Destiny 2: Lightfall Reviews
Between its horrible story, subpar post-campaign quests, and lackluster raid, Destiny 2's Lightfall expansion is a massive step backward for Bungie's live service shooter. There is some good here — Strand is fantastic, and most of the new gear is strong, too — but overall, Lightfall will leave most dissatisfied.
Strand is fabulous, some of the campaign missions are truly masterful, and the game remains genuinely fun, but these can’t offset Destiny 2: Lightfall’s shortcomings. Destiny 2: Lightfall is just another filler expansion on the pathway to the final showdown.
“Lightfall” certainly doesn’t stand up to the fantastic story of “The Witch Queen,” and Strand doesn’t quite meet expectations. But, Neomuna and its inhabitants are fascinating, and the way “Lightfall” handles some of its characters adds a lot of lore and depth to their stories.
Lightfall was the most anticipated expansion in years for the Destiny 2 community. Bungie's publicity team knew how to sell the expansion very well. Unfortunately, those who expected quality at least equal to the Witch Queen were disappointed. The nice additions to the game's mechanics and gameplay bring a bittersweet taste to the start of Year 6 of Destiny 2. If the creative team for levels, powers and equipment is following a brilliant path, the same cannot be said for the writers.
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Destiny 2’s Lightfall expansion doesn’t make a good first impression, but beneath that Lightfall story is still a satisfying game, a game that keeps me coming back infinitely and beyond the grasp of any other title.
This is the Destiny we have for now. And things will change over the next year, a lot of tweaks are incoming. Difficulty will probably be scaled back as the current state scares away new and casual players. The consumables economy is likely going to need to be tweaked as well, the game will evolve with the seasons, but Lightfall itself is an overall disappointing chapter in a game that remains excellent. Bungie appears to be buying time until the Final Shape next year, and we're being asked to pay for it.
Destiny 2 Lightfall was an important expansion for Bungie to get right. Just as faith was being rebuilt with the phenomenal Witch Queen expansion, it’s a shame they couldn’t keep the momentum going. Lightfall feels like a huge step backwards. There is some fun to be had and the changes that have been made to the core formula but it’s not enough and I feel my time with Destiny is about to come to its end unless we see some massive improvements in the coming year.
Lightfall is assuredly Destiny 2’s weakest effort at providing something new for its enormous player base. Whilst the setting is exciting to look at, there’s very little here to convince lapsed players to return and has already proven frustrating for the hardcore. If you’re brand new, don’t even bother. Perhaps it’s time tor Bungie to finally move on.
Destiny 2: Lightfall falls short of expectations, leaving players with unanswered questions and minimal impact on the Light and Dark saga. The introduction of Neomuna and Cloud Striders has little purpose to the overarching plot. However, the powerful Strand toolset is a delightful addition, though it raises concerns about balance with weaker elements. While quality of life improvements are positive, the removal of certain content makes the game challenging for new players. Overall, Lightfall feels rushed, as if it was a flustered effort to fill a gap before the final hurrah.
Lightfall is a step down in quality from the excellent Witch Queen, even though it is still a very entertaining expansion. The Strand system is one of the most interesting gameplay mechanics Bungie have added to the game with incredibly satisfying grappling and explosive power moves, but they overcomplicate things just slightly in later missions and lather it with a wafer-thin story that’s definitely holding back its big moments for the next year.
In Destiny's great history of expansions, there are several examples of better deliverables. Lightfall isn't the worst of them, but it's the weakest in years.
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Thanks to its focus on the new powers, rather than progressing the story in any meaningful way, Lightfall ends up being a flat experience that leaves you wanting more. It doesn’t help that the Light vs Dark story, which has been building for the best part of a decade, is in its endgame. It also doesn’t help that the expansion has to live up to the incredible add-on that was released the year prior. There are good points to be found in Lightfall like the setting and the new Strand ability but as far as it being essential to the story, I’m not so sure.
Lightfall needs Strand to be good, and the new raid coming March 10 had better be a banger.
Considering that Lightfall’s story ends with many open-ended questions and is just the beginning of a year’s worth of narrative and gameplay content, which demands a level of time investment that many new players might balk at, it’s difficult to know whether the gameplay and the artwork — polished as they are — will be enough to draw in the uninitiated. Are they willing, once the campaign wraps up, to begin grinding, to devote themselves to this world that mostly ignores them, choosing to commemorate its “Veterans” (the title awarded to players who started playing six years ago) instead? There’s certainly something impressive about a game like Destiny 2, which has a history of its own, but also one that dates back to past franchises. But it leaves one wondering if there’s space at all for those who have no relationship with that history — who approach the game as visitors, witnessing just a sliver of what must feel like a lifetime of memories.
The future is still bright for Destiny 2. We just have to get there.
Perhaps part of the issue with this is in the expectations. The marketing materials surrounding Lightfall built it up to tell the story that would lead us to the space game’s final chapter. But Bungie should know one thing: if it wants to keep its players happy, it should never make a promise it can’t keep.
Lightfall feels like a step back in the grand arch of Destiny after the fantastic The Witch Queen. The content does have some neat ideas and Neomuna looks pretty great but Strand doesn't feel as game changer as it should and the story feels more like preview of what's coming during the year in different seasons but not a fully fledged campaign as the latest expansion.
Review in Spanish | Read full review