Average expansion on top of a great MMORPG FPS game | Full Review - Destiny 2: Lightfall

Destiny 2: Lightfall is the latest expansion for the popular online multiplayer RPG FPS Destiny 2, developed by Bungie (creators of Halo series).

🟩Pros

+New subclasses to play

+New area and story campaign to experience

🟥Cons

-Uninspired campaign and level design

-Questionable value at $50

Destiny 2: Lightfall introduces a new storyline, playable area, and game mechanics to the existing game. Destiny 2: Lightfall takes place on Neptune, where players encounter new enemies, explore a neon-lit cyberpunk cityscape, and utilize new abilities and subclasses to complete challenges and acquire loot.

The expansion also introduces new exotic weapons and armor, and increases the difficulty of basic activities, while decreasing ability cooldowns. It is the fifth major expansion for Destiny 2, following Forsaken, Shadowkeep, Beyond Light, and The Witch Queen.

As a fan of the series and its developer, I was eager to dive into this new expansion and see what it had to offer.

For newcomers:

I’m compelled to give out a short introduction for potential newcomers to the Destiny series, as this game is extremely packed with content and has been constantly updated, rebalanced, and even massively reworked for multiple times now throughout its five year life.

For starters, Destiny 2 is a free-to-play MMORPG FPS game where players take on the role of a Guardian, a protector of Earth's last city, and engage in various activities such as story missions, strikes, raids, and PvP battles. The game's overarching premise involves defending the solar system against various threats, including hostile alien races and otherworldly forces. The entire premise takes form as a sci-fi story mixed with fantasy elements.

Gameplay Analysis:

As an FPS shooter, Destiny 2 hits all the right notes when it comes to the gunplay, providing an amazing looter shooter experience that is undoubtedly best-in-class. The looting mechanics are also engaging and addicting.

Players can find different tiers of randomized loot, ranging from common to exotic, with each tier offering more powerful and unique items. Players can obtain loot through various means, such as by defeating enemies, completing quests, and participating in events. This gameplay cycle of wanting to acquire better and more rare loot is highly addicting. This gameplay is continued and even more refined in Destiny 2: Lightfall.

Graphics

Speaking of graphics, the series features some of the most beautiful and detailed environments I have ever seen in a game, even in its age. The locations are both breathtaking and haunting, and they really capture the essence of the game's fantasy, sci-fi universe. From the rusted ruins of abandoned spaceships to the towering, futuristic cities, every inch of the world is visually stunning. It is constantly being updated with new locations.

With the new expansion, Neptune is a whole new destination for players to explore and continues the same visually impressive graphics with its neon-lit cyberpunk looking secret city of Neomuna located on Neptune.

Do I need to have played Destiny 1 or 2’s expansions?

The story is quite overwhelming, especially when taking into account the previous game’s story as well as the various expansions and content already released. However, the free-to-play version has been updated with newcomers in mind, offering a remastered version of the stories past, slowly introducing the player to the lore and the game.

You don’t need to have played Destiny 1, or have bought any expansions if you want to dive into Destiny 2: Lightfall. The game is standalone and can stand on its own as both a welcoming experience for newcomers and an expansion to existing players. However, it's recommended to play through the base game Destiny 2 first.

The Lightfall Expansion:

The real standout feature of Lightfall is the new Strand subclasses. One for each of the game's three main classes: Hunter, Titan, and Warlock.

The Warlock Broodweaver allows players to summon and project threadling creatures, which can be used to attack enemies and defend allies.

The Titan Berserker subclass features dual-wielding fist blades that allow players to carve through enemies with ease. This subclass also grants allies extra armor, making it a valuable addition to any team. 

The Hunter Threadrunner subclass utilizes a rope dart to debuff enemies and create extra grapple points for allies. This subclass is great for players who prefer a more tactical playstyle, as it allows for strategic movement and positioning on the battlefield.

These subclasses completely change the way you approach combat and give you a lot more never-done-before elements when it comes to taking down enemies.  There are also various balance changes like difficulty increases, higher ability cooldowns, economy changes; and rebalanced mods and gun mechanics.

The Story

The campaign for Lightfall is quite short. Coming in from the Witch Queen expansion, it is a bit underwhelming and there isn’t enough stakes for the story nor enough explanation given to the player to care or to be amazed. For the story content, the roughly six hour campaign is not really worth the $50 asking price. In fact, for newcomers, the free-to-play aspect of Destiny 2 holds more than enough value to play over this new expansion. After that, they can try out the other expansions as well, usually sold in a bundle.

Technical Performance

Since this is a six-year old game, running Destiny 2: Lightfall at high FPS ranges is easily achievable. After all, the game only requires a 2nd-gen i5 from 2011 and a GTX 970 to comfortably run. However, the new destination Neomuna, despite looking so good, feels so empty and lifeless. It's not very much open for exploration and there are no civilians and NPCs roaming about in this city. Although there is an in-lore explanation, it felt like a cheap cop-out to explain the situation. Engine limitations? Possibly. If you’re familiar with some of the assets you will also notice a lot of them are heavily reused.

Conclusion:

Destiny 2: Lightfall is an average-quality expansion that builds on the strengths of the underlying core game while introducing new content and gameplay mechanics. The gunplay is still as satisfying as ever, and the new subclasses add a lot of novelty to the combat.

However, the campaign being short and underwhelming and the new location being void of NPCs does detract from the overall experience. Despite these flaws, Lightfall is a must-play for longtime fans of the series. If you are a newcomer, better stick to the free-to-play base game first and see if you will like it to justify spending money for the expansions.