“This is my Light. I make my own Fate.”
*DISCLOSURE: As a Bungie Creator, I received a code for The Final Shape and its subsequent Annual Pass from Bungie. I am also friendly with some current and past Bungie employees. As always, being open and honest with the audience is important to the integrity of the review.
Game: Destiny 2
Expansion: The Final Shape
Developer: Bungie
Release Date: June 4, 2024
– Campaign Part One: June 4, 2024
– Salvation’s Edge Raid: June 7, 2024
– Campaign Finale: June 8, 2024
– The Final Shape Episode 1: Echoes: June 11, 2024
Available On: PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox Series, Xbox One, Steam, Epic Games Store
My deep love for Destiny and Bungie goes beyond the games; that’s no secret to anyone. From its original tease in Halo 3: ODST in 2009 to its ambitious reveal at E3 2013 and alpha testing stage, I have been involved in this universe in one way or another. It’s the franchise that inspired me to become a content creator, with my first podcast being dedicated to it, spanning from the start of The House of Wolves and ended after Rise of Iron. Reigniting my passion for creating and the reason Boss Rush exists are because of this franchise, which then became instrumental in allowing me to have a career as a producer, working directly in media and content marketing. Almost every aspect of my creative and professional life I owe to Destiny.
Like many in the community, I’ve been deeply invested–not just in Destiny and Halo before that–but in Bungie itself for a long time. The studio has always uniquely positioned itself as a community-first developer since Halo: Combat Evolved and continued that trend throughout the span of Destiny’s existence. However, as inspiring and motivating this franchise and the studio have been, as with most Guardians, it has also been far from perfect. From its roller coaster development cycles to the inconsistent levels of quality in major expansions and subsequent seasons, the split with Activision for independence to the surprisingly swift alignment with Sony, followed by last year’s shocking layoff scandal and reported financial decline, to the delay of The Final Shape, the community’s faith in the studio had been pushed to its limits. Bungie knew that this had to not only had to be on the same level as their greatest expansions, but it needed to exponentially surpass them.
It did more than that.
The Final Shape is the franchise’s best expansion to date by far, and in my opinion, Bungie’s best campaign I’ve ever experienced, including the original Halo trilogy. It hits on every level, tying together so many moments into its storylines while blending unparalleled environmental and combat scenario design, a well-designed mission structure, and deeply engaging character moments. It’s their Moment of Triumph.
Though there is nothing quite as surprising as the Traveler’s blessing of Savathun and the Hive in The Witch Queen or watching the Traveler take its iconic position over the Earth in Season of the Seraph, The Final Shape does give us a moment I won’t spoil here but will be as iconic as anything in video games. I do feel Cayde-6’s inclusion could have been that surprise if they could have found a way to keep it hidden, but as someone who works in marketing, I get why they didn’t on multiple levels. His story here is still incredibly impactful and a warm welcome for the character.
*REVIEWER NOTE: This review does not contain the inclusion of the raid, Salvation’s Edge, or the beginning act of Echoes that has yet to be released as of this publishing. There are no major story spoilers from here on. All story points have been mentioned or shown in marketing material, plot points made in previous expansions and seasons, or on Bungie’s website. There will be some minor spoilers to make key points. If you are extremely sensitive to spoilers, please finish the campaign and all of it’s side quests before reading.
The Final Shape’s narrative is the best in the franchise. In fact, I would go as far as saying it is the best story Bungie has ever told–as long as you’ve been keeping up with the lore, played through the previous expansions and seasonal stories, and kept up on the arcs of the characters. It becomes more impactful if you’ve been playing since the beginning. Only Marvel could weave so many intricate storylines together over a lengthy period to make a complete, cohesive, and compelling narrative and end a saga the right way. The pacing is impeccable, the interactions are meaningful, and watching our heroes fight the physical as well as the psychological battles hit the mark.
This campaign centers on five core characters who have been part of the Destiny story since its inception: our original Vangaurd fireteam of Zavala, Ikora, and the resurrected Cayde-6, Crow, and surprisingly, our Ghost. This approach felt intentional, focused, and provided great interactions between everyone and allowed new relationships to breathe during this massive conflict. It felt a lot like the first Avengers movie in a way as each character had their moment in the spotlight before coming together. There are so many great callbacks to the original Destiny while providing a satisfactory conclusion to all of their respective ongoing storylines, specifically Cayde-6’s and Crow’s. There’s even a nod to the first Destiny‘s original (and bad) leveling system only in place before The Taken King was released, in which I had a good laugh.
The overarching narrative primarily focuses on Zavala, whose struggle with the temptations of The Witness and the Darkness leads to unforeseen consequences. While seeming out of character- turning me off at first–the gradual build-up through successive seasons has effectively laid the groundwork for Zavala’s growing disillusionment with the Traveler, making his choices and their repercussions feel grounded within the evolving storyline. Initially, I didn’t like the direction they took Zavala’s character, but as I marinated on the story, on what The Witness can do, and how powerful it is, I understood Zavala’s journey through the narrative better and ultimately liked where they went, especially entering that final mission.
My other initial point of contention was watching Zavala’s story unfold in the absence of the late Lance Reddick, who tragically passed away unexpectedly in 2023. His delivery was so iconic and tied intricately to the character, that hearing someone else voice him for the first time in nine years really shook me. With that said, I think recasting Zavala with Keith David was the right, and admittedly the only choice. His performance was a little bit aggressive, but overall, I think his delivery and his take on the character provides a fresh perspective and may fit better as we move into the future of Destiny. I believe he will grow with the character as Lance did.
Though there is nothing quite as surprising as the Traveler’s blessing of Savathun and the Hive in The Witch Queen or the Traveler take its iconic position over the Earth in Season of the Seraph, The Final Shape‘s finale does give us a moment I won’t spoil here, but will be as iconic as anything in the Destiny universe. I do feel Cayde-6’s inclusion could have been that surprise if they could have found a way to keep it hidden, but as someone who works in marketing, I get why they didn’t on multiple levels. His story here is still incredibly impactful and a warm welcome for the character.
My only complaint with the narrative is its delivery of a few important moments. Some of the character interactions, specifically the first interaction between Ikora and Cayde-6, should have been at least an in-engine cutscene, if not full on not the gameplay campfire story segments. In these types of story segments, I feel like line delivery feels stilted and has unnatural pauses in conversation that could have been more impactful through another delivery method.
The Pale Heart is the most interesting, beautiful, and articulately designed space Bungie has created for Destiny, surpassing all of my expectations. While I’ve always appreciated Destiny‘s previous environments, the Pale Heart is a different beast. These meticulously crafted areas within serve as a testament to Bungie’s creative ingenuity, offering some of the most visually striking and meaningfully dense locations in the franchise. From expansive forests that defy conventional reality to eerie tunnels constructed from large, psychedelic fingers, hands, and faces, the locales within the Pale Heart are both imaginative and unsettling. Each area is a mix of existing and unique assets where beauty and horror are woven together in awe inspiring ways.
There are three specific notes that make the Pale Heart different from other locations. First off, this location is the first large scale single-player / single-fire team space Bungie has created for Destiny. It is designed specifically with the player’s / fireteam’s exploration in mind instead of creating a space for twenty-three random players entering the instance. There are intricately designed caves, maze-like tunnel systems, and rewarding secrets everywhere within the Pale Heart, complete with shortcuts, portals to other areas, and hidden caverns with unique objectives.
The second note is that because of its player-dedicated design, the Pale Heart has a distinctive horizontal layout, the first in Destiny’s history. This was intentional. It metaphorically creates the journey from the radiant light of the Traveler where you enter to the ominous heart of The Witness’s tower, relating to the progression effectively mirroring the thematic evolution of the narrative. These themes are also reflected physically as objects in the environment, including the fears and psychological horror The Witness is performing on our heroes.
The last thing I want to mention are some of the puzzles laid out across the Pale Heart. As I scoured the various areas, I found chests attached to light mechanics, Hive doors that needed unlocked by finding the correct runes, and pathways that led to missions and Adventures which upon completion, unlocked new Aspects for my character builds. Even though hidden passageways and diving deep into the underground are nothing new, the way the Pale Heart achieves these is far more interesting and fun to discover.
The Final Shape introduces two notable gameplay additions: the Prismatic subclass, which enables players to mix and match Light and Darkness powers, and the Dread, a formidable new enemy faction. This marks the first major introduction of a new enemy faction since the Scorn in Forsaken. While Tormentors and Hive Lightbearers have also been introduced since then, I wouldn’t consider these new factions in the same way.
Let’s start with Prismatic. This subclass is exactly what Destiny needed to feel fresh and what the community has been clamoring for. Though I am still playing with different Aspects, power mixes, and builds, I can tell you that what I have played with is giving me the power fantasy we’ve been dreaming of for as long as I can remember. As a Titan, the ability to string up enemies with my Strand grenades from the Berserker subclass, stave of enemies with my shield throws from the Void Sentinel subclass, and ad-clear by throwing flaming hammers from Sunbreaker are nothing short of spectacular. It feels incredible to tackle different scenarios and made my first run through the main campaign and subsequent side quests more engaging and less frustrating. I am excited to see how this all works on the Warlock and Hunter classes in the near future as well. Mixing different abilities with Exotic armor and weapons to maximize them has also been an interesting experiment.
The Dread introduce a new and unique dimension. Developed in only eight months, their inclusion was slightly concerning, as it has been discussed in multiple ViDocs and interviews that an enemy faction takes years to create and implement. But to my surprise, their inclusion in The Final Shape was an incredibly smart decision and created a new, distinct challenge.
The Grim, one of the first flying enemies aside from the Vex Harpies, can be a nuisance. The challenge of keeping track of these airborne enemies while fighting on the ground was a dynamic we haven’t been used to, so learning to take them out first became apparent very quickly. One of the coolest new enemies, however, were the Subjugators–a large, imposing enemy that looks similar to Rhulk wielding Stasis and Strand. Unlike Tormentors, Subjugators are fast moving, agile, and can become incredibly dangerous when a large number of enemies are part of the encounter. Combat scenarios can become overwhelming very quickly, especially in the Legendary campaign or the upcoming endgame activities.
One thing I haven’t mentioned yet are the new weapons found within the Pale Heart. Destiny has always been known for its incredible array of weapons. The Final Shape only continues that trend. All of the weapons are themed after playing cards, a nice nod to Cayde-6 and the Ace of Spades hand cannon, and and feature one of the franchise’s characters on each one. The suite also have an Origin Trait perk called Dealer’s Choice, where final blows grant a small amount of Super energy. Equipping more than one of these weapons allows the perk to become more effective.
The ones I’ve found are incredibly fun to use. So far my favorite is a weapon called Someday, a powerful Kinetic shotgun with the perks Vorpal and Threat Detector. Another weapon I really like is the auto rifle No Hesitation, though I will need to chase better perks on that one later. The Exotic Sword Ergo Sum has been fun to experiment with as well. Red Death and Khvostov 7G-0X also return, extending the nostalgia filled content within The Final Shape.
Final Score
“Become Legend.” “Make your own Fate.” “Devotion. Bravery. Sacrifice.” “What comes from the Light, returns to the Light.” These once-generic marketing terms found on posters and commercials have truly become incredibly meaningful, powerful, and emotional as we grew with these characters over the last decade. Now that The Final Shape has released, along with its raid, Salvation’s Edge, and its Light and Darkness Saga finale mission, there is only one thing that needs to be said. The Final Shape is Bungie’s greatest achievement in their 32-year history in my opinion and sets a new standard for the franchise’s future along with setting a new bar for other developers attempting their own game-as-a-service. This is a triumphant return to form for Bungie and the perfect ending to The Light and Darkness Saga.
Eyes up, Guardian. Destiny awaits.
Destiny 2: The Final Shape – Episode 1: Echoes releases June 11, 2024 as part of the Annual Pass.
SPECIAL NOTE:
To all of the developers involved in Destiny, past or present, who have dedicated their time, effort, creativity, and passion to this universe: You should all be damn proud of what you’ve achieved, not only with The Final Shape, but in creating a universe we all care deeply about.
Reviewing this expansion has been a deeply personal challenge. It has been so significant not only to my love of gaming, but an influence in major parts of my real life. Its development and stories even mirror many aspects of life in a way, with its trials and tribulations, celebration of personal and team-based triumphs, loving and trusting those around you, dealing with real issues like racism, classism, authority, and making the right choices. Destiny as a franchise has propelled me forward in a lot of ways, and I will forever be grateful for these friendships, opportunities, and experiences.
Featured Image Source: Self-Taken Screenshot of the Title Screen from Destiny 2: The Final Shape by Bungie from the Xbox Version of the game.
Corey Hudson Dirrig 
Leave a comment