izigame.me

The Final Shape might be the best Destiny 2 expansion of all time. After the disaster of Lightfall to see something crafted with care and admiration for the players of a 10 year journey was a sight to behold and experience. From story to new gameplay features. It was more than I hoped for, this game has rocky moments, but I'm confident to say this is peak.
While I have some criticisms (which I'll detail in the spoilers below), It felt like the narrative goodness of Forsaken but very much like the Taken King in its approach to destination design, offering many things to hunt down and find to be well rewarded. From exotics, to an old favorite, and the new abilities of Prismatic.
Non Spoiler things:
The Pale Heart as a destination manages to feel creative, distinct, at the same time but doesn't get old as trekking the same planet or hopping to ones you've been to. (See Spoilers for more details)
Prismatic and the new light supers are not only fun, but opens the game to so much more and manages to both deepen and broaden the playing field at the same time for old and new players. (See Spoilers for more details)
Fireteam power makes doing any D2 content with friends who don't play as much way easier, while account power level lessens the overall grind of wanting to try each class.
I personally enjoy the pathfinder system which I know many dislike, but I find it a lot more enjoyable having my bounties be just things i do and check and not have to visit every single vendor and manage how many I have and all that.
As far as story goes I can't say much without spoiling things so from here on SPOILERS AHEAD:
The Pale Heart and The Final Shape being designed as a linear experience really managed to add so much cohesion not only to a 10 year unfolding plot, but to the general experience of the campaign. Going from campsite to campsite as you make your way to The Witness's doorstep was wonderful, and while Cayde, Ikora, Zavala, Crow, all had deep wonderful connected moments the biggest thing to me was your main quest giver and vendor for the destination being your ghost. It felt deeply personal as your ghost wear and tears through the constant struggle inside the Traveler as he has been on your side since the start. The world first raid race surpassing Last Wish in length felt like a commendable effort from Bungie not only making the final approach a challenging one, but proving Bungie still has it in terms of raids after the ill-received Root of Nightmares. The ending to this was not the final battle however, as Bungie taking respect for ALL players didn't want just raid players (let's face it thats not all of us) to partake but everyone. So it ends in a final 12 player activity in which *EVERYONE* unites, our friends from our 10 year journey to the guardians by your side, working together for the final blow. Ending in a cut scene that made me cry and is to much to even explain here, the orbit theme change made me tear up to, really sparking the hope after all we've been trying for 10 years has been finished.
Prismatic is not only fun as hell to use, but unlocking everything for it felt so much better than the really crappy ways Solar/Arc/Void 3.0, and Stasis/Strand was done. Some parts coming from the story, others taking a Taken King style approach encourage much exploration of the destination, with some things very well hidden. This is also true for getting Khvostov which not only got a legendary variant which is essentially a upgraded version of its D1 exotic variant, but a new exotic variant that is unique and fun, something that the Still Hunt, armor exotics, and more have been to. Even the destination Legendary weapons have been fantastic to play with, even letting me fulfill my Medic dreams even more outside of Lumina/Boots of the Assembler.
Overthrow as an activity while confusing at first is another thing that I found enjoying as its mini-public event style gauntlet doesn't offer explanation and learning mechanics while engaging with the destination to find secrets, really did spark a lot of that old Destiny 1 feel in me, and with each biome in The Pale Heart being so unique I never felt like I was on the same map, and with each biome having so many things to find, it was really enjoyable to do. The process of unlocking prismatic really felt like an old Destiny 1 chase and I love it for that. On that note Prismatic itself is easy to use but has a high skill ceiling to master, anyone can have fun with it and anyone who wants to push it can also do that.
Did i mention they removed mandatory lost sectors? Thank god.
My main criticisms come in a few points: Overthrow zones should be matchmade not just 1 on a daily rotation (though soloing them is easy enough with the Traveler's blessing system which also adds depth to the destination.)
The pathfinder system while I very much enjoy it I do understand those who are afraid to be pushed into certain activities, but I don't find it that bad, as exploring all facets of the game is a good thing, maybe you're not a fan of Cruicble or Gambit (you should be Gambit is dope), but engaging with them will still reward you, and to those saying "it's not fast enough XP" I advise you to take your time and enjoy the game. It's not a race, and games become a lot better when you invest yourself in them and learn along the way, plus you'll still get sweet loot. Lastly Vestiges can be a little bit cumbersome if you don't realize they only combine on obtaining the 5th one, if you get a combined vestige, then get to 5 more they won't combine and you will have to earn another for it to, this lead to some backtracking and oof moments but the beauty is once you get Prismatic fragments full on one character its there for all. So not to bad.
END OF SPOILERS:
I don't usually write lengthy or reviews to much in general, but for a game that was at one if not its lowest point and to come out in tears, was a delight. I enjoyed The Final Shape a ton, and I have hope for the future.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=163_C5UVU-I