Playing Destiny 2 with others is what makes the game so enjoyable. Destiny 2 may have widened the pool, but everyone must stay in their lanes. Seeing a game like FFXIV pull off cross-play so effortlessly makes one wonder why Bungie couldn’t pull this same move. Part of it has to do with licensing agreements, but dividing Guardians is a sure way to push those same Guardians out. If a group of friends wants to play Destiny 2 together, but they all have different platforms, then why should they play at all? Much of the content in Destiny 2 is built on the idea of social play, even more so than Destiny, it just comes with limiters. Those limits are hurting Destiny 2.
What does relationship mean for lore though? Of course, the actual relationship aspect of Destiny is there, but it’s always been there. Destiny 2 is not only creating worlds, though, it’s actually telling stories within those worlds. The people that inhabit these spaces are important and Bungie seems to be doing everything to make the player care about them. From the looks of interaction with those around you while traversing the many environments Destiny 2 has to offer, the aspect of relationship is everywhere. Zavala giving command to the player and other NPCs around him. It creates a sense of urgency immediately invoking a compassion that only comes from feeling connected to others. Then there is the EDZ a new area for players to call home. The people they were protecting have started forming communities here. Actively participating in these places will create a more grounded sense of community. It’s the reason WoW cities felt so lived in; the people that inhabit these spaces are going about their daily lives. It isn’t about, go out, kill aliens, return. It feels like being the Pavlovian dog waiting for the treat. None of that seems to be in Destiny 2.
Now we are onto the post-release downloadable content that tries to add a little bit more to the world. Unfortunately, the first two pieces of DLC don’t much story-related content. The Dark Below does set things up for the Taken King as it introduces the semi-important NPC, Eris Morn, who was the lone survivor of a six-person fireteam when attempting to kill a Hive God. It would seem that the destruction of Crota’s Sword back on the Moon wasn’t enough to completely squash the Hive threat as they’re back with Crota himself, trying to gain access to Rasputin, an AI that’s protecting Earth. After stopping the invasion of Earth once more, you go down into the depth of the Moon and kill Crota. He’s the prince to a Hive God, so he’s not exactly easy to take down.
On the moon you find a deceased Guardian, not to mention a mysterious figure shadowing you. It’s revealed that the Hive have been in contact with an unknown presence are making preparations for an invasion of Earth, something you need to stop. Thus, you dive deeper into the Hive ruins only to find the Sword of Crota. By destroying this, the Hive’s communications have ceased with the unknown force, and for the remainder of the vanilla story, the Hive threat has been squashed. Unfortunately, they’re not the major problem as the mysterious figure who has been stalking you hails you to Venus.
The one thing that continually will linger on the mind while playing is the exact sentiment above. Why was Curse of Osiris not included in the base game? Curse of Osiris is small, adding only one new destination, a new raid space next week and some other minor things, which I’m sure you can guess. It’s grating, because for such a slice of content, it could have easily made its way into the base game — obviously I’m not a developer nor do I pretend to know the ins-outs of development — that said, this DLC really is small enough that if booting up Destiny 2 for an outside party, they might think it’s part Best Implement Of Curiosity Destiny 2 the base game.
Destiny 2 is a full-fledged sequel to the original game and not an expansion. It contains all new locations, weapons, armor, characters, etc. You will not need to have played the original game and its expansions to hop into the sequel, but those that have can carry-over their character. Plus, there will be areas within the game that will acknowledge that you have played the previous content.
Destiny starts off as you’re resurrected by a Ghost in the desolate ruins of Old Russia. Things aren’t looking great as there are Fallen roaming around and you need to make it to civilization. Finding a ship, you make your way the Last City where you meet a whole network of faces, including Ikora, Zavala, Cayde-6, and The Speaker, who now represents the Traveler. They instruct you to go back to Earth and search the Cosmodrone in which you find the Hive holding out underground in the abandoned subway system. Seeing as these beings usually reside on the Moon, you’re tasked to travel outside of the atmosphere and investigate.
Where does Destiny 2 go from here? Curse of Osiris, much like previous Destiny DLCs before it, is more of the same. It can barely hold a spotlight on Osiris, who’s supposed to be one of the most important Guardians and it leaves more questions than it answers. Destiny 2 might be in more of a state of flux than Destiny. It wants to appeal to everyone. Casting such a wide net means knots, holes and all sorts of other problems.