Destiny 2: The Final Shape

Destiny 2: The Final Shape ties up a decade's worth of story, conflict, and relationships in the most engaging and emotionally satisfying way possible. Bungie's best-in-class narrative team has outdone itself, the combat and gunplay sit at the pinnacle of the FPS genre, and I've ultimately never played anything like it.

Everyone is here for it, and the utter chaos of this finale is memorable, tear-jerking, and instantly replayable. Everything has been building to this moment and the building of emotion grants an overwhelmingly triumphant and satisfying conclusion, but it also begs the question of what comes next but hope for the future.

The Final Shape is a sentimental love letter to the social and community aspects of gaming... It’s not just the culmination of the expansions and seasons of the last 10 years, but the people we met along the way. It’s so rare for games to get to this moment and it’s practically unheard of to have it end so satisfyingly. Bungie did what seemed impossible with The Final Shape – they nailed it.

This is as close to perfect as a Destiny expansion can get. If my biggest complaint is “I don’t love the new shader icons” and “the Ritual Pathfinder system should be tweaked,” I think we’re doing well. Instead, The Final Shape represents a stunning finale for a plot arc a decade long that’s not just a huge event for Destiny itself, but the entire industry, as I simply do not think that has another comparison point in the history of gaming, provided you’ve been on this ride for this long. Bungie left everything on the field and delivered on all fronts.

Destiny 2 The Final Shape is a masterpiece of a finale to the ten year story of the Light and Darkness saga. With a powerful, moving narrative, exceptional character payoffs, inspiring gameplay and gorgeous visuals and sound design, it triumphs as an unmatched expansion for the game.

As a solo player there were many moments where Bungie was clearly leaving my ilk behind. But on the other hand, they've finally unleashed the power fantasy and given players the tools to be the space wizard gods we've always dreamed of. The narrative the campaign delivers is a worthy and satisfying conclusion to all of those years spent loving this game. With Bungie already starting walking back some of the changes that hurt solo players the most, it's fair to say The Final Shape probably eclipses The Witch Queen as the best this game has ever been. Ten years on and we've arrived at the summit the journey deserved.

What Bungie has accomplished with The Final Shape in the face of tremendous hurdles and unreasonable expectations is nothing short of remarkable. It’s a powerful and satisfying story, with the mechanics, art, design, and polish to back it up. This is Bungie’s best work in the Destiny era, and sets a lofty new bar for live service expansions. In a challenging market, Bungie have proven they’re still among the best in the business. I can’t wait to see what’s next.

It's simply the best Destiny 2 expansion—both a satisfying conclusion to the series' first saga, and a compelling shooter packed full of stuff to do.

The simple fact of the matter is, The Final Shape made me care about Destiny again, something I didn't think was possible. Bungie has pulled out all the stops to send this story arc off in fine style with an engaging campaign, welcome tweaks to progression and some fantastic new shared events. The story grabs hold and the conclusion is satisfying in a way I didn't think was possible after all this time.

The Final Shape has validated all the efforts that led to this moment, from players and developers alike. It affirms that Bungie is prepared to guide this game to a brighter future still. [Issue#400, p.106]

Bungie has ended a 10-year adventure in an incredible way. I hope they always come up with additional packs at this level instead of saving it at the "last minute".

The Final Shape is the best thing that has ever happened to Destiny 2. I can only imagine the Herculean work that went into the expansion, and I’m grateful for all the emotions I’ve received. There are a lot of great additions to talk about: Transcendence, new weapons, new enemies, new mechanics, the Pale Heart zone… To sum it up, Bungie completed the main story in such a way that makes one want to believe in it.

A masterful conclusion to Destiny 2's saga, blending intense narrative depth with diverse gameplay enhancements, despite overwhelming menu complexity for newcomers.

Destiny 2: The Final Shape is a near-perfect conclusion to Destiny's first major story arc; here's hoping this can be an opportunity to open the floodgates for new players going forward.

The Final Shape often goes above and beyond those improvements and great ideas. With elements like Dual Destiny, it has raised the bar on the best that Destiny 2 can be. With Salvation's Edge and Excision, it sticks the landing on its 10-year narrative. And with additional story missions and character beats waiting after you complete the campaign, it sets up a future for Destiny 2 that seems just as engaging and fascinating as what has come before--if not more so, thanks to everything Bungie has learned throughout that journey. The future of Destiny 2 has perhaps never been less clear, but if Bungie can maintain the excellence of design and the clarity of focus of The Final Shape, that future has never, ever, been more exciting.

Destiny 2: The Final Shape is not for everyone, it's for the veterans and the players who have stuck by this game year-after-year-after-year, and it's precisely this that makes it such a brilliant end product. It's crammed to the brim with content, has hugely impactful and important story developments, takes risks that pay off with mechanics and gameplay, and all in a new location that is dripping with nostalgia while being effortlessly gorgeous.

The campaign is a surprisingly intimate reckoning for all of the Tower’s major figures for the sins portrayed in Destiny expansions past, their failures amplified and perverted to the point of near-insanity by the Witness.

Destiny 2’s potential was clear from the first time I blasted my way through The Red War seven years ago, but Bungie never actually realized much of that potential until The Final Shape. This finale expansion’s story largely succeeds at delivering a satisfying ending, the raid is brutal and epic, the Prismatic subclasses breathe fresh life into combat, and the new enemy faction adds some much-needed variety to the things you’ll spend hours shooting in the face. None of that makes Destiny’s avalanche of confusing RPG systems, currencies, and storylines any easier to digest – but for the first time in a long while, I can wholeheartedly recommend pushing through that darkness, because there’s now a bright and beaming light at the end of the tunnel.

When Destiny content is bad, it can be some of the worst out there. However, when it's good, there's nothing quite like it. The Final Shape delivers on all its promises and then some, providing an emotional catharsis for long-time fans while paving the road ahead for the future.

Destiny 2: The Final Shape delivers on its promise to give an emotional and exhilarating ending to a 10-year saga. There is still more to come as the story wraps up loose ends, but the direction in which this finale is heading is truly great.

The Final Shape is Destiny 2 firing on all cylinders, balancing a story of overwhelming odds with expertly paced combat and puzzles, all set in stunning environments. Much of the earlier complaints about the barrier to entry have been addressed, making for a seamless entry into the latest campaign.

The Final Shape is one of Destiny 2's best expansions and a worthy conclusion to the Light and Darkness saga. Lots of content, all beautifully crafted, including an outstanding campaign and exciting endgame activities, are matched by a new subclass and the introduction of some brand new enemies. The latter are not very inspired, to be honest, but in some specific situations they require changing approaches to confrontations to get the upper hand. All in all, a big yes for The Final Shape and for Bungie, which can thus redeem itself after the débâcle of Lightfall.

Bungie sticks the landing as it finally brings together the threads of its epic first saga.

Bungie has been promising the world to us with Destiny 2: The Final Shape and has proven that competent and cohesive story writing is something that is no longer on the cards for Destiny 2. While the story is quite disappointing, there are at least steps in the right direction in a game design sense to make the game feel better to play.

Destiny 2: The Final Shape mixes incredible environmental art, fun gameplay, and a compelling new subclass with a boring story full of predictable cliches. It’s not the rebirth of Destiny 2 that some were hoping for, but it’s still as fun to play as ever. If you felt burnt out this expansion isn’t likely to change that. If you want to ignore a disappointing story and enjoy a gorgeous new area to play through with a plethora of fun new toys then this one is worth checking out once the server issues clear up, if the $50 price tag doesn’t scare you off.