Destiny 2’s seventh expansion, Lightfall, is finally here and it brings a lot of new content and features for Guardians. Is it worth it or is it lacking that monumental turning point in the 10 year Light & Dark saga that Bungie has been telling since the original Destiny? From the title of this piece, you’ve probably already worked out the answer.
Lightfall’s campaign takes you to Neptune, where you will discover a hidden city called Neomuna that is powered by a mysterious energy source called The Veil. Neomuna also introduces Strand, a new power that you can wield in Lightfall, allowing you to manipulate the environment and create unique effects (think mystical puppet mastery crossed with Spider-Man movement and you’re almost there). You will need Strand to fight against the Shadow Legion, a new enemy faction which has invaded Neomuna and threatens to unleash a devastating weapon. However, this ‘new’ enemy is in fact just regular Cabal that have fancy new purple uniforms that fight EXACTLY like regular Cabal, with one noted exception; the Gladiator Cabal now have a funky new roll forward animation, so good for them I suppose.
The Shadow Legion is led by Calus, the well known previous emperor of the Cabal who went off the rails, put on weight and dreams of luxury (I feel you pal, I really do!).
The main problem with Lightfall is its campaign as it’s short, bland, and predictable. It consists of six missions in total which are mostly linear and repetitive, with little variation or challenge. The enemies are mostly re-skins of existing factions, such as Fallen, Hive, Cabal, and Taken. The boss fights are uninspired and anticlimactic. On top of that the final boss fight is just plain annoying.
The story is also weak and poorly written. Calus is a one-dimensional villain who has no clear motivation or personality, just fancy new clothes and a new ride in the shape of The Imperator (a really big slab of a ship). He is just a generic bad guy who wants to destroy everything for no reason. His dialogue is full of clichés and threats which sound hollow. The other big bad of the story, The Witness takes a back seat whilst Calus is left to do all the heavy lifting, though it would appear to be too heavy for him rather quickly.
The other characters are equally forgettable and underdeveloped. There is no emotional connection or stakes involved in the plot. Even when certain characters die (don’t worry, no spoilers) I just didn’t really care. The plot holes makes the whole campaign resemble a sieve. Following the completion of the campaign my fireteam and I were basically left staring at the screen asking “Is that it?” and “What about this and that?”.
This criticism of the storytelling has actually been addressed by Bungie in a weekly blog post they call ‘This week at Bungie’. This is what they posted:
‘We know there are still plenty of questions left unanswered at the end of Lightfall’s Campaign that you’re all eagerly awaiting answers to. As the events of Season of Defiance get into full swing this week, know that this is just the beginning of the next year of storytelling that will connect the events of Lightfall and The Final Shape. We can’t wait for the community to learn more about The Witness’s origins, its objective, and the ways we can thwart it and its disciples throughout Season of the Deep, as well as Seasons 22 and 23 later this year.’
Call me old fashioned, but when a company promises an engaging story that is billed as the ‘penultimate’ installment before the end, I expect it to be complete. However, Bungie seem to have to taken the approach of ‘You can have it, but in bits, over a year, that you’ll have to pay more for if you don’t buy the special edition of Lightfall that includes the season passes’. Shame on you Bungie, shame.
Written by Lance.
Edited by Alexx.
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