Destiny 2: Lightfall Reviews
Destiny 2: Lightfall picks up a year after the events of The Witch Queen and seasons in between. It is an action-packed expansion that does not reach the epic story of The Witch Queen. It has some positive changes that the community has been begging for for years almost. Still, some of those changes are time consuming and don't quite show up. But the biggest flaw is and remains a well-developed story that leaves you with more questions than answers. Hopefully this will change in the coming seasons.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
In the midst of that disappointment, Lightfall manages to pull through by being some of the most fun you can have with Destiny 2 in the places that have always actually mattered with this franchise.
While it can feel more like a proof of concept for some new mechanics than a vital piece of the experience, Lightfall is another reason to come back to Destiny 2, which proves it's still a top-tier shooter more than half a decade into its life.
While it's certainly not a perfect expansion, Lightfall offers enough additions and changes to be worth it for new and returning players alike
More than any other Destiny expansion since Bungie split from Activision, you can feel the developers pulling the reins a bit on Lightfall. All the right elements are in play, and the way that Destiny feels so sleek and streamlined compared to not just other live service games but its own cumbersome past remains impressive. But first impressions are everything, and Lightfall pays so much attention to the gleaming horizon that it trips over its feet trying to get there.
As a fan of Destiny 2, I am enjoying Lightfall. It definitely had a bumpy start, especially if you’re a big story buff, but almost everything after the campaign has been solid. I wouldn’t say anything blew me away, but nothing has been horrible either. They stuck to the tried and true formula that has worked for them for quite a while now, and while I hoped for a bigger spectacle around some characters, Neptune itself, or even the raid, I am wanting to play more and do more.
Lightfall as a whole package falls short of the standard set by The Witch Queen last year. The story is shaky and tangential, and the gameplay changes are few and far between outside of the underwhelming Strand powers. Neomuna isn’t nearly as memorable, and difficulty changes make it more challenging to engage with Destiny’s bread and butter content. Thankfully, overall quality of life improvements and the rock solid bones of the gameplay save the package as a whole. If you’re after more Destiny 2, Lightfall is certainly that, but as the most expensive expansion yet ($100 USD with the annual pass), I expected to have my hair blown back a bit more.
There is so much we could still cover with this latest expansion, like Buildcrafting 2.0 and the new Guardian Ranks system, both of which aim to streamline the Destiny experience. However, at its core Lightfall is all about its story, setting, and gameplay changes. The campaign and setting largely let us down, with the whole thing feeling like the middle child of the Witch Queen, Ligthtfall, and Final Shape trilogy. However, the vigorous excitement that Destiny 2's brilliant gameplay elicits greatly elevates the overall Lightfall experience, with some stellar enhancements thanks to Strand subclasses and grapples. It's irritating to be left in narrative limbo for yet another year, but you'll still struggle to find a space shooter that is this much fun.
Destiny 2: Lightfall does a lot to advance the Destiny 2 experience, adding a stellar new subclass and destination alongside a much needed difficulty increase. Conversely, it features a story so bland, derivative, and dissatisfying that I am honestly worried Bungie may never be able to right the narrative course.
Destiny 2: Lightfall is an expansion with two opposing aspects, that can be seen as the mirror image of the previous The Witch Queen. Weak in narrative content, it shows its best in perfecting the gaming experience, understood as that set of tools to fully enjoy the potential of our guardians. The hope now is that Bungie will put an extra effort into delivering Seasons full of content and capable of keeping the attention high towards the end of a saga a bit… paracausal.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Solid and definitely has an audience. There could be some hard-to-ignore faults, but the experience is fun.
Lightfall's new gameplay mechanics and evolved systems position it as a turning point for Destiny 2, but the expansion is let down by the poor narrative of its campaign.
Lightfall is a controversial expansion for Destiny 2. While it once again shows a highly entertaining gameplay, we are not convinced by the narrative context. The expansion lacks bite, leaving a bitter taste for being "the beginning of the end".
Review in Italian | Read full review
Destiny 2: Lightfall is overall, a great experience. The gameplay additions, the Quality of Life improvements, and the music and sound design are all best in class. The Lightfall campaign is going to be divisive for a long time to come and I think that’s okay. Its storytelling doesn’t live up to the Witch Queen’s standards, but the level design is some of Destiny’s – and Bungie’s – best. I loved the characters we met along the way, the post-campaign content, and Neomuna itself. I love Neomuna, Strand, and the new Root of Nightmares raid, But I think the best part is that I’m having just as much fun as I ever have in Destiny.
It turns out, light was not the only thing that has fallen in this new expansion. With disappointing story, the campaigns even feel like they were created for the fun of developers, rather than players. While these letdowns still interfere with overall immersion of the game, at least the new ability and revamped system are holding the expansion precariously.
Review in Korean | Read full review
Destiny 2: Lightfall is certainly not the worst content of the Bungie shooter, but at the same time it marks a qualitative drop compared to last year's splendid expansion.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Even when you have the game with the best gunplay on the market, it does not always hit the target: Eclipse is one of the weakest expansions of Destiny 2, especially when it comes to campaign. But, like the Guardians, Bungie has a chance here to stand up and prove that they are capable of getting it right again. Like so many other times.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
I may have found the campaign uninspired and its legendary difficulty a slog characterized by bullet-spongey foes. But an expansion to a game this big is more than just its opening story. Lightfall sets up some strong possibilities – narratively and in the gameplay sphere – for a rewarding year of adventure ahead. Despite some frustrations, Destiny 2 continues to make strides in catering to a diverse player base characterized by disparate desires. Lightfall is hit and miss, but any stumbles shouldn’t be enough to derail players’ enthusiasm for continued adventure or the excitement of seeing the epic conclude over the next year.
Destiny 2: Lightfall hits a lot of great notes. The new subclass, Strand, is very cool to use and gives you a lot of new movement options. Neomuna is a true sight to behold and invites players to explore. The most important part of the expansion however is the campaign and even though it has a lot of amazing and cool moments, the story falls short. Lightfall offers up more questions while we should have been getting some answers.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
There's no doubt that Lightfall is not the best expansion, but it's far from being the worst, thankfully. If I had to formulate it, it's the arithmetic average of Beyond Light and The Witch Queen. We're used to Bungie going back and forth like a Mehter Company, which is exactly why I haven't given up hope for The Final Shape.
Review in Turkish | Read full review