Play Station Official Magazine - UK (2019-12)

095

REVIEW

snazzynewfinishers(click )
tokickalltheHiveandVex
asswhenyourenemies’health
getslowenough.It’sanother
addedlayerofwelcomeicingto
Destiny2’salreadyshowycake.

WE’LLPASSONIT
Thekickerwithallthese
wisetweaks?Noneofthem
physicallyrequireShadowkeep’s
seasonpasstoenjoy.All
theselovelychangesarerolled
intothefreeversionofthe
game,whichobviouslyisn’t
somethingtocomplainabout
initself.Whenyouconsider
thepatchyqualityofthe
expansion’spaid-forcontent
though,thefactGuardians
enjoyingthegamegratisstill
gettheseimprovementsmakes
thepassfeelthatmuchmore
easytopasson.
Notonlyis theroughly
eight-hourcampaignhardto
recommend,thenewstrikes
aredepressinglydull,too.
Shadowkeep’sScarletKeep
Fireteamquestmaybeoneof

theleastinterestingstrikes

ineitherDestiny.Theboring

CliffsNotes:it’sonelongrun

throughsomedingycaves

culminatingina fightagainsta

bossona bigelevator.Woo!

Shadowkeepis a weirdone.

Forlargepartsofitsstory

missionsit feelsphoned-inand

easytoskipoverforallbutthe

mostcommittedfans.Theraid

is excellentandsomeplayers

willcherishreturningtothe

Moon,yetasanexpansion,it

feelslazywhenplacednextto

lastyear’sbrilliantForsaken

DLC.Still,whenyoubearin

mindsomuchofDestiny 2

is freenow(andbrilliant),it’s

hardtoarguetheseGuardians’

galaxyisn’tworthsaving.

VERDICT

THE OPM BREAKDOWN

Right Gloomy
Eris Morn
returns. If we
throw a shindig,
she’s off the
guest list.

Below Swords
feature heavily
in certain
missions. Best
get swinging,

Above left The Moon’s atmosphere is now dotted with floating corpses.

Bungie’s new DLC falls flat due

to its rehashed Moon setting,

yet there are still moments of

brilliance here. The season pass

price is hard to justify, but the

free-to-play main game gives us

hope. Dave Meikleham

5%Sortingout

yourloot– it’s

a really painless

process.

10%Crossing

yourfingersfor

a gooddropin

newarenaVex

Offensive.

15%Replaying

missionstogrind

forbounties

andquests.

7%Killing

Nightmaresover

andovertoget

through the

maincampaign.

WHAT YOU DO IN... DESTINY 2: SHADOWKEEP

60%

Blasting enemies

with headshots

as you find the

gun that’s just

right for you.

3% Waiting for

the rest of Team

OPM to havetime

to do a strike.

STAT PACK

Pieces of

Legendary

Dreambane

Armour you’ll

track down in

the campaign.

Levels in the new

Season Pass

• though most of
  the fun stuff is in
  the free-to-play
  game anyhow.

Months since we

last visited the

moon in the first

Destiny. Going

back feels

underwhelming.

950 559100

The new softcap

power level

you’ll be striving

towards, from

a base level

of 750.

On release, Destiny 2

felt obsessed with

trying to gather new

fans. Shadowkeep is

all about celebrating

its history and fans.

SERIESOGRAPHY

Destiny | 9Destiny: The Dark Below | 8Destiny 2 | 8Destiny 2: The Curse Of

Osiris

|^6

Destiny

2:

Forsaken | 8

Destiny: The Taken King | 9 Destiny 2: Warmind | 5

IS IT BETTER THAN?

YES

Packed with content,

but much more floaty

and less focused than

Shadowkeep. Bungie is

the headshot master.

NO

With new enemies,

and a thrilling plot,

this was the freshest

Destiny had felt

in years.

YES

BioWare’s Iron-Man-

like take on Destiny

was dead on arrival,

and has yet to be

brought up to snuff.

Thankstogoingfree-to-playandboosting

everyone to power level 750 it feels like the

playing field has been levelled for Shadowkeep’s

introduction. That means everyone is able to hop into

the new content. As excellent as the moment to moment

gameplay still is, this expansion feels like a Best Of: a

returning main area, modified enemies we’ve seen

before, and ghostly former bosses. What’s here is fun,

but it needed to feel newer. Oscar Taylor-Kent

SECOND OPINION SERIES EXPERT