Skull and Bones then the company might not be in such dire straits. Alas…

I Can’t Stop Playing The Division 2

On the surface, Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 is a relatively generic shooter that does little to redefine the over-the-shoulder tactical genre beyond making it feel accessible to newbies and casuals alike. The game is built around the sort of tried and tested cover mechanic that rose to prominence during the Xbox 360 era. It does little to hide the fact that its levels are designed around the hide-shoot-hide formula, with predictable set pieces that you can see coming a mile off.

Tom Clancy’s The Division 2

Released

March 15, 2019

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Strong Language

Developer(s)

Massive Entertainment

Publisher(s)

Ubisoft

The game is the sequel to 2016’s The Division. The story, unimportant as it is, takes place in an alternate reality where a smallpox-based virus known as “Green Poison” wreaked havoc on the population after it was distributed via banknotes in New York City (yes, really). The disease quickly becomes a global pandemic, leading to the predictable downfall of society. Cue shots of FEMA CERA field hospitals, body bags, overgrown streets—you get the picture. It’s like The Last of Us without the infected monsters and ultraviolence.

In a last-gasp attempt to restore order, the U.S. government activated sleeper agents from the Strategic Homeland Division (that’s you, the Division). It’s up to you to attempt to restore order to the streets by helping the good guys rebuild some semblance of society by shooting lots of bad guys. You can do this alone, or join forces with up to three others to take back the city.

As you do so you’ll be exploring a highly accurate post-apocalyptic rendition of Washington DC, watching the results of your actions depicted on the streets and through the settlements you’re upgrading. There’s a good 30 hours of content to work through as you make your way toward the “end-game,” at which point you’ll get access to better kit, harder enemies, and even more content.

After feeling the urge to check the game out one afternoon, I was surprised to find myself utterly hooked. I’ve been playing through The Division 2 with my partner, so we’re both at the same level and experiencing the game for the first time. I’m perhaps more surprised that my partner feels the same way I do about the game, particularly given their aversion to all things Tom Clancy and tactical in the past.

That’s got to count for something, right?

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Shoot It, Loot It, Do It Again

As a player, The Division 2 dangles plenty of carrots in front of you to keep you engaged. This steady drip of dopamine is delivered via loot drops that constantly improve your character and introduce new ways to play as you advance through the game.

After every meaningful encounter, there will be a few colorful pickups littered across the battlefield, from lowly greens through to blues, pinks, golds, and reds to denote increasing rarity. These items bolster your armor rating, give you new guns to play with, and include new cosmetic items you can use to customize your agent. Don’t get too excited about that last part, it’s mostly brown beanies and chewed-up hiking boots.

This constant feeling of being rewarded kept me engaged and entertained. You might settle into the rhythm of using a sniper rifle over range and an assault rifle for closer encounters, only for the game to throw a rare shotgun your way that you simply can’t ignore. All of a sudden, you’re playing a different kind of game and adjusting your play style accordingly.

You’ve also got a selection of equipment to choose from including drones and turrets, with each having offensive, defensive, and restorative variations. Once you’ve unlocked these you can switch between them freely on the battlefield, and later even upgrade them as you find and earn new mods to deploy.

Don’t worry if this all sounds a bit overwhelming. The game introduces things to you at a gradual pace. While I was initially thrown at the start when deciding between three different types of assault rifles, once I’d hit the end game I was clamoring for as many new turret mods and grenade types as I could get. Sorting through the shopping list of loot you’ll be gathering is also made easier by the ability to mark things as junk and then sell them all off in one go whenever you find a vendor.

I’m not going to pretend there’s no predatory monetization in there, after all you can buy cosmetic loot crates with in-game currency. There’s a season pass too. I’ve successfully ignored all of this and still managed to have a good time.

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This Is Gaming Comfort Food

Let’s be real, The Division 2 isn’t a narrative masterpiece like Red Dead Redemption 2. It doesn’t redefine a genre like Half-Life did. It doesn’t invite you to think outside of the box like Portal or The Outer Wilds. Thankfully, it doesn’t need to It’s a game that knows exactly what it is: comfort food.

I’ve not encountered a game that’s this easy to play in years. The story is fluff (I had to actually look it up before writing this to be certain of what was going on), and I’m not ashamed to say that I’ve skipped most of the cutscenes and audio logs. But none of this has put me off, and my enthusiasm is still going strong.

On most weeknights, I find that I need to push through the fatigue and apathy I feel at 9 pm to actually play games rather than simply watch something. Not The Division 2! You can bet that my partner and I have been logging in just to check off a few side missions and control points before retiring for the night. It’s the perfect game to play while chatting or listening to a podcast, too.

I know that this isn’t always a good thing. It’s important to read, watch, listen to, and play forms of media that actually challenge you. I love these experiences as much as the next person. But sometimes it’s important to switch your brain off and Tom some Clancies, if you know what I mean.

Game Pass and Add-Ons Help

The Division 2 finally made its way to Game Pass in late May, which I will admit made the game particularly easy to try out. You’ll also find it on Ubisoft’s own Ubisoft+ subscription, frequently discounted on console storefronts, and quite possibly in the bargain bin at your local games retailer for a couple of bucks. It was released during the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 era, and those versions work just fine on the latest hardware.

Having access to the game on Game Pass makes me far more likely to jump in and buy the expansions, once I’ve run out of things to do. Fortunately, after six years of maintenance and free content updates, there’s a lot of content to work through if you’re just jumping into the game in 2025.

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Once you reach the endgame you’ll encounter a new enemy faction, gain access to new skills, and be able to take on a “Deck of 52” bosses. The game world gets divided into new world tiers, which ensure that the game remains challenging (ridiculously so on the harder difficulties).

There’s a whole “Dark Zone” competitive multiplayer (PvP) element that I’ve yet to even dig into. Each Dark Zone can have up to 12 players in it at a time, where players must collect loot and extract while defending against NPCs and rogue players.

On top of this, the game features two expansions that introduce “new” maps. The first, Warlords of New York takes the series back to the Big Apple, with a decent-sized chunk of Lower Manhattan to explore and liberate, while the second hops across the river in 2025’s Battle for Brooklyn expansion. You can pick these up for $30 and $15 respectively, or grab them both in a single pack for $40.

The Division 3 Is Coming (Probably)

Ubisoft confirmed that The Division 3 is in development in 2023. While nothing is set in stone and games can be canceled well into their development cycles, the ongoing success of a franchise like The Division might be just what Ubisoft needs following some of its recent high-profile disappointments.

Of course, a free-to-play version titled The Division Heartland was planned for 2024 and has since been axed, so who knows? Either way, The Division 2 is alive and kicking right now (it’s the perfect game to play while you wait for the triumphant return looter shooter royalty Borderlands 4).

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