Destiny 2 is something special all right. One of the first “live content genre” we’ve experienced. From this day forward, Destiny 2 still needs time to figure itself out. It has to find its path between the action-packed FPS genre and a live-action service that’s pretty close to an MMO because at this moment it’s a little bit of both and it shows…
Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy my time with Destiny 2 but it needs some figuring out to do. Destiny 2 Beyond light is the first true expansion without the “pulling string hands” of Activision. Bungie is still trying to find that perfect combo between the things they love and the things the community wants. With Beyond Light, they try to push their ship between these two currents, and from this moment on, it can many different ways.
“The story of Beyond Light is pretty straightforward and less demanding when it comes to mental breakdowns.”
The setting of Beyond light is truly great. I love the dark, cold, mysterious atmosphere on “Europa” and the beautiful soundtrack of Destiny 2- Beyond light just makes it an amazing piece. Europa is full of ruins of majestic cities which are now covered by horizontal icicles and occupied by beasts from the dark. But underneath all this frozen wasteland, there’s an interesting foundry where AI robots get a new standard. This foundry will be open for exploration and you’ll see the mysteries it holds. I’ll give you a hint: AI robots with a human conscience… brrr scary! All of this background information along with a great weather system which often blanks out the map due to heavy blizzard conditions. The weather system just feels right and vivid. It makes the world feel more energetic and alive than we ever could imagine.
The story of Beyond Light is pretty straightforward and less demanding when it comes to mental breakdowns. The story is again about an enemy who felt left out when the Traveler gave light powers to a lot of people, except for the main antagonist. Not only did the supplier of Light Powers ignored the antagonist, which is called Kell Eramis, but it also abandoned the people when they needed the traveler the most. Devastated as she is, she turns to the supplier of Darkness, the ominous Pyramids. These mysterious Pyramids are also known as “the Darkness” and they contain a new set of powers which is called “Stasis”. In the end, the heroes of the Traveler see this upcoming threat as an opportunity to gain this power of Darkness and use it against Kell Eramis.
“I’m excited to see what this new element will have in store for us.”
This power of Darkness is known as “Stasis”. Stasis can be seen as a new dark icy element that can be used to slow down enemies, encases them in ice, and eventually break this encasement to do tremendous damage. This element is pretty cool to use against groups of enemies on the PVE side of things and on the PVP side of things… WELL, stasis can truly be a big pain in the ass. This new game mechanic, the freezing and shattering part of the mechanic, will be game-changing because this allows the player to search for new ways in how to exploit it for the better good. It also allows new ways to battle against your enemies and opens up opportunities to re-think the way we think when we’re going head-to-head against a boss.
Talking about opportunities, the game’s shifting into something a bit more complicated than before. Bungie already confirmed that the Darkness will be a subclass, so we can expect more from this new power in the near future. Bungie says that players will have a lot more choice when it comes to creating a subclass that fits a certain playstyle. No real information has been released, but we’ll have to keep our eyes open. I’m excited to see what this new element will have in store for us.
Of course, adding new game mechanics and ideas to the game will automatically remove some of the old ideas to get some space. As you all know, Destiny 2 was becoming too big of a file that it couldn’t go unnoticed. There has been a lot of removal in Destiny 2: a lot of strikes and crucible maps, different raids, 4 exploration zones, lots of gear, … This removal has been beneficial for the older gen consoles as Destiny now loads a lot faster than before and of course, opened up some disk space for future games.
Now don’t stress about these different gear segments that have been removed from the game because Bungie brought a lot of crazy weaponry to the stage as well. There are a lot of new exotic weapons that add that little bit of extra, that little bit of personal touch. We’re talking about a chain sword that’ll give you some Space Marine vibes, an electrified sniper rifle, a time-traveling pulse rifle, and a mobile rocket barrage that’ll make some quick work of those dark beasts of Europa. It’s fun to see that Bungie hasn’t lost their sense of creativity. All of these exotics are truly worth the grind. Some of these items can be found by completing quests or events and some of these items can only be gathered by completing the new “Deep Stone Crypt Raid”.
Talking about the “Deep Stone Crypt Raid”, it’s an amazing place of existence. I top off my hat for those game directors over at Bungie. These different stages of completion in the raid can come directly out of an adventurous space movie. The action sequences and settings make the raid one of the best raids we’ve seen. The raid is just another excuse to gather your team and spend your weekend on the couch.
“It’s a great way to start off the expansion but hopefully, Bungie will become more creative over time.”
After completing the raid, the game opens up a little bit more and presents other important side quests from Variks and the Stranger. The story that presents itself after the raid glues some of the puzzle pieces together and makes you excited for what’s next. Bungie really tried to make their straightforward story a bit more ambitious than we would think. After the Beyond Light story, you can start playing the Season of the Hunt. Uldren is being kept captive by the Spider and it’s up to us to save him. You will battle against bosses that seem overpowered in the beginning but from the moment your power level rises, it’s a 30-second job, at the most, to kill those bosses. Killing these bosses will earn you the right to get hunt weapons and/or armor. It’s a great way to start off the expansion but hopefully, Bungie will become more creative over time.
At the end of “Beyond light” and the beginning of “Season of the Hunt” is where Bungie needs to think about the direction they’ll be taking. From this point on, they’ve got new sleet and the Darkness opens up so many ways to become creative in your content but also in your mechanics. It’s because of an expansion, that made these changes possible but you’ll have to keep the community entertained as long as you can. That’s where these seasons come in handy, they’ll offer different ways to grind for a certain exotic. Bungie needs to decide what direction they need to take, to create a game that could sustain itself and keep the players happy. The game offers more than a live service could offer but the game offers too little to stand out as an MMO kind of genre. I feel like they’re still experimenting and have no clue whatsoever what direction to take and it shows. Even though I liked the expansion overall, it also feels like “ a bit of that and a bit of that”. Destiny 2 still hasn’t claimed a certain genre and this starts to crumble the foundation. Step up, Bungie!
Conclusion:
Beyond Light feels like a great start of something new and yet too familiar to forget all the places we’ve lost to get this expansion in return. Locking key places and exotics into the vault is something people will either hate or love. I do believe it could have a great effect, by starting new and starting fresh but in the end, you need to have extra things to keep everyone’s attention. Maybe they’ll rework them or maybe they’ll come quicker than we think. Either way, I still can’t decide yet, if Bungie made the right call or not.
Destiny 2 – Beyond light is an instant buy for veteran players. Even though I constantly come back to Destiny, it still stays the same overall. Yes, this new power and place feel fresh but I truly hope the developers will also experiment with other game mechanics or quest reworks. Make the quest more than “an endless grind” of items or events. They can do so much more, but nobody can see it. If you’re new to the game or haven’t tried it yet, Destiny is in a good place and you can start fresh with this expansion. You won’t feel overwhelmed by hundreds of quests, so that’s a great plus for me. Overall, Beyond Light is a decent addition to the franchise but time will tell if Destiny could reach its full potential.
