Destiny 2: Shadowkeep Reviews
Destiny 2: Shadowkeep is another solid expansion for Bungie's addictive looter shooter. It's a mixed bag, building on the solid foundations of Destiny 2: Forsaken with some ideas working better than others. This is a new era for Bungie though, with an ambitious vision of a game that's constantly evolving from week to week, and the first glimpses of this already giving me real optimism for its future.
Shadowkeep's return to the moon provides the usual quick story and new activities, but it's the many under-the-hood changes that really shine.
It's not quite on the level of The Taken King or Forsaken, but Shadowkeep feels like a major step forward for Destiny 2. It's a promising starting point for the game's third year, and for post-Activision Bungie. I've thoroughly enjoyed the 100-odd hours I've put into it, and I'll easily triple that play time in the months to come.
With cross-save, all new gear, revamped armor, and the finishing blows added to what was already a solid shooter, Destiny 2: Shadowkeep is a worthwhile successor to the Forsaken update and a genuine treat for anyone who loves shooters.
It's shorter than Forsaken, but offers a story that spreads the entire season and adds loads of successful changes. Armor 2.0 is the biggest change and it's a brilliant move. We do hope that Bungie adds more loot, because at the moment it's pretty barebones.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
As usual, the Raid itself is the best that can be played and represents various fun mechanics, but the story is in a state of boredom and poor presentation. The addition represents a wonderful extension of the game and various wonderful activities
Review in Arabic | Read full review
The most compelling plot and potential twist the series has had to date with fun missions and a return to perhaps the most iconic location in the series' history. The moon is definitely haunted but it's a lot of fun hunting those ghosts!
Destiny 2 Bastion of Shadows is like coming home: it's played like always and it's very, very fun, but with the new armor and weapon systems, Bungie manages to create a deeper system, and the seasons promise to entertain us for a long time. It's not as big as expected, but it's a good start of Bungie flying by themselves.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
An homage to some enemies of old. Copious new features and content to match. This should keep us busy for a while.
"Whatever the cause is, if Destiny 2 keeps on its current path, it’ll be one of the strongest entries yet, but only if it keeps down its current path. With where it’s headed, I can only quote Dinklebot at this point in time: “Heads up, Guardian.”"
Shadowkeep is a big stride forward for Destiny 2, and it shows that Bungie cares about its game.
Out of the gate, Destiny 2: Shadowkeep builds on Bungie’s legendary marriage of storytelling and gameplay, improving upon the foundations of the past while looking ahead to its future(s).
If you were ever curious about Destiny 2, Shadowkeep is the perfect entry point. If you are a reneged player that struggled with content doubts, there’s no better time to come back. And if you are neither of the aforementioned, you probably should be. Shadowkeep is everything every player wanted from Destiny 2, and in true Bungie fashion, it was delivered with a bang – which presumably emanated from the servers as they exploded on launch night.
Destiny 2 has never felt, looked, or been in a better spot than it is with Shadowkeep. This is not only the most accessible Destiny has ever been, but with the introduction of New Light, it is also more in-depth than ever with a new focus on hardcore players. Shadowkeep is an elegant blend of nostalgia mixed with the discovery of a new direction for the universe of Destiny. If you have ever been on the fence about Destiny, it's a perfect time to try.
Not as expansive in initial scope as previous expansions, Shadowkeep's standout feature is instead the way it redefines the core loop and encourages week-to-week investment
Bungie has clearly worked to reinvigorate Destiny 2 and Shadowkeep is a great step in the right direction.
It will have its ups and downs, but ultimately Bungie has the ship pointed in the right direction, making Destiny better than it’s ever been before.
Even if Destiny’s horizon does seem as featureless as the moon itself, there’s still plenty of fun to be had in gobbling up everything in sight on the way there.
I’m not just excited about playing all that Shadowkeep has to offer, but also to see what’s happening next, and that’s a huge improvement from where the game was even a year ago.
Shadowkeep is already a relic of the past and while the new areas are quite lengthy, the story can be blasted through in a few hours thanks to the repetitive “Go to the table and then speak to Eris” schtick. Bungie’s foray into seasonal content does mean the year-long season arc, which is no longer accessible, leaves players to fill in the gaps by reading copious amounts of lore books. Shadowkeep is the black sheep of the Destiny 2 experience and while it doesn’t exactly enhance the Light vs Dark story, it is a nice break from the traditional gameplay and is worth exploring, even if you’re only in it for the gear.