Worth: $14.50
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Intro:
...a rather safe, but enjoyable, addition to the game.
Destiny 2 is getting on a bit these days. First released in 2017, the venerable Bungie-developed shooter is one of the most long lived ‘games as a service’ titles, going through various updates, controversies and even owners in its journey to occupy the hearts and minds of shooter fans the world over. Now, in 2020, the latest content drop has been unleashed. Called Beyond Light, and featuring long-awaited story revelations, the result is a mixed bag but an entertaining one regardless.
Beyond Light finally, finally gets around to dealing with The Darkness in a meaningful way. The enemy has been alluded to since 2014’s Destiny, and featured in the previous expansion Shadowkeep, but this time around they’re front and centre. Not only have the pyramid-shipped ones lobbed up, they’ve gone and somehow flogged Io, Titan, Mercury and Mars! Not only that, a mad Fallen sheila by the name of Eramis has somehow worked out how to wield the power of Darkness, using Stasis to get her revenge on the forces of Light. Looks like it’s up to you, Variks and the Exo Stranger to go on another adventure, this time in the icy vistas of Jupiter’s moon, Europa. And yes friends, there will be shooting. A whole lot of shooting. Like, a staggering amount, hey.
As tends to be common with these larger content drops, Beyond Light’s story is a short but sweet five(ish) hours of engaging twists and turns with the usual slightly disappointing ending and climax with a villain who was a bit shit. Seriously, they’ve been pulling this nonsense almost every time, with 2018’s Forsaken being the only exception to the rule. Once the main campaign is concluded, a new end game pursuit opens in the form of Empire Hunts. These are quite entertaining, extended boss fights that incorporate grinding strikes and levelling up a lure for maximum rewards, and then going after the big bad with a vengeance. The biggest new addition, however, is your guardian’s ability to wield the powers of Darkness, using ice-based Stasis to freeze and shatter enemies and really give people the shits in PvP mode, Crucible.
Beyond Light is, as always, an entertaining ride. Europa is a gorgeous new environment, the boss fights in particular are very engaging this time around and of course the shooting is second to none. That said, Destiny 2 is absolutely starting to show its age. Beautiful skyboxes aside, it’s hard not to notice the reused assets, the samey enemies and the encounters we’ve done hundreds, possibly thousands of times before. Bungie’s decision to focus on 2-3 more years of Destiny 2 rather than creating a sequel has raised many eyebrows, and unless they make a seamless transition to next-gen consoles it’s hard to imagine everyone will go along for the ride.
That said, and it bears repeating, the shooting is like a soothing balm for the soul. Crisp, responsive and utterly addictive, it represents the best in the biz and is always a hoot with friends. Destiny 2: Beyond Light is a rather safe, but enjoyable, addition to the game. Plus, there’s plenty more to come, including further seasonal content and a brand new raid, Deep Stone Crypt. However, for longterm fans, it does feel like the cracks are starting to show and if Bungie wants to keep this cash cow going, they’re going to need to start thinking beyond the box.
