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Review: Destiny 2: Shadowkeep
2026.02.27 12:54
The cycle of Destiny whiplash continues with Destiny 2: Shadowkeep. Like during the Destiny 2 Tips 1 era, we started with a lackluster opening, then got two awful expansions, got our significant overhaul, and now we're at the stopgap. Much like Rise of Iron , it's hard to shake the feeling that Bungie is just buying time until the inevitable next entry in the franchise. In this case, Destiny 2: Shadowkeep feels like Bungie is slow-walking to Destiny 3. The campaign ends up going nowhere, ending in an unsatisfying cliffhanger we likely won't see resolved for a while. Meanwhile, as great as the Moon is compared to its incarnation in the first game, there's no getting around the fact that we've already seen and paid for this before. The core gameplay is still the star of the show, the Moon is a fun place to play around in, the Strikes are imaginative and the new Seasonal Activity is a standout. But you can access all that without owning Shadowkeep (though the Seasonal Activity does require you to own the Season Pass). Destiny 2: Shadowkeep isn't bad, but it also feels wholly unnecessary when most of its selling points (Strikes, the Moon, Armor 2.0) can be played without owning it. This is one nightmare we didn't need to have.
There has been some speculation about the details of Exodus: Evacuation. As it wasn’t available until recently, fans have datamined information to get a general understanding of the quest and what tasks will need to be completed. Now, players have been able to experience the quest first-hand. It focuses on the same four planets. Players will have to complete four quests for each of the leaders on the planets. They won’t visit the planets in the same order they hade before. Players will have to speak to Commander Zavala again to access this qu
Destiny 2’s fourth expansion, Shadowkeep, and its most recent seasons have kept the positive momentum going. With the release of Shadowkeep, Guardians got to return to The Moon to take on nightmarish versions of many defeated foes. The main content additions also included two new strikes, one new Crucible map, two new-ish Crucible Maps and the "Garden of Salvation" raid. Shadowkeep also brought with it the reorganization of the Crucible and the launch of "Armor 2.0."
This might be the cheesiest tip in here, but have fun. Bungie has made it a point to make Forsaken a long, drawn out affair and wants players to enjoy Forsaken not blindly rush through it and feel like nothing was gained. There is so much to do and see with Forsaken that anyone who is breezing through it in a day saying that they saw nothing probably hasn’t seen it all. Yes, the main story can be had in a day, but that’s not the hobby part of Forsaken that Bungie was pushing that was just the initial leap. Forsaken is a deep pool with so many secrets, loot and other things to be had it’s impossible to see it all within the week. Bungie has wised up to how players tackled Destiny and they want Guardians to get the most out of their play time. Whether playing intensely for hours on end day to day or logging in for just a few hours to an hour, there's always something to do; a quest to be chased, a new piece of gear to be had or a mystery to be solved. There is no shortage of what's in Forsaken and having only spent less than a day in it, it’s clear that the Forsaken is only showing the tip of the iceberg.
It’s new expansion time with Bungie rolling out Destiny 2: Forsaken this week and with it comes all sorts of changes that might as well be an entirely new game...OK maybe not entirely. Forsaken does change quite a bit, though, and if freshly coming back or starting up these little list of helpful tips should set any Guardian on the right path to taking it easy while enjoying the most of Forsaken; this is not an end all be all just some things noticed in the initial first few hours that will make getting through The Reef and the rest of the galaxy easier when taking down the big bad Uldren.
You don't even need to own Shadowkeep to enjoy a lot of the expansion's content. The opening mission, the Moon patrol space, the new two new Strikes and the three Crucible maps are available as part of Destiny 2: New Light, the free-to-play version of the game. While the Raid and campaign are sectioned off, there's a lot you can do without owning Shadowkeep (the Seasonal Activities require you own the Season Pass).
Exodus: Preparation is only available during the Season of Arrivals. Players can obtain this quest from Commander Zavala. Mysterious pyramids have appeared on different planets, causing great concern. Players will need to help these citizens prepare for evacuation of the planets. They will have to speak to a leader on each planet and complete weekly bounties for t
No matter if playing a Titan, Hunter or Warlock, each subclass now comes with an additional Attunement within it adding some spectacular new powers. Take the Warlocks Dawnblade which now has Attunement of Grace allowing for a super that slams a flaming sword into the ground creating a super rift that does AoE damage, is twice as large as a regular rift and grants both healing with empowering capabilities at the same time. It’s the ultimate team work class. Get to known the new Attunements because they are more than fun -- they’re worth it. Getting these new Attunements isn’t easy, though, as Guardians will have to collect Visions of Light an item that looks like a glowing blue feather that only drops from powerful enemies. After enough have been collected, a quest will appear guiding the Guardian forward. The entire Attunement doesn’t unlock right away either, Forsaken wants the player to feel like they’ve earned being more powerful. Unlocking all the sub-classes won’t be done in a day and that’s a good thing.