Destiny 2‘s The Witch Queen expansion was a pivotal moment in the franchise thanks to its impeccable storytelling, but its successor doesn’t seem to live up to its legacy—at least in the minds of some fans.
Destiny 2 players have been criticizing the storytelling and dialogue in the Lightfall campaign, which launched yesterday. The narrative encompasses most of the pain points, with long-standing story hooks that seemingly went nowhere—at least for now.
The narrative from The Witch Queen has been building up to Lightfall since day one, with the 2022 campaign introducing the guardians to the Witness. This new powerful enemy had a direct hand in some of the events in the universe, including the Collapse, which put an end to humanity’s Golden Age. The Witness emerged as the antagonist to beat in Lightfall, under threat of losing humanity itself.
Lightfall‘s marketing built up on that premise, and as the penultimate chapter in the Light vs. Darkness saga, expectations for it were sky-high. The expansion, however, failed to deliver in the eyes of some. The storyline seems to raise questions without answering much of what was established in the first place. Some players weren’t fond of the goofy tone of Nimbus’ dialogue (though the younger Cloud Strider has been described as “boisterous and fun-loving and a little smug” in the Lightfall video documentary).
Several posts criticizing the campaign reached the top of the Destiny 2-focused subreddit DestinyTheGame. One player said this story could have easily been told as part of a season, while another bashed Lightfall for not answering vital questions.
Famous Destiny 2 content creators also added their voices to the chorus. “It started off super strong, and then seemed rush toward middle to end,” Aztecross wrote on Twitter. “Let down for me considering the build up to this one.” Lore expert My Name Is Byf said there were some “massive fumbles” with the campaign, mentioning there was “so much promise left unrealized.”
While the narrative is the weak link of the season, the gameplay of the campaign itself doesn’t seem to have gathered as much criticism. Players have also shared their qualms with the new Armor Charge mod system, which took out some of the core mods and bonuses from them (such as the +20 to Mobility from Powerful Friends).
Though the Lightfall story seemingly leaves explanations and developments up in the air, these questions could be answered throughout Year Six. The Root of Nightmares raid, for instance, could reveal key information about the storyline, much how The Witch Queen’s Vow of the Disciple introduced Rhulk as the first Disciple of the Witness. Until then, however, players aren’t too thrilled with Lightfall.
