Season of the Lost is Destiny 2’s newest season and it marks the return of fan favorite character, Queen of the Awoken, Mara Sov. One of humanity’s greatest enemies has made her presence known and Mara, alongside the rest of the Awoken, has a plan to stop her. Load your Vulpecula, ready your Lorentz Driver and jump into Season of the Lost as we fight to save Mara’s missing allies. Journey through the Shattered Realm as we race to the climax of a 3 year old conflict between two Queens.
I’ve done quite a few Destiny reviews already, so to spice things up a bit, I’m pulling a Clint Eastwood and presenting the good, the bad and the ugly of Season of the Lost.
Scathelocke is back! (The Good)
Season of the Lost continues to build on what made Chosen and Splicer great: the loot! As usual, the playlist activities (strikes, Crucible, Gambit), Iron Banner and Trials received new weapons in their loot pool. A few returning favorites from Destiny 1 like the Comedian and a few new toys like the Stasis sidearm, Peacebond dropping from Iron Banner. A whole batch of weapons have also been reissued with random rolls such as my beloved Scathelocke. The Prophecy dungeon, arguably one of the best endgame experiences currently in Destiny 2, had its loot pool refreshed with updated versions of the old Trials of the Nine weapons from Year 1. Loot has always been a big part of the Destiny gameplay loop and it’s good to see that Bungie is continuing their good work on that front. The new Stasis elemental weapons are also well balanced and new perks such as Headstone, Harmony and Adagio are fun and make the new seasonal weapons feel desirable.
Season of the Lost serves a similar purpose to last year’s Season of Arrivals: setting up the storyline and getting players invested in the build up to the next yearly expansion. If the story for this season was anything less than stellar, Bungie risks players losing interest in the next expansion, especially since this season is much longer than usual. However, the story and lore have never been in a better place in all of Destiny’s history. The new lore pages reward those invested enough to read through them, the main story cutscenes and interactions with Savathun or Mara Sov are very well done, and with new story beats and missions coming out every week, there’s always something new to see or do in Destiny. It’s great to see familiar faces pop up again in the Destiny universe and the return to the Dreaming City has been long overdue.
The last good thing I will bring up are some quality-of-life improvements that have fundamentally made Destiny a better game to play. Crossplay between all platforms means jumping into a strike is instant, friends can play with one another regardless of platform and those who are still on Stadia can finally play with other people. Implementing BattleEye anticheat and Bungie’s renewed focus on security marks another win against the cheaters who ruin Crucible for everyone else. Trials being revamped to encourage new players to join in, regardless of whether they have a party or not, makes the PVP endgame easier to reach. All of these changes have and will make Destiny better in the long run and regardless of any of the negatives I bring up in this review, it is clear that Bungie, although they may be slow to act, are trying to make Destiny the best game it can be.
Requires Wayfinder’s Compass Calibration Level 18 (The Bad)
I mentioned in my Season of the Splicer review that Bungie seems to have created a formula for all of the seasons for Year 4 for how progression will work. The 3×7 upgrade grid has become a tired sight and I have reached the point where I am more exhausted than anything else. What else is there even really to say about it? It doesn’t matter if it’s called the War Table, the Splicer Servitor or the Wayfinder’s Compass, it’s just the same timegated 21 relatively minor upgrades that ultimately don’t make much of an impact on anything other than make certain aspects of the seasonal activity less frustrating or tedious. Last season it was Ether, the season before that it was Cabal Gold, this season it’s Parallax Trajectory. Doesn’t matter what the name is, it’s just more currency I’ll max out after a few hours of Iron Banner. Bungie cannot use this system again. Full stop. We have had this same upgrade system for a full year now and it’s time to find a new progression system. I don’t expect The Witch Queen to have this same upgrade grid though. I hope.
Trials receiving a full system-wide progression update is great news and I’m glad to see that Bungie is still trying to make sure that they don’t *fully* neglect the PVP side of Destiny. However, why is it just Trials? Bungie have spent so much time trying to perfect Trials, an endgame, highly competitive limited time mode when there is so much else that they could be doing to improve the PVP experience. Why is Iron Banner (which has more players than Trials) still using the outdated token system for loot? How long as it been since we’ve received a brand-new Crucible map? Where are the old ones? I still miss Felwinter’s Peak. Iron Banner received a brand-new armor set for the first time in 2 years and we’re supposed to think that PVP is suddenly fixed? Bungie needs to really sit down and iron out their plan for the Crucible because if all they are going to work on is a mode that only comes by on weekends, I’m going to start being worried about where their priorities are.
Delays, Cosmetic Packs, and More (The Ugly)
COVID-19 really hammered the games industry hard. Delays and rushed releases were common in 2020 and 2021. Destiny’s yearly expansion, which usually releases in the Fall, has been delayed to February 2022. Therefore, Season of the Lost will be double the length of a regular season, having 6 months rather than 3. During the Witch Queen expansion reveal event, Bungie announced a 30th anniversary bundle which adds a new dungeon, the return of the beloved Gjallarhorn rocket launcher and more. This bundle will release later this year, presumably as a stand in for a full proper season. Will this be enough though? Season of the Lost faces a problem previous seasons have had to endure, which is the inevitable end of season burnout many players face. However, unlike previous seasons which had a new season or expansion releasing in a few short months, Season of the Lost will have to keep players invested for nearly half a year. That is a challenge that will be difficult to surpass.
There’s also the controversy surrounding the expansion and 30th anniversary bundle itself. Despite being a free to play game, there are many in the Destiny community who are outraged about the pricing structure of the Witch Queen expansion and the 30th anniversary bundle. Accusations of overpriced content, insufficient value and greed have been thrown around on Reddit and Twitter. Unfortunately, the hotheads (and I’m not talking about the rocket launcher) will not be proven wrong or right until the content actually releases. We’ll have to wait and see. Bungie, despite whatever negative reputation they’ve developed, have always been able to deliver value for the price. All of the content I covered, the new weapons, seasonal activities, Trials refresh, new armor and more, are all for just $10. For the price of 10 candy bars, you can get all of this content and trust me, it’s more satisfying to have that perfect Servant Leader drop than it is to throw up after eating too many Snickers. Bungie isn’t perfect and I have never said that they were. But Destiny has proven itself over and over again to be one of the most content packed, value rich and best feeling games on the market. Bungie have earned every second chance we’ve given them, and I intend to give them another.
Witch Queen and Beyond
Destiny has never been in such a good state as it is now. The story is reaching a fever pitch, you can’t go more than 5 feet without tripping over a new weapon or armor piece, and Bungie have made it clear that it doesn’t stop here. Modes like Trials and Nightfalls are receiving renewed focus and progression for the core modes have never been more streamlined. There’s always a reason, every week, to jump onto Destiny. Whether it be chasing the new Stasis weapons or getting that flawless Trials card or working with Mara and Crow to stop Savathun’s plans, each week brings something new to do.
I cannot recommend Destiny more, especially to new players. Even just the PVE content is worth the ridiculously low entry fee (which, I remind you, is free). Season of the Lost is not going to receive a perfect score, unfortunately. A reused upgrade system, certain modes being neglected, like Gambit, and the longer than usual season potentially leading to early burnout means Season of the Lost has a lot on its plate to keep returning and active Destiny players happy. However, for new players, Destiny has so much to offer, so many things to do, so many experiences waiting to be seen. All you have to do…is look.
8/10
Check Out the Destiny 2: Season of the Lost Trailer – https://youtu.be/kFF6tsCXzfE
Related: DESTINY 2: Season of the Splicer Review
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My name is Matt Tran and I have been playing video games since I could remember holding a controller. I've always been a hardcore gamer growing up, from the hectic MW2 and Halo 3 lobbies, my many journeys through several Halo clans and my current exploits with my Destiny 2 clan. I love shooters and RPGs and overanalyzing every component of every game I've played, from weapon stats to ideal perks. When I have time to play other games, I currently play Genshin Impact and Star Wars Squadrons.
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