Long-running living games are complicated beasts to contend with and expand in new directions. After so many years, game modes, previous changes, and unique audiences, a game like Destiny 2 needs to live up to many masters. That challenge is clearly felt in Destiny 2’s latest expansion. Lightfall is the penultimate chapter in the storytelling arc that has been underway since the original game launched in 2014. It falls short as a narrative and in a few other important respects. But as an incremental evolution of what came before, it brings many important additions to the table.
Lightfall’s meandering and poorly explained storyline doesn’t offer a solid first impression. Attempts to tonally nod to ’80s action movies mostly fail, trying and failing to muster a playful atmosphere at odds with the impending apocalypse. A new main character and vendor whose dialogue is even more unnerving than the combined many early Destiny 2 leads dramatically exacerbates this tonal misstep. After several missions heralding major revelations, the story ends on little profit, taking players right back to where it started in the opening movie.
The city of Neomuna on Neptune is colorful but empty and lifeless. It lacks the sense of discovery and exploration that characterizes the best travel destinations in the game. However, the distant planet is home to some fun combat locations and activities, including invigorating public battle rooms, new enemy configurations, and the most dangerous non-boss enemies the game has introduced to date in the form of the Tormentors – a huge challenge whenever they appear.
The bad taste left by Lightfall’s combative campaign is gradually being mitigated by much of what the rest of the expansion offers. The new Strand subclasses take a while to get used to, but eventually they prove incredibly rewarding and powerful. String Abilities result in a more mobile and controllable battlefield, dramatically expanding the available playstyles in the best possible way.
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Big quality of life improvements make a big difference too, although some systems still need tweaking. The long-awaited approach to loadouts is excellent, allowing you to set up numerous builds to switch between on the fly – for both function and looks. A new approach to mods is easier for newcomers to build crafting to understand. Along with adjustments to how Artifact unlocks provide new abilities, and continued additions to each subclass’s options, the ability to tweak and experiment is a lot more fun than before.
New Commendation and Guardian Rank systems are nice additions, but both feel too prescriptive and limited to make sense. Guardian ranks ask for overly specific quests that don’t represent what they claim to do – reflecting the experience and expertise of a particular player. And Commendations are a fun idea that supports improved community expression, but in practice most of the time players just spam them carelessly.
Other endgame and investment oriented activities fare much better than the campaign. Stellar add-on missions offer new challenges and locations, such as the exciting hidden quest for the exotic Vexcalibur. With that in mind, several new exotics add a lot to the sandbox experience and make me excited to hunt them down. The latest raid features intriguing core mechanics and a unique visual palette that blends organic and tech-inspired looks into a cohesive style. And the new seasonal content, focused on Earth’s ultimate defense against invasion and destruction, is engaging and fun.
I may have found the campaign uninspiring and its Legendary difficulty a slog riddled with bullet-spongy enemies. But there’s more to an expansion of such a big game than just its opening story. Lightfall opens up some strong possibilities – storytelling and gameplay – for a rewarding year of adventure that lies ahead. Despite some frustrations, Destiny 2 continues to make strides in catering to a diverse player base characterized by diverse desires. Lightfall is hit and miss, but stumbles shouldn’t be enough to derail players’ enthusiasm for more adventures or the excitement of seeing the epic come to an end next year.
