Not everyone knew how to see the value of Destiny (2014) and Destiny 2 (2017), developed by Bungie. Although both were received with many doubts by some people and the media, the sequel took the worst part because it did not finish conquering all the fans of the first installment. Now, he’s on his way to fulfilling 6 years and Bungie has made it clear that there will be content for many more years.
The Destiny 2 story it’s especially turbulent, as Bungie was in the hands of Activision when it came to our PCs and consoles. That was his first birth… but it’s not the only one. It had a renaissance when Bungie managed to free itself from Activision’s clutches, keeping Destiny 2 after tough negotiations. And they learned, because they kept some autonomy and the independent game when they joined Sony (PlayStation).
No one can deny that Destiny 2 is an amazing video game, one of the most enduring shooters (and games) to date. Its DLCs and expansions they are not cheap, but they are worth every penny you put on the table. It has succeeded where other games like The Division 2 and Outriders failed, for example.
Destiny 2’s big problem: its story is broken
The history and lore of Destiny 2 it is sublime, but it is broken. Up to 4 very important episodes are inaccessible and they are in danger of being lost. Thousands of guardians that have been arriving over time, especially since the game became free, are unaware of the context of everything that has happened, is happening, and is going to happen.
- the red war– The main story of Destiny 2. Dealt a heavy blow to the guardians (hero down). We were to fight the Cabal invasion while learning the meaning of Light and how The Traveler works.
- The Curse of Osiris, first paid DLC– Introduces the Vex enemies and the planet Mercury, which was later destroyed in a real-time event. We meet Osiris, a character of vital importance to the events that are currently occurring in Destiny 2.
- The Strategist, second paid DLC: It deals with the Golden Age and presents the Strategist through the appearance of Rasputin’s Core on Mars. The Hive and the Bray family are the main themes. It is impossible to understand the current events without knowing this story.
- The renegadesthird paid DLC: the death of Cayde-6 takes place (it is not spoiler, the DLC is about that) and our revenge takes us to the Tangled Coast, Mara Sov and Uldren Sov, Cayde’s murderer. Both sleepless. Uldern Sov currently calls himself The Raven and is part of the vanguard. It is not possible to understand current events, especially the Shadowkeep expansion, without knowing this history.
Currently, all content prior to Shadowkeep not available. The arrival of Más Allá de la Luz meant its elimination along with the destruction of the planets Io, Titan, Mars and Mercury. All of that content, which fans paid for with the base game and DLCs, is in the Destiny Content Vault. What the game calls takes place: The Traveler’s Cure.
These events coincide with the independence of Bungie and Destiny 2 from Activision, the move to free-to-play and the arrival of other functions such as the crossplay y crossave. In addition, major changes are made to the game that disrupt the foundation of the community. Some players dropped out and others just adapted.
Personally, it hurts me that all that content is not available. Bungie promised that he would progressively return to Destiny 2 and has fulfilled it with certain dungeons and minor activities. We continue without news of the stories. How will they reimplement them after all the changes?
The most painful thing was that Bungie radically changed the start of the game. Before you started during the attack of the Cabals and being defeated, losing the light and forced to recover it little by little. Now, the guardians wake up in the Cosmodrome and must complete the missions of Beyond Light, a training to master the skills. Players are thrown into all the content with no clear guide or timeline.
Bungie continued to work on Destiny 2 and released the 30th birthday and expansion The Witch Queen, which has four seasons. We are currently in the Season of the Seraphim, the last before the release of the Eclipse expansion. This expansion includes a new power of light, as was the case with Stasis Tactician at the time.
The events of Season of the Seraphim are closely tied to the first three DLCs and features characters from the fourth. This means that a lot of context is missing about what is happening.
Even many veteran players have a hard time following the thread. There are only two ways to learn (not play) part of Destiny 2 history: through historians (content creators) and by visiting the books… that you must unlock.
Will Destiny 2 ever be complete again?
Bungie’s promises say yes, but I I wouldn’t count on it. Better to be suspicious and surprised than to trust and be disappointed… at least in this case. Destiny 2 it would be an infinitely better and varied game if it had all the content removed, but it would take up an egg.
After reading and speaking with many members of the community, I have come up with three possible solutions to Destiny 2’s broken story issue:
- Add all content to the game, including planets, and give players a choice whether to start from the Red War or Beyond Light. If you choose the first, you must complete a campaign to access the next one and so on.
- Add story missions to play them in a linear way as you do with assaults, sunsets and raids. The structure of each story would have to be adapted to this format, but there would be the possibility of playing them all chronologically. In fact, The Witch Queen can be repeated on different difficulties. It would not be something new.
- Leave it as it is. This is the easiest solution and the one Bungie is likely to take. They will still return content, but I doubt campaign missions and planets will return.
Bungie has to do something about it. Not just because it’s content that players paid for at the time, but because Destiny 2 needs its past to be known so Guardians understand the weight of everything that’s going to happen in Eclipse and later.
These are not the complaints of a veteran Guardian drowning in nostalgia (which is also), but a reflection made from experience: I recently accompanied a friend in his first steps in Destiny 2 and understood half of what was happening. The questions “Why are we here?” while storming Shadowkeep and “When did Cayde-6 die?” were the most prominent.
Destiny 2’s story leading up to Shadowkeep has become oral history, it is passed from one guardian to another like the Nordic myths: speaking, through voice or video chats. It’s nice… but it bothers me because I know they’re collecting dust in a digital capsule. And it is not the same that they tell you to play it.
Destiny 2 will move on with or without its past and we Guardians will have to stick with it whether we like Bungie’s decisions regarding the game’s story or not. It will still be a great game… but could be so much more.
