Destiny 2: Lightfall

There's no doubt that Lightfall is not the best expansion, but it's far from being the worst, thankfully. If I had to formulate it, it's the arithmetic average of Beyond Light and The Witch Queen. We're used to Bungie going back and forth like a Mehter Company, which is exactly why I haven't given up hope for The Final Shape.

Bungie’s latest expansion elevates Destiny 2's power fantasy to a new high and carves a more clear and concise path to its endgame than ever before. Despite a campaign that lets down fans of a narrative nearly a decade in the making, it still reigns as one of the best looter shooters out there.

It turns out, light was not the only thing that has fallen in this new expansion. With disappointing story, the campaigns even feel like they were created for the fun of developers, rather than players. While these letdowns still interfere with overall immersion of the game, at least the new ability and revamped system are holding the expansion precariously.

The Destiny 2 Lightfall expansion trips at the starting gun and falters almost the whole way through.

All in all, it feels like - even if Lightfall isn’t perfect by any means, it’s a perfectly capable entry point for new and returning players, or at least as much as you could expect with the current state of the game. Longtime Destiny 2 players have assuredly already been playing the expansion for themselves over the last month, but for anyone that was already on the fence, Lightfall delivers a solid if not flawed update to the Destiny universe.

As a fan of Destiny 2, I am enjoying Lightfall. It definitely had a bumpy start, especially if you’re a big story buff, but almost everything after the campaign has been solid. I wouldn’t say anything blew me away, but nothing has been horrible either. They stuck to the tried and true formula that has worked for them for quite a while now, and while I hoped for a bigger spectacle around some characters, Neptune itself, or even the raid, I am wanting to play more and do more.

Destiny 2's Lightfall expansion doesn't make a good first impression, but beneath a threadbare story that relies on an exasperatingly fuzzy motivation for your Guardian, it still feels mechanically satisfying to dive into. Comparing it to the standard of excellence that 2022's The Witch Queen saga established only exposes the numerous shortcomings of Lightfall, and that's a shadow that the next year of seasonal content will need to step out of if Bungie wants to develop the expansion into something more than a middle-of-road entry that stumbles toward a final showdown that has been a decade in the making.

Eclipse’s story may be disappointing, but it offers an intense campaign and a solid foundation for the next 12 months.

Prior to Lightfall, I felt Destiny was at its strongest point ever. The narrative was exceptional, the character development was unrivaled by any other FPS, and the future seemed both terrifying and wildly exciting. After Lightfall, I am still intrigued to see what happens next, but I think that lies solely with my thousands of logged hours and personal emotional investment that may not exist for new players. There is so much potential in Destiny for newcomers, but it isn’t easy to find, and Bungie often doesn’t help them along the way.

A disappointing campaign, and a sandbox rework that shows promise, but feels like it's still some major balance patches away from leaving the game in a good place.

From bizarre difficulty balancing to a poorly written story, Lightfall has a lot of misses. However, it also makes a lot of good changes that enhance the general gameplay like with Strand subclass and the accessibility of buildcrafting. It isn't the worst Destiny 2 expansion, not even close, but it is also far from being great.

Destiny 2: Lightfall is far from Destiny's worst expansion, but just as far from its best. For every step forward, there's another step back, and what you get out of it ultimately comes down to what you prioritize. It simply isn't as well rounded as The Witch Queen, but still offers many excellent gameplay additions and quality-of-life improvements that elevate the whole experience.

Destiny 2 Lighfall is nothing more than a prologue to The Final Shape. Bland and without a strong narrative, the expansion clings to the rare presences of the Witness, legacy of a huge expansion like The Witch Queen. Sorry to say, but the best version of Destiny 2 gameplay for intuitiveness and quality of life is what saves The Eclipse from a nasty meltdown that would have made much more noise than this. In a year Bungie will fire its last shot in the barrel for the Saga of Light and Darkness and then we will be able to sum up a ten-year journey.

While Destiny 2: Lightfall presents a visually-interesting cyberpunk art style, it's one that clashes horribly and feels out-of-place compared to the more serious tone established by past DLCs, and is especially odd for what is supposed to be the penultimate expansion in Destiny 2's planned remaining lifespan. While not as overtly disappointing as Curse of Osiris, Lightfall definitely ranks among the lowest entries for Bungie's longstanding live service game. While the new addition of a grapple hook is a neat gimmick, it does very little to make up for said expansion's lackluster contributions in both overall story and gameplay. Unless you are a Destiny 2 diehard looking to keep your DLC collection up-to-date, there isn't much reason to spend an outlandish $50 on only a meager few hours' worth of content.

With a disappointing campaign, Lighjfall astonishes by not repeating the feat of The Witch Queen right off the bat. While it has been made clear that explanations will come as the seasons of 2023 progress, there is no denying that the quality of the plot is disappointing. However, everything beyond the main story adds to the Destiny experience. The new subclass offers interesting possibilities, while updates to mechanics such as those involving Champions and quality of life improvements provide refreshing and compelling content for both long-time players and those new to the series.

Destiny 2: Lightfall is a disappointing expansion with a campaign that falls flat on its face, an underwhelming new destination, and only a few new standout activities to take on. That said, Strand and the new Tormentor enemy are fantastic new additions to the sandbox, some of the endgame activities and added difficulty make for a sweaty, memorable time, and per usual, the raid is a complete blast (even if it isn’t their best). No doubt Lightfall’s shortcomings are made more painful by immediately following The Witch Queen and its strong post-launch updates, which felt like Destiny 2 had finally overcome its storytelling woes and charted out a promising future for itself. After playing Lightfall, perhaps too fittingly given its name, that future doesn’t look quite as bright.

In Destiny 2: Lightfall, the great does eventually shine through the experience even if it makes a catastrophic first impression. Lightfall will likely be remembered as one of the franchise’s great disappointments for some time, which is unfortunate as there’s so much that’s worthy of your time here. Destiny 2: Lightfall is largely excellent – it’s just heartbreaking so much of that is tarnished by one of the biggest fumbles in the franchise’s history.

Lightfall is a deeply uneven experience that makes a terrible first impression. An excellent new subclass and raid can only carry it so far, especially when new and exacerbated issues run this deep.

Beautiful and dynamic, but of more than questionable interest, Destiny 2: Eclipse really miss its mark. And that's a shame.

Lightfall has a hollow and meaningless story. It has some entertaining cinematics but at the end of the hall left us with questions and a tasteless experience. The Strand subclass and gameplay improvements add a bit of value to this update but definitely as a Destiny fan since 2014 this expansion is not what a fan deserves.

Destiny 2: Lightfall was off to a great start but quickly fell flat due to a plethora of problems, including bugs, convoluted plot, and more.