For 10 years I’ve been playing Destiny. Across those 10 years, I’ve had some incredibly memorable moments. That being said, Lightfalls release didn’t really hit for me. In fact I’ve only just completed the story campaign after finishing The Final Shape. I’m not entirely sure what it was, but something about it just didn’t quite click. Despite that, I was still somewhat excited about The Final Shape. The culmination of 10 years of storytelling coming to an ‘end’. I’m very glad to say that The Final Shape has been the perfect expansion to wrap up this saga.
A great finale
I feel like there is probably some formula as to what makes a good ending, whether it be a game, film, or tv show. 50% payoff of characters’ story arc, 20% nostalgia etc. From my perspective, The Final Shape seems to have hit the beat with every aspect. The story wrapped up in a very cool way – what’s cooler than a 12-player mission to make it feel like a real final fight? Cayde came back for a little cameo and helped guide us through the last stages of the story.
Progress through the Pale Heart (the new zone) was done really well, and now the story has wrapped there’s still so much more to do there. The new exotic quests are fun and offer something new – Dual Destiny is something we’ve never seen before. There are plenty of secret puzzles to solve that will help unlock more of the new prismatic subclass. Overall, this has been the best Destiny content in a long while.
Since the release of The Final Shape I don’t think I’ve spent such a sustained amount of time playing Destiny in years. Usually when I’ve jumped back in I will play a few hours a week for a couple of weeks and that’s about it. However, at the moment I’m up to about 75 hours played in The Final Shape and I don’t see myself stopping any time soon. Especially as the second act of Echoes – the seasonal content has just dropped.
Pay off
Over the years I’ve leveled my fair share of criticism at the game, but it has always remained a consistently good shooter. It has always been really good fun to just run around shooting. No matter what weapon you wield or build you’re going for the gunplay has always been great. Additionally, I feel like Destiny does a good job of making you feel powerful. Nothing helps accentuate that more than homing in on a build you enjoy. Which is exactly what I’ve been spending my time doing. Getting the right gear, weapons, and perks from your subclass and having it all synchronize for maximum destruction has excellent payoff.
To be honest, my build has never really been something I’ve paid too much attention to. Mostly I just find guns I like and use them. However, I’ve been putting time into a few specific builds. Unlocking all the aspects for the sub-classes and all that stuff. Now I finally feel like I’ve got that payoff and have a fun build that syncs with my guns and abilities.
It has been a long time since I feel like I’ve had this much fun with Destiny. While I have always kept on top of the expansions a lot of my play time over the last few years mainly consisted of the story and then Crucible. I didn’t really do much else unless there were some random quests I was following. Now, however, I feel like I’m trying to play all the activities and there isn’t enough time for me to get to them all.
Frontiers
We’ve already had a tease for what’s next to come in the world of Destiny. Codenamed Frontiers, the name conjures a few cool ideas. Maybe we will go beyond our solar system and explore entirely new planets. Many are speculating that we will visit the home planets of the Fallen and Cabal. But obviously we know nothing yet. That being said, while Bungie has had a few misses with content. They do seem to be nailing it more often than not and Frontiers could be a really exciting new chapter. I know I’ll be there for the ride.
-Will
