The June 4 release date for Destiny 2 The Final Shape, the last installment in the Destiny 2’s current story arc, had me poised over my keyboard ready to buy as the clock struck midnight. Yet when it finally became available, strangely enough, I found my finger hovering over Steam’s purchase button like I was frozen in a solid carbonite block.
It’s not that I didn’t feel a gut-wrenching deep primal urge to buy this expansion. In fact, I could almost hear The Witness (the game’s major villain) beckoning me to come challenge it.
It’s just that, $50 is kind of steep. I knew all too well the sort of sacrifice I’d be signing myself up to endure for the privilege of yes, yet another DLC; instant coffee instead of espresso for a whole week? Yep! Le sigh…
Mind you, that hesitation lasted just a second or two: Naturally, I bought it. So, is it worth it?
Three days in and I can say Final Shape is the best Destiny 2 expansion I’ve played to date. Just about everything hits a slam dunk, from its engaging story to its spellbinding environmental design and new gameplay, it just works.
The story revolves around four returning characters: Zavala, Cayde-6, Crow and Ikora, as well as your own Guardian.
Zavala gets the most airtime, though, since he’s been uncharacteristically lured by the Witness and evil. There’s something about a good character tempted by darkness that’s very appealing. Is it the Hero’s Journey, that age old plot mechanism that has me so absorbed? Whatever it is, I’m enthralled.
The missions too are challenging, but deeply satisfying. They build intensity and offer a mix of objectives that hold my interest. They complement the new gameplay mechanics too – the new Guardian sub-class Prismatic is a blast, delivering a great mix of player abilities.
But the true magic in Final Shape lies in what Bungie has achieved with the expansion’s environmental design. It can be breathtaking at times, and jarringly frightening at other times, but it never fails to create a riveting atmosphere.
Destiny 2’s Final Shape expansion has captivating environments and enthralling gameplay.
Destiny 2’s Final Shape expansion has captivating environments and enthralling gameplay.
Bungie
Destiny 2’s Final Shape expansion has captivating environments and enthralling gameplay.
Bungie
Bungie
Indeed, I’m not that far into the game and I’ve had no shortage of opportunities to fill my Steam account with a myriad of dazzling screenshots of strange, wonderful landscapes – everything from ethereal wooded areas to grotesque passageways.
Before you say I’m exaggerating or suffering from lack of caffeine to my brain from sub-par coffee, the high numbers of my fellow players that have also thrown themselves at Bungie’s servers like hapless lemmings only stands to support my case.
On the first night I owned the game, Steam’s database showed 253,000 fellow Guardians all vying for a piece of the Witness. A quick check back a day later brought that tally to 315,000 – and that discrepancy (and a few negative reviews) is mostly due to server problems; an unfortunate turn of events that Bungie has already offered an apology for on Reddit.
So yes folks, I’m not alone in wanting to play this game. But should you buy the expansion? If it’s your kind of game then, absolutely, yes! You may hover like me for a second at checkout, but you won’t regret it. Especially if you own an espresso machine.
Ok, now back to the game…