I had written one of the most negative reviews for the Edge of Fate DLC, and it’s naturally time for me to tackle the shame that this DLC is. First of all, I want to point out that I don’t speak English, so this text is roughly translated, and I’m sorry if some parts seem incorrect. Just like with Edge of Fate, I’m going to talk about the biggest black mark of this DLC and of the last 3/4 Destiny DLCs. Points which, in my opinion, are the biggest source of Bungie’s problems: respecting the lore and the story. Destiny is, of course, a looter-shooter, but if Destiny managed to earn a place in people’s hearts, it’s not because it does what other games also do very well. With this DLC, we crossed a new line: we’re entering the territory of blatant inconsistencies. The characters no longer respect themselves at all. Every line of dialogue seems like it was written by a 16-year-old girl. The mistakes are obvious and immediately break immersion. Add to that the references to the Star Wars universe, and you’ve got the -blam!- of failure. - Eris Morn choosing to use the Emissary to speak to any of the Nine, but making the worst possible choice by contacting VI to ask why it’s doing this. (big joke) - The Emissary no longer respecting what an emissary has been since we’ve known them, i.e., puppet-slaves. - Blue’s lore completely ruined by the decision to give her back a voice and a personality when she’s supposed to be a Zombie wraith lobotomized by the Drifter’s hands. - Zavala choosing to ignore a danger that threatens Earth, the Guardians, and humanity… for “humanity.” - Zavala clinging to his throne (when he has always suffered under the weight of responsibility and, if you respected his personality and character, he would have stepped down as Vanguard Commander). - The end-of-DLC villains who aren’t the real villains… (this is honestly the biggest sketch of all… the big bad VI uses a guy who’s a lower-tier villain, who commands another lower-tier villain who ends up being the campaign boss). - The total absence of key characters tied to the Nine like Mara, and the very noticeable absence of our own Ghost… I’m skipping the fact that this DLC is a pale copy of the Red War, without the fun of the Red War or the real stakes. To wrap up on the capabilities of Bungie’s narrative teams, is it possible to get antagonists with real goals in life and real villain motives? Since Eclipse, it’s been infinitely sad. Calus turns into a coward for no real reason. The Witness is angry at the Traveler because it has “too much of everything” (spoiled child). Maya is obsessed with… returning to the Golden Age. VI pretends to be the villain of the story even though you can see from 10,000 miles away that he’ll end up as the blacksmith of the weapon we’ll become before long. Beal is the same he just whines because he isn’t the chosen one. In short, there’s no hook—neither for the heroes nor for the villains. Among all the people you let go from your Bungie teams, it seems like some of them weren’t the right ones. And when I look at the résumés of the people leading this aspect of the game… I sincerely wonder why these choices were made. Destiny, before being an FPS and I’m even thinking of previous franchises like Marathon, Halo, and D1 are rich universes with deep, expansive lore and very strong storytelling, which therefore requires capable, extremely sharp, and experienced people. If Bungie keeps clinging to the idea that to bring players back all you have to do is add, layer after layer, more arsenal elements, mods, stats, bonuses even if it means drowning players you’ll keep digging the hole that will become your grave. This year proved that even games with gameplay we’ve seen a thousand times, but with a universe respected and loved by their creators, quickly become masterpieces… Adding Star Wars elements was, in my opinion, the worst thing you could have done. Destiny was a risky blend of genres: sci-fi and fantasy. The best DLCs are the ones that managed to ride the line between those two genres without getting lost. I immediately think of Forsaken, which succeeded for that reason. Before that, the incredible DLC The Taken King, which also proved the subject was mastered. And at the dawn of it all, the release of Destiny 1, which established that style without sparking debate among players. Destiny 1 also had the incredible audacity to add an almost religious aspect to that mix: a guide communicating with a god through visions open to interpretation, a few chosen ones resurrected to save humanity, and among them, the Guardian. Today, all that remains is pure science fiction, and the rare fantasy elements that could have remained are immediately replaced or erased. Let’s talk a bit about gameplay. It hasn’t escaped anyone, even the least sharp among us, that this DLC absolutely rehashes anything and everything. You can feel the harmful influence of the next Marathon... But more importantly, Destiny keeps offering its players extremely long repeatable missions, even if they’re shorter than others, like Aggressions. Missions that end up becoming a real grind rather than something enjoyable to do. Before the DLC launched, I was happy to see that we’d be able to replay six-player missions from older seasons. Of course, the fun of revisiting those missions couldn’t possibly line up with actually getting decent rewards. And what a ridiculous idea to offer these activities in a Grandmaster version. The target is right in front of you, and you still find an ingenious way to miss.