Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate PS5 Review. If you have ever read any of my past reviews of Destiny 2 for PSU, then you know that, in many ways, there are constants for every expansion I mention. It’s usually a positive reception of the story, a love of the new systems added, and a line saying something along the lines of “there’s no better time to jump back in or jump in for the first time.” However, this time may be a bit different.
Destiny has changed almost every aspect of itself, both in positive and confusing ways. It’s hard to tell whether this was always what The Edge of Fate was intended to be or if the stories in the background at Bungie altered their vision. Regardless of reason, Destiny 2 has done something it hasn’t done before; it has restarted.
New and old Guardians alike are starting on a brand new planet at level 10 with an all-new way to navigate activities and pursue gear. Whether you defeated The Witness, left after Cayde’s death, stopped between D1 and D2, or never picked up the game, we are all starting this journey in the same place. I even have blue gear equipped.
Destiny 2: The Edge Of Fate Review (PS5) – The Nine Finally Take The Spotlight For This New Beginning
The Next Steps On Our New Journey
The end of The Final Shape was a story we had been on for ten years, and no matter what the next chapter in Destiny was going to look like, it would always have felt smaller, much like the Marvel Cinematic Universe after Avengers: Endgame. However, when we first found out we would be dealing with The Nine, it felt like a natural continuation of a story we had already started.
The Nine have been a part of Destiny as long as The Darkness. We have been excited to see Xûr every weekend, to see what new Exotics he would be bringing. Now we finally get to experience the Nine first hand and discover all the things they have got their cosmic fingers on throughout the years.
Without question, the story of The Edge of Fate has been my favorite part. After The Final Shape concluded, most Guardians were ready for a Destiny 3, and ultimately, it would have been an expected choice. However, Bungie chose to let Guardians keep all their gear and weapons from the past five years and instead give a story that resets expectations and goals.
I’ll get into how truly different Destiny is now later on in the review. I will say Bungie has done something most can’t; they concluded a story perfectly and then almost immediately made me care for a new saga just as much as the previous one.
Bungie has introduced a new threat and goal that doesn’t diminish the last fight between the Darkness and the Light, allowing returning players who wanted to jump into The Final Shape but felt like they missed too much of the story to jump in without missing a beat. A threat that challenges existence in a way that we have to save humanity in a brand new way.
Destiny hasn’t had to introduce something new since D2 launch, and even then, we have known the Darkness and the Cabal. This feels closer to the introduction of Destiny as a whole. From the new character of Lodi, who from the moment you meet him feels interesting and like a man out of time, to The Nine finally interacting with us directly rather than through Xûr or The Emissary.
Bungie in The Edge of Fate has crafted an experience that not only feels small and honed in on your Guardian but also lays the groundwork for the next ten years or more of Destiny. Bungie was able to give every player a new start and essentially create Destiny 3 within Destiny 2. However, not all of this is accomplished through the story, but also in the new way players interact with Destiny.
Quicker Games, Clear Goals, More Buildcrafting, More Menus
It’s been a long-running joke that Destiny is just a game of menus. While this was true, it has morphed into something much more powerful. Now, everything you’ll ever want or need to do in-game will be shown off in the new Portal. This is a way to streamline what gamers want out of Destiny without making them learn everything there is to know about the game.
Maybe you don’t have time to invest thousands of hours into the game like someone I know… Or maybe you like playing with your friends every now and again, but never feel like you’re pulling your own weight because you didn’t have a chance to grind out pinnacles. All of that is fixed with Portal.
From this page, we can choose what it is we want to focus on. Pinnacle Light gear, story missions or quests we still need to complete, or hunting high-tier loot from various activities. From a gameplay perspective, this is vastly different. Before, as a player, you were expected to know what you wanted to do, and oftentimes, what you wanted to do didn’t help you on your quest to become stronger.
Now, all you need to have is a Guardian build you want to make, and then the game shows you the best path forward. And with armor 3.0, there is always something to hunt. The Edge of Fate strived for one big thing: Make Destiny endless and easier to play.
With armor 3.0, we are not only given different tiered loot to hunt for bigger and better stats, but the stats have changed to make things easier to understand; however, the amount of time you will be grinding will be more involved.
This new update to armor completely resets all stats. It is easier to follow and makes things better to grind for, but it completely changes how every old build functioned. For any stat to matter again, it needs to be above 70, with a maximum of 200. This means if you are a hunter and use Gambler’s dodge to gain your melee back, this won’t work unless your melee stat is above 70.
Additionally, all new gear drops have a 1-5 tier system. The higher the tier, the higher the perk stats. The more complex the activity, the greater the chance you have of higher-tier perk armor. This is a great loop and something I know will eventually hook me.
However, it does leave a sour taste in my mouth that my builds no longer work like they used to, just because my oldest gear wasn’t statted in a specific way. It was not something I used to have to worry about previously, and now it feels like I’m being punished for something I didn’t need to pay attention to.
This may sound like a negative, but Destiny players have always struggled with the fact that they want to be the strongest they can be, only to hit a limit and then feel no need to play once they achieve their goal. Although it’s not ideal now, I know it’s something that will ultimately improve the game.
With this new system, Bungie achieved something truly remarkable. Players now have endless loot to hunt for and numerous enhancements to always change builds and try something new. This alone has felt like a breath of fresh air to long-time players like me.
The Edge of Fate reworked so many systems and added more new ones that it’s hard for me to form fully complete opinions about the majority of it. If you couldn’t tell from my review thus far, I’ve been all over the place with what I wanted to talk about and how it is either good or negative.
If we are being honest, the majority of the expansion is fantastic; however, it can sometimes be hard to see, and it’s frustrating to realize that a game I’ve invested so much time in is something I have to relearn.
Let’s Try To Make Sense Of All This
So, this entire time, I’ve tried to explain all the new additions while also sharing my opinion, and to be honest, the more I tried, the harder it became. I love Destiny, and I can tell these additions are good for the game and exactly what was needed.
This system can be iterated upon and expanded for the rest of Destiny’s life, and it will continue to grow. However, similar to when Warframe changed its system, I saw it as a time to walk away. The change often puts up walls for me, no matter how positive they are.
The story is like trying to review a TV series after its first pilot. The start is excellent and can set the stage for the rest of the Destiny story. But it’s too early to tell.
I love Destiny, and The Edge of Fate is exactly what the game needs, regardless of whether we have to start from square one. Much like the launch of Destiny 2 and the loss of everything from Destiny, the game has to change to grow and stay relevant. I’m just excited that this time, I won’t lose everything I’ve worked to acquire.
Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate is out now for PS5, PS4, PC, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One
Review code generously provided by the publisher.