Lightfall's campaign is disappointing, and, even thought things pick-up afterwards, Destiny 2's new approach to difficulty is inconsistent and messy. Our review.
An expansion launch is a significant moment for Destiny 2, and not just because of the new campaign, destination and raid each one brings. Expansions are also a statement of intent—making dramatic, sweeping sandbox changes that alter the very feel of the game at large. Last year, with The Witch Queen, Bungie began the process of reworking the game's original subclasses, and the results were potent to say the least.
Leading the charge on behalf of the Witness is former Cabal emperor Calus and his new Shadow Legion. In the third mission, we're asked to board his ship in order to destroy"the Radial Mast" before he can connect it to"the Veil"."The Shadow Legion have the corridor locked down tight," says our Ghost."Even if we could fight through, they'd have enough time to secure the Radial Mast.
In fact, much of the encounter design throughout the campaign's missions is strong—at least in the missions that give you enough freedom to choose your own approach. That third mission to destroy the Radial Mast? Story frustrations aside, it's an engaging tour through Calus's ship—heavily based on the familiar aesthetic of the Pyramid Ships, but infused with his own gaudy flair.
Beyond Light did something similar with Stasis, but that was before Bungie used The Witch Queen to redefine what an expansion campaign could be. The new model fits awkwardly against the old—and it lessens Lightfall because of it.Even in missions where Strand is optional, its presence is keenly felt. The final boss fight is brutal—a series of platforms over a big drop down into instant death, and packed full of enemies with knockback attacks.
Still, with new aspects planned for future seasons, I'm mostly happy with how it's launched. Crucially, it hasn't destroyed PvP in the way Stasis did for months after Beyond Light's release. With Stasis, being frozen was a surefire death sentence. With Strand, being suspended still gives you the chance to fight back, and I've appreciated it every time I've survived being caught by a shackle grenade.
The seasonal side of Lightfall has been good too. Defiance instantly nails the tone of the Shadow Legion's invasion of Earth, and its main characters—particularly Amanda, Devrim and Mithrax—pair well together. It's not dour, but the threat feels serious, which gives the events a more weighty, urgent tone than that of the campaign. Defiance's Battleground playlist also feels like the most successful of Bungie's experiments with difficulty.
It's those last two points that are causing the most issues, especially because, outside of some buffs to certain heavy archetypes, the weapon sandbox hasn't changed to offset the nerf to ability uptime. Primary weapons have been hit hardest—enemies have more health, and, in those activities featuring an enforced power cap, our weapons aren't doing as much damage in response.
In terms of how much players are being underleveled, legend difficulty—confusingly a different thing to the legendary difficulty modifier used for the campaign—currently feels too harsh. Thanks to the higher baseline power requirement, and coupled with being locked to 15 power levels under that recommended level, the jump in difficulty from hero to legend Nightfalls simply feels too large.
Bungie has said that we can expect more experiments with difficulty and power level throughout the next year, but, as with the potential primary weapon changes, that doesn't really help the experience of the live game right now. Perhaps most importantly, the overall reward structure needs significant work to actually match the effort that players are now putting in.
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