Destiny 2: Shadowkeep and New Light are basically Destiny 3, and that's OK

In a recent ViDoc from Bungie, we got a proficient indication what the side by side five years of Destiny volition look like, and nix in that five-yr programme suggests Destiny iii is coming soon. Bungie is going all-in with Destiny two as a Massively Multiplayer game, and though we come across some pushback from gamers, this is a good affair for all Guardians.

Bungie is finally getting to brand the game it wanted to practise v years ago, and the next five years await very bright for those willing to invest the fourth dimension. Shadowkeep, and past extension New Light, are offering upwardly a new way to play Destiny that should entice new Guardians to come and play in the universe Bungie envisions.

The thing is though, Bungie never wanted to brand a sequel. Destiny and Destiny two didn't feel like carve up games. The sequel simply felt similar the continuation of an ongoing arc. Each expansion — the 2 massive ones, and the eight smaller ones — each added something to the story, while a couple of them made crucial changes to the game, and none of them could be chosen proper sequels.

With the arrival of Shadowkeep and New Light, Bungie is trying to rewrite history, and achieve what they gear up out to exercise in Destiny ane. They desire to give us a living globe that grows naturally over fourth dimension, rather than forcing breakpoints in the narrative and calling them new games.

A new chapter

Destiny 2 Shadowkeep: Digital Deluxe Edition

The nightmares are coming

With the release of Shadowkeep, Destiny 2 starts a make new affiliate. This edition has a year's worth of season passes too. What a bargain.

Some backstory

Back on Sept. ix, 2022 Destiny, made by Bungie — formed by some of the original creators of Halo — was touted to us as an ever-evolving world that we would be able to continue exploring for years to come.

Destiny blew me away when I first started playing on the Xbox 360, and from Day One it consumed my spare fourth dimension. I played that game longer than I've played any other game in my life, and I spent 200 hours on Final Fantasy Eight. The gunplay was on point, making you lot feel powerful and deadly without making everything else feel piece of cake. Using the three Guardian classes felt different plenty to make me want to try each one out, even if it meant I had to play the same content three times.

That'south non to say it was perfect — there were balancing issues with the guns, and the grind was very real — but as more than content was released the game became a automobile of entertainment for me and everyone I could convince to play.

Unfortunately for Bungie, Activision — the publisher of Destiny at the time — has a history of wanting sequels to games each year, and then Bungie had to respond with Destiny ii. Forcing a sequel meant the original dream —an always-expanding universe — was curtailed.

Bungie has since left Activision to publish the game for itself. That means the bulldoze to brand a new game every twelvemonth or two is replaced past making i game that evolves in a meaningful way, year on year.

Shadowkeep could be called Destiny 5 if it makes you feel meliorate

In the last v years, Destiny has undergone significant shifts through some of the better expansions, and at least 2 created such large changes that they could be considered sequels. That's not to say that the other expansions didn't add cool new content, but these two expansions could've been used by Bungie to advance the number on the disc box if it wanted.

The Taken King in Destiny and Forsaken in Destiny two were so big and inverse the nature of the game and so much that for nigh games in Activision's stable — Call of Duty is a good example — it would have been enough to bump the version number. Bungie didn't want to though; the game is simply just Destiny.

The Taken King

The Taken King is some of the best content I've played in whatsoever video game. It introduced 3 new subclasses, as well equally a new area, the Dreadnought, that was live with combat all the fourth dimension. It felt like y'all were constantly in danger, and that is something that has played into Destiny 2.

It was besides the first raid to introduce challenges — specific ways to defeat bosses to gain extra rewards — and is however my favorite raid even now. The level of cooperation needed to overcome The Taken King Raid was immense, and the bonds of friendship I made with the people who defeated it with me persist through Destiny two and, I hope, beyond.

Forsaken

Forsaken was exactly what Destiny ii needed to revamp the franchise. At the time of release, numbers were at an all-time low, and the game became an endlessly dull grind with no real reason to play. I decided to end playing days earlier the Forsaken announcement simply chose to give it ane more than chance to win me back. While Foresaken didn't sell as well as everybody hoped, it succeeded where it mattered.

Then Shadowkeep isn't but another expansion to Destiny 2, it is the fifth major change to the franchise.

The new expansion went crazy with content. It added new subclasses, new weapon classes — the bow is the perfect improver — and two new massive play areas. It also brought us an entirely new game style, Gambit, and a new race of bad guys called the Contemptuousness. What it did better than whatever expansion before it, nonetheless, was to move the story forward in a big way.

The Forsaken storyline changed the very nature of Destiny, making Guardians more fragile. It inverse the Guardians from beings of incorruptible light to flawed people that could, and oftentimes did, make mistakes. It was a revelation, and hooked me back into the game, making me feel like I was playing information technology for the first time.

When yous look at these significant expansions, the amount of content they gave us, and how they inverse the core game, you realize they tin be easily described as standalone sequels.

So Shadowkeep isn't only another expansion to Destiny two, it is the fifth major change to the franchise making information technology closer to Destiny 5 than "just another DLC."

Nosotros are getting Destiny 3, kind of...

Shadowkeep represents a massive paradigm shift in the style Destiny is created and the way we, every bit players, volition play. At that place are changes to the way armor works, new weapons, new moves for your Guardian, a new style to spend existent money, and a new end game item chosen an antiquity.

We aren't getting Destiny 3 in the adjacent five years at least, merely I'grand non worried.

The armor modifications have go more than RPG-like in their execution, which expands the replayability of Destiny two considerably. Ane of the biggest complaints of the Destiny franchise is how difficult it is to truly customize your Guardian. Information technology's hard to arrive feel like just you accept a detail set of skills to assistance the team. By changing the manner armor works, Bungie has given us the pick to add the stats we want to the armor we like the look of, thus making each of united states unique.

Those are just some of the tangible things that you tin interact with, only we're also getting the typical slew of new missions, strikes, a new raid, and a new dungeon. Bungie is also changing how you lot pay for Destiny moving forward with the introduction of New Light.

New Light is a reworked version of Destiny two that offers a core game that's complimentary to all players. It's essentially a stripped-down version of the commencement yr of Destiny ii and includes all of the Twelvemonth I content — Warmind, Expletive of Osiris, and the Cherry-red War — upwards to but not including Forsaken, along with a few reworked parts of Destiny i.

This makes a lot of sense when you're trying to create a living earth. People need to be invested in the story, and to do that they have to know as much as possible about it. New Lite will give them a sense of taste of Destiny 1 with the beginning mission in full, and parts of other missions which will help yous level your graphic symbol up to power level 750.

I'm excited for the future

Then nosotros aren't getting Destiny three in the next five years at least, but I'm not worried. Bungie has shown time and again that with these expansions it tin can bring variety and new gameplay to the table. Non just that, Bungie will do information technology with flair and passion, and information technology'll be thoughtful on what the customs wants.

Bungie is also giving usa a new style of DLC. Gone are the huge expansions costing most equally much as the game. After Shadowkeep season, passes will have over. Like flavor passes in Fortnite, these passes will constantly add to the narrative of Destiny 2, helping the world evolve past adding a new story, new game modes, and new weapons. It volition also take old, out of date content abroad, making style for more heady content for us to sink our teeth into.

With Shadowkeep, and more importantly New lite, Bungie is telling the states that we don't demand Destiny 3, because Destiny 2 is going to keep us busy for a long future.

I'one thousand with you all the way Bungie. Let's exercise this.

Destiny two: Shadowkeep releases on Oct. i, 2022 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

A new affiliate

Destiny ii Shadowkeep: Digital Deluxe Edition

The nightmares are coming

With the release of Shadowkeep, Destiny ii starts a brand new chapter. This edition has a year's worth of flavor passes besides. Bargain.

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