Destiny 2 players have come a long way in their battle against the forces of Darkness. They have dabbled with new powers like Stasis and Strand, made major allies like Caiatl and Mara Sov, and defeated a number of foes that allied themselves with The Witness. However, come 2024 and the release of the Final Shape, this journey that players have been on for an entire decade will finally be coming to a close. When it does, Bungie should go in an ambitious new direction with its next chapter.
As Destiny 2 continues on after the likely defeat of The Witness, there is an argument to be made that Bungie should stick to the universe that it has already fleshed out. After all, some players want Gearbox to expand on Borderlands’ existing planets before adding new ones, and there is a very similar argument to be made about prioritizing new regions for Europa, Neptune, and Earth. Still, leaving the worlds players know behind could be even more exciting.
Destiny 2’s Next Story Can Take the Guardians to a New Galaxy
To be clear, Destiny 2 jumping to a whole new galaxy would be a massive undertaking, and one that would likely require a proper Destiny 3. Considering that Bungie has argued against the idea of a third Destiny game in the past, exploring a new galaxy feels like a pipe dream, though it is something that would undoubtedly have a long list of benefits. Plus, with Savathun suggesting that gamers could leave the current solar system in her “two truths, two lies” recordings, it is hard not to think about the possibility.
For starters, the planets themselves could have their own lore and significant characters that are completely distinct from those in the existing galaxy. Similar to how Neomuna had a lot of new and interesting lore that stood on its own, a fresh set of planets without ties to the previous saga gives Bungie a lot of freedom to tell stories that are truly fresh. It also allows the studio to get even more creative than it already has with the locations players explore, as planets could be comprised of entirely different technology or boast a truly alien aesthetic. With locations like the Dreaming City showing how stunning fully original areas can be, more zones like it would be exciting.
Another major benefit of a fresh galaxy is that Destiny can move away from the enemy races players have been fighting for a decade. While some may never tire of shooting the heads off Thralls and firing at the weak point on the backs of the Cabal, others are likely desperate for something new. Though the additions of the Scorn and Taken were helpful, dropping multiple new factions at the same time would be amazing. So long as Bungie avoids the Mass Effect: Andromeda problem and features many new types of aliens in this different galaxy, players would be thrilled about the opportunity.
Bungie could shake things up even further by introducing a whole new Guardian class to accompany the Hunters, Titans, and Warlocks. Perhaps the Traveler already visited this hypothetical second galaxy at some point in the past, abandoning some old Guardians and making them twisted in the process. This would be a good justification for a summoner role, though players following the Traveler to whatever place it moves to next could also explain a new class rising up. Again, this is unlikely, as crafting more versions of all the existing subclasses alongside gear for a brand-new role would take a ton of work, though the payoff could be massive.
Jumping to a different universe is something that could allow Bungie to close chapters for characters like Zavalla without killing them off, as Zavalla could simply continue to look after The Last City as Guardians go on new adventures light years away. If Bungie truly does not want to craft a Destiny 3 to make this happen, perhaps it could grow this new universe one planet at a time, slowly adding enemy factions and subclasses for a hypothetical fourth class. While all of this may be too ambitious, especially with Bungie wanting to stand by Destiny 2 and the Tiger Engine, a huge saga ending opens the door for many fresh opportunities.
Destiny 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.