A new season of Destiny 2 has arrived and, with it, a new chapter in the epic ongoing tale that is the Light & Darkness saga. Season of the Deep kicks off today, and Guardians will dive deeper than ever in a seasonal narrative that will see players delve into the ocean depths of Titan’s methane seas to uncover Golden Age technology. With a new six-player activity, a challenging new dungeon, new seasonal weapons and armor, and a few surprises along the way, Season of the Deep is packed with adventure and rewards.
This season, Destiny 2 is also celebrating its partnership with PlayStation with a collection of new cosmetic items, each inspired by legendary games from PlayStation studios. From armor adornments tailored to gods, samurai and survivors, to vehicle cosmetics inspired by one of the biggest critical hits (in video games and prestige TV) of the last decade, the line has something for everyone.
Here, we break down what you can expect and offer some behind-the-scenes thoughts from the Bungie team who worked to create a Destiny version of iconic PlayStation games.
Pretty, deadly
Season of the Deep will feature three new armor ornament sets, one for each Guardian class, inspired by three of the greatest games in PlayStation history. The Titans will feel right at home in the new “Godsbane” ornament set, inspired by Sony Santa Monica’s God of War. Guerrilla’s Horizon: Forbidden West inspired the “Anointed” set for Hunters, creating an ideal look for any activity that requires cunning, agility, and more than a little deadly force. Finally, honor and precision are the hallmarks of this Warlock lifestyle, and this is expressed perfectly with the “Ancestral” ornament set, inspired by the open world masterpiece of Sucker Punch. , Ghost of Tsushima. Along with ornaments, there’s also a trio of finishers inspired by the same games: “From Nowhere” (Horizon: Zero Dawn), “Whirling Chaos” (God of War), and “Perfect Strike” (Ghost of Tsushima).
“The genesis of any armor set begins with one question, ‘What is fantasy?'” said Bungie art lead Josh Deeb. “There were obvious inspirations – [God of War’s] Kratos is a mighty force that paves the way for battle, Aloy [from the Horizon series] is a machine hunter who survives in a hostile world, and [Ghost of Tsushima’s] Jin combined studious training with seemingly supernatural fighting ability.
Once the team defined the fantasy, it was time to talk about which characteristics best represented the characters and how these could be expressed in the armor. As Deeb said, each character had something unique to express, and the team spent a lot of time nailing those details to bring them to life.
“The first one [concern] is the most direct reimagining of costume details, items, and weapons,” Deeb said. “Then there are the less tangible aspects – their personalities and their presence. In other words, do these ornaments look like these characters?
Aloy Influence
“For Aloy, it was about capturing the hybrid of technology [and] handcrafted, natural materials. We spent a lot of time working to make sure the details were correct,” Deeb said. “This included things like building a version of the Focus on the helmet, combining two distinct styles of armor from each game, and even down to making sure the seams on the hunter’s cape were exact the way Aloy’s tribe makes her clothes. .”
“It is always difficult to bring two very visually defined and powerful IPs together in a striking collaborative design. In the case of Destiny and Horizon, the former has a high-tech, synthetic look, while the latter features a more natural, primitive feel. The trick is to find what the two projects have in common. What really made designing this outfit work was finding the key points where the visual universes overlap and then using them as a “visual anchor” to bring the unique, organic feel of the Horizon material into the Destiny universe. . In this case, the overlaps were the sci-fi elements, for example, the machine plating of various Horizon outfits and the hologram effects of Aloy’s Focus device. And, of course, the Hunter pairs perfectly with a Nora-themed outfit.
– Ilya Golitsyn, Lead Artist, Guerrilla
Kratos’ craft
“With Kratos, we would have been remiss not to put his iconic tattoos front and center in the design,” Deeb said. “Beyond that, it was about embodying the strength and power of the character. We want to make sure our Titans feel like they can go out and kill a god or two when they put on this armor. And we we may have nodded to the beard in the design of the helmet, of course.
“Throughout all chapters of the God of War franchise, from the first game to the most recent, Kratos has always had very recognizable elements in his design, like his tattoo and his weapons. When we worked on God of War (2018) and God of War Ragnarök, we were very careful to retain the iconic elements that have always been an integral part of Kratos’ design. Working with the Destiny team has been so rewarding because we get to see how these elements translate and are still strongly apparent in a futuristic fantasy realm. The way the tattoo, Blades of Chaos, and Guardian Shield have been integrated into the sci-fi armor make them feel natural in the world of Destiny, while clearly reading as the Ghost of Sparta.
– Dela Longfish, Lead Character Concept Artist, Santa Monica Studio
Jin-inspired
“And with Jin, we had the benefit of having iconic masks to work with from the source material. This created an unequivocal immediate impact. We wanted to explore combinations of elaborate armor sets that players can don and create a sci-fi samurai silhouette that suited our warrior-scholars, the Warlocks.
“As a fan of the Destiny franchise, it was really exciting to see a version of Jin’s iconic Ghost Armor make its way into this universe. historical Japanese and fusing them with their own sci-fi inspired art style My favorite aspects are the combination of a traditional samurai half mask (menpo) with the samurai style top knot to create a hard surfaced mask consistent and unique. They also took period thigh armor (haidate) and put their own twist on it, extending it further down the body to achieve the distinctive Warlock silhouette. This turned out to be excellent execution in taking a true aesthetic popular 800 years ago and projecting it into the distant conceptual future.
– Omar Aweidah, Character Art Lead, Sucker Punch Productions
Besides ornaments, the Bungie team worked with the Insomniac team to create a new Ratchet & Clank-inspired emote, as well as working with Naughty Dog on two new vehicles and an accessory inspired by The Last of Us. ghost shell, a ship, and a sparrow are available, each afflicted by the Cordyceps fungus that drives the games famous narrative. “We know that the environments in games are just as much a part of the story as the characters and the players,” Deeb said, speaking of the Cordyceps-infected look. “We wanted to take the evocative infected visuals of the mutated fungus and have them take over our world.”
Bungie artist Ben Platnick said that translating The Last of Us’ gritty, gritty art style into Destiny’s upbeat sci-fi style was an enjoyable challenge for the team. “The solution was to mix the way we created spore-like visual effects in Destiny, such as the Egregore found in the Haunted Leviathan, with the movement and color patterns we see in The Last of Us, to a result felt at home in both worlds.
“When the Destiny 2 team approached us with the prospect of bringing The Last of Us into the next season, we were so excited about the opportunity. The Last of Us is known as a very grounded and human experience, while Destiny 2 offers players an epic sci-fi world with elements of fantasy and mythology. Playing in this sandbox is something unique and exciting for us and we couldn’t pass it up. When the team showed us the concept art of the fungal cordyceps design on top of the inorganic material of Destiny’s ships, sparrows, and ghosts, the idea made so much sense, the juxtaposition of organic and inorganic materials looked like a harmonious approach to bring a design inspired by The Last of Us into their world. Working closely with the Bungie team, we helped grow our particular cordyceps design; from a large central vein blending into smaller clumps of fungal tissue and fan-shaped spreads at tendril tips. Then when the design was placed on the Ghost shell, well, we had to include an extra easter egg element in there. That we will leave to the players to discover.
– Joshua Bradley, Senior Brand, Marketing and Product Designer, Naughty Dog
– Erick Pangilinan, Art Director, Naughty Dog
big fish reel
In Season of the Deep, you’ll travel to Saturn’s moon Titan to begin an exploration of its uncharted ocean. You’ll investigate the rituals that take place on the seabed and dive deeper and deeper each week to harvest the dark energy needed to communicate with a mysterious creature we’ve discovered. While reaping new and powerful rewards, of course.
When you’re not maxing out your Guardian’s rizz or diving into the new adventures that make up Season of the Deep, a new pastime awaits: a new fishing experience. While exploring underwater, Guardians will discover fishing gear and, with the help of a longtime friend, explore several prime fishing holes across the solar system in search of the perfect catch. Players will gain more than just a story to tell; fishing will offer… er… additional rewards to players, including new and returning seasonal armor, masterwork materials, and more.
“Fishing is meant to give players a chance to take a break from the hectic pace of combat and spend time relaxing and bonding with other Guardians, while earning rewards and progressing towards certain of their other goals this season,” said Bungie Systems Designer. Corey Willis. “We wanted to keep it simple and build on existing game systems to keep it familiar, while pushing the boundaries of how we’ve asked players to engage with those systems in the past.”
Whether you explore the icy depths of Titan’s methane seas, recapture legendary game characters, or simply take some time for yourself with your thoughts and a trusty fishing rod, abundant fun awaits Destiny 2 players this season. Better yet, you can dive right in, because Season of the Deep is out now.
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