Destiny 2 Community Reception: Lightfall to Hypefall. What Happened?
Destiny 2 was released on February 28 following a year-long build-up of anticipation. The marketing campaign leading up to the release was exceptional. Bungie bombarded its fan base with launch trailers, Vidocs, and tons of insights. It was so successful that Lightfall even broke records for concurrent players on Steam when it went live. Yet, shortly after the release, controversy broke loose. While some enjoy what’s presented before them, others started taking to social media platforms to express their disappointment with the latest DLC. So, what exactly happened to make one of the most significant turning points of the Destiny 2 universe become a community-wide discontentment? Let’s find out.
WEAK WRITING AND UNSATISFYING CLIFFHANGER
The overarching narrative of the latest installment falls short of players’ expectations. Especially in comparison with Witch Queen. The impact of the “second collapse” is not felt throughout the game’s world, except for the Traveler no longer being above the city. The story attempts to tackle too many problems for its own good. This leads to rushed and underdeveloped characters and plotlines.
Major plot devices, such as the Veil and the Radial Mast, are unexplained. Players are left with unsatisfying cliffhangers and feel like this is a filler to wait for The Final Shape. And needless to say, they aren’t thrilled with the prospect of having to wait for one more year just to see how things will unfold.
THE CLOUD STRIDERS
Two of the primary characters that the player interacts with are the Cloud Striders. Some feel like they are out of place and not related to the world of Lightfall. Rohan can be passed as simply boring. But Nimbus is the main reason their race faces such resentment in the community.
The latest expansion was expected to have a dark and somber tone. But Nimbus comes across as someone who doesn’t take their dire circumstances seriously. People do use humor to defuse tension in reality. But Nimbus’s constant stream of Marvel-movie-like banters falls flat. His lines are deemed cringeworthy and make players uncomfortable. Despite being the first locals encountered by Guardians on Neomuna, the Cloud Striders remain underdeveloped throughout the campaign. Consequently, significant moments fail to have the desired impact on players.
THE STRAND SUBCLASS
Destiny’s latest addition to the game, the Strand subclass, had an impressive marketing campaign that generated excitement among players. It’s definitely fun to play, especially after the main campaign. However, the subclass feels gimmicky and lacks a clear purpose beyond providing momentary fun.
To make matters worse, the subclass Grapple’s cooldown in mandatory missions only exacerbates its shortcomings. Rather than enhancing the gameplay experience, the Strand often proves to be a hindrance in some circumstances. Thus, the missions became needlessly difficult and clunky rather than fluid and enjoyable.
NEOMUNA IS EMPTY
Neomuna, the hidden city introduced in Lightfall, has quickly become one of the most divisive topics in the Destiny community. Some players find it a stunning showcase of advanced technology and futuristic design. Others criticize the city for feeling empty and lacking in engagement. They pointed out that the campaign mostly reuses assets from previous expansions. There are only two Neomuna NPCs to interact with throughout the campaign. And one of them being Nimbus.
Neomuna has undoubtedly failed to deliver a truly immersive experience worthy of the beginning of the end.
That being said, while Lightfall may have its fair share of drawbacks, it is important to acknowledge that there are also positives to be found.
VISUAL AND SOUND DESIGNS
The visual and sound designs are hands down top-notch. Besides the collection of epic soundtracks, Lightfall delivers impressive cutscenes that showcase Bungie’s talent for epic visual storytelling. Even though some of the dialogue can feel awkward or out of place given the gravity of the war against the Shadow Legion.
A particularly satisfying aspect is the Guardian’s increased dialogue. It provides the character with more personality and agency.
THE TORMENTORS
The Tormentors are a new type of enemy that pose enough of a challenge for players to test their skills. These foes slowly lumber around with scythe-like weapons. But they can suddenly rush or jump at players with incredible speed. To defeat the Tormentors, players must aim for two weak spots on their shoulders before attacking their chest, which remains quite resilient even after initial hits.
After a year of gameplay where power creep made endgame PVE feel too easy, the Tormentors are a welcome addition. They add a terrific aspect to the game in terms of both lore and gameplay.
MODS AND LOADOUTS
Players who weren’t too fond of experimenting with mods or found it confusing will definitely love how they work in Lightfall. They are not only more simple, but also easier to access.
Loadouts are probably the best new thing. Easy to make, easy to swap, even during activities. Thus, encourage players to go through different builds.
It’s hard to speak more about the pros and cons of the expansion right now. Many have yet to play it, and we don’t want to give out more spoilers than necessary in this article. In general, Lightfall surpasses Shadowkeep, but it falls short of Witch Queen. One significant benefit of Lightfall is the ability for players to bypass the main campaign when playing with alternative characters. Thus, they will have more time to explore the post-campaign content featured in the latest DLC.
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