The Witness is within arm’s reach of its ultimate goal of controlling the universe in Destiny 2: The Final Shape. (Bungie)
When Bungie released the first Destiny game in 2014, the Bellevue, Wash.-based developer spoke of a 10-year story: one of Light and Darkness, of aliens and gods, of Guardians who will harness fantastic, otherworldly power to first save Earth, then the solar system — and then everything.
Between then and now, Bungie has released multiple expansions and a proper sequel, 2017’s Destiny 2, each adding lore and depth to the space opera. But it hasn’t always been a smooth ride: From the stratospheric highs of expansions like The Taken King and The Witch Queen to the gutterlike lows of Curse of Osiris and Lightfall, the Destiny experience has been an erratic one. That inconsistency has negatively affected the player base, which in turn has caused issues for Bungie. (In October, Bloomberg News reported that the company laid off 8% of its staff after disastrous sales and player retention numbers for Destiny 2’s Lightfall expansion.)
So you can imagine why Bungie needed a win with The Final Shape, the latest expansion for Destiny 2 and the conclusion to the 10-year Light and Darkness Saga storyline. (No, this isn’t the end of Destiny 2 as a game; more on that later.) The expansion, which was delayed to June from February, would be a capstone of a decadelong journey for longtime players and a reason for new players to join the fray; if it failed, well … more than the universe would be at stake.
Bungie should be breathing a sigh of relief: Not only does The Final Shape exceed expectations, it concludes with one of the best missions in the entire Destiny pantheon, a jaw-dropping ode to fans on a par with the climactic final battle of “Avengers: Endgame.”
A quick recap: Guardians (player characters) have been battling the evil forces of The Witness for years. At the end of the last expansion, The Witness, which wields the power of Darkness, had pierced the shell of the Traveler, a godlike entity aligned with the Light that gave Guardians their original powers. That left The Witness within arm’s reach of its longtime goal: to use the powers of the Traveler to force its vision of a perfect, never-changing universe on every living creature. (Shades of Thanos, for sure.) But, of course, the Guardians can’t let this happen.
In Destiny 2: The Final Shape, gamers gain access to the Traveler’s Pale Heart, an idyllic yet corrupted new location where the story takes place. (Bungie)
This is where The Final Shape begins: Guardians gain access to the Traveler’s Pale Heart, an idyllic yet corrupted new location where the story takes place. As gushing waterfalls and disturbing statues of hands and faces pass by (The Witness, which is infecting the core of the Traveler, seems to be a fan of body horror), we slowly unveil a seven-hour story that dives into The Witness’ past, slowly dripping out engrossing details about how the dark entity thinks — and how to defeat it. The moments in between are filled with meaningful conversations with old friends (including a longtime sarcastic favorite we haven’t seen in years), which further connect TFS with Destiny’s past. (It bears repeating: TFS heavily leans into nostalgia. There are moments galore that won’t land the same if you haven’t been a longtime player.) Aside from one plot thread from a previous expansion that unexpectedly and unnecessarily resurfaces (and feels so out of place that it marks the low point of the current expansion), TFS is among Destiny’s best plots.
All throughout, TFS maintains Destiny’s well-known enjoyable gameplay while adding exciting new weapons (The Call, a sidearm that fires minirockets, deserves a special callout) and abilities for Guardians. The new Prismatic subclass (which dictate your Guardian’s abilities) is a highlight of TFS: Instead of imbuing you with a particular affinity (think fire or ice), Prismatic lets you mix and match abilities from the other subclasses, allowing for a mind-boggling number of builds for players to explore. Adding to that depth are new super abilities and aspects for each Guardian class, including Solar for Warlocks, Void for Titans and Arc for Hunters.
The Light and Darkness Saga comes to its 10-year-long conclusion in Destiny 2: The Final Shape. (Bungie)
The gem of TFS, though, is its final mission, a first-for-Destiny 12-person activity that, without spoiling anything, is among the best the game has ever offered. But in an asinine decision, upon The Final Shape’s June 4 release, the mission itself was locked behind the expansion’s new raid, Salvation’s Edge. (Raids are the pinnacle of Destiny 2’s endgame content, among its hardest challenges.) No one could play the mission until the raid, which wasn’t released until June 7, was first beaten. Luckily, raiders were able to do so within a day (it took the first team 19 hours to do so ), allowing everyone to compete in the final mission. Here’s hoping Bungie never sections off story content like that again.
And there will be more Destiny 2 content; while TFS is the end to the Light and Darkness Saga, Bungie has already released a new content drop, the first of what it’s calling Episodes, that will explore the aftermath of TFS.
There’s a throwaway line early on in The Final Shape, cheerfully quipped by a beloved character: “If you can’t be efficient, be persistent.” Never has there been a better description for Destiny — and with TFS, that persistence paid off. You’ll cheer as the forces of good gather, Avengers-style, for one last fight. You may cry when everything is said and done. A few stumbles aside and even with questions left unanswered, The Final Shape is a satisfying payoff to a 10-year journey.
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5/4, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One
