Destiny 2's next-gen update puts a brilliant new expansion in the best possible light
Following the Christmas break, I can’t stop playing Destiny 2. My love for Bungie’s genre-defining shooter has been on and off since the original’s arrival in 2014, usually coming and going when friends and colleagues do – and for some time I’ve been the last one standing on the Eurogamer team.
2020 was an interesting year for the game, with a sense that Bungie struggled to find its feet post-Activision and in making the transition to free-to-play and a seasonal model work, but it’s come out the other side in the best shape for years.
The foundation for this is November’s Beyond Light expansion, introducing the stunning new setting of Jupiter’s moon Europa, which combines vast, frozen wastes with mysterious underground facilities composed of spawning, glossy corridors.
As is the case with Destiny, the best storytelling isn’t in the campaign – eerie audio logs from collectables and an excellent, pacy raid is where you’ll find the more standout moments – but as a destination, Europa is up there with series highlights Dreadnaught and Dreaming City in terms of sheer mystery and awe, and as a mostly solo player, the focus on open-world patrol spaces in both the campaign and post-game has been a joy.
