Bungie Claims Story Of ‘Destiny 2: Lightfall’ Will Make Sense In Upcoming Season
Bungie insists that the reportedly confusing story of Destiny 2: Lightfall will make sense thanks to an upcoming sidequest that will be added in the game’s next season.
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A recent Bungie blog post detailed the race to be world’s first on the new Root of Nightmares raid. The post also reveals the launch dates for Trial of Osiris and Iron Banner have been changed — now releasing on March 17th and 21st, respectively. Other note-worthy announcements included Prime Gaming and Twitch Drop rewards and guide for new players, among others.
They also discussed the Season of Defiance and the latest details of the plot. “As we mentioned in last week’s TWAB [This Week At Bungie], a new year of storytelling kicked off with Lightfall and will continue through our Seasons between now and The Final Shape.”
“While we’re just a week into Season of Defiance and we don’t always share future narrative details this far in advance, we feel it’s important to give everyone a preview of a particular quest we’re bringing to Neomuna in Season of the Deep, as well as the rewards it will provide,” Bungie detailed.
They explained, “Throughout this quest, players will explore the city to learn about the nature of the Veil through Osiris’s research and newly uncovered Ishtar Collective data. This brief pursuit will be available to all Lightfall owners and will take place separately from the events of Season of the Deep.”
Bungie also highlighted that players can unlock new Strand Aspects and a Legendary Weapon, with its associated quest available “in perpetuity.”
It may be that Bungie was attempting to answer critics who had gotten their hands on the Lightfall expansion and found the story confusing.
Reviews overall for Destiny 2: Lightfall appear to be middling from critics and damning from players. Launching on the 28th of February, the expansion’s high price was already raising eye brows. A confusing story, Neomuna feeling lifeless, the lack of enemy variety, and the grappling hook taking too long to recharge are some of the aspects that have since been criticized.
Some even claimed the Lightfall was effectively an advert for the next expansion, with marketing and trailers featuring cutscenes from its opening moments.
Austin Wood noted in his review for Games Radar that “This may be a narrative climax five years in the making, but the campaign is an uninspiring six-hour romp chasing poorly explained MacGuffins across the new Neptunian city of Neomuna,” noting how characters and plot points are dropped at a whim; remaining too vague at the overall threat and antagonists.
When reporting on Bungie’s blog post, Wood asks, “Why isn’t an explanation of the Veil included in the campaign about the Veil, or indeed the season accompanying the release of the campaign about the Veil? Especially given that this explainer apparently isn’t even part of the Season of the Deep?”
“Not a clue. Maybe time wouldn’t allow it,” he speculates. “Whatever the case, I hope this ‘brief pursuit’ is an absolute banger, because it would be really nice to know what we’re doing.”
Destructoid’s Cheri Faulkner pitied, “I’m an avid Destiny 2 fan, I play almost daily with my clan, and I am struggling to see how this expansion would bring in new players.”
She added, “And even then, will said newcomers stay beyond the campaign to discover what the Veil is, what the Witness does next, and how this decade-long saga will come to an end in 2024? I wouldn’t blame anyone that doesn’t.”
“Personally, however, I definitely need to see the end of this saga.” Faulkner even concluded her review noting “prior to Lightfall, I felt Destiny was at its strongest point ever,” and that her excitement for the series’ future was built on prior experiences.
Darryn Bonthuys admits in his review for GameSpot, “Destiny 2’s Lightfall expansion doesn’t make a good first impression, but beneath a threadbare story that relies on an exasperatingly fuzzy motivation for your Guardian, it still feels mechanically satisfying to dive into.”
“Comparing it to the standard of excellence that 2022’s The Witch Queen saga established only exposes the numerous shortcomings of Lightfall,” Bonthuys concludes, noting that Bungie will need to step out of it’s “shadow” with future content to make Lightfall “more than a middle-of-road entry that stumbles toward a final showdown that has been a decade in the making.”
Players will have to wait for Season of the Deep to launch. Based on prior season start and end dates, this should be coming around May 22nd.
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