Destiny 2 concluded the main story chapter of its Shadowkeep expansion by giving players a closer look than ever at the mysterious pyramid ship and what players have understood to be the Darkness itself, the main antagonist that has been teased since the very beginning of Destiny 1. Alongside Shadowkeep and its raid, Garden of Salvation that clearly tied back into the narrative of the Darkness and the pyramid ships, the Season of the Undying connected lightly to the story but also offered its own narrative thread focused on the Vex. And, now, currently, the Season of Dawn continued more of that Vex storyline more so than it has the narrative that was set up by Eris and the forces of Darkness on the Moon.
But that does not mean that developer Bungie has forgotten that cliffhanger ending of Shadowkeep, and it promises that it is not trailing off from that storyline but is instead setting the stage to continue it. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Bungie's creative lead Robbie Stevens and narrative lead Nikko Stevens said that Destiny 2 has only scratched the surface of this story.
Robbie Stevens spoke about how Destiny 2 has switched to a seasonal model with the focus being delivering story month to month much more like a TV show than a traditional video game campaign but promised that what players did in Shadowkeep is only the beginning to a bigger discovery behind the Darkness:
"This is a large cosmic force unlike anything the players have seen before. It has its own intrinsic power and abilities that we’re just scratching the surface on and what the Darkness actually means. The way the player interacts with the ship begins to slowly pull back the curtain on what these cosmic beings really are."
That story is going to continue to unfold across the seasons. This could occur in a big way in some form in Season 11, which Bungie has teased is going to be unlike any other time in Destiny. Or, players could see this story take its next big leap in next fall's expansion, which Bungie has all but promised at this point in its "expansion followed by a year of seasons" plan for Destiny 2's future. Nikko Stevens said that the story is being told season to season through the point of view of the game's characters such as Osiris and Saint-14:
"What they are is being told through the lenses of characters. Even if someone directly references it, they’re given their point of view. Moving these throughlines forward, these big touchstone releases like Shadowkeep are going to unfurl those stories."
The developers also teased that the ending of Shadowkeep where players met a dark doppelganger of themselves is just the first step in a greater narrative:
"We’re putting the pieces in place for the future. Those moments you’re seeing in Shadowkeep where you see your doppelganger and you’re interacting with the Pyramid ships and it’s speaking to you, we’re setting the stage."
Players pretty universally praised the Shadowkeep campaign and its decision to return to bringing back the Darkness and the pyramid ships back into focus, a tease from the after-credits cinematic from Destiny 2's original campaign. Despite what feels like a bit of a step away from that narrative in Season of the Undying and Season of Dawn, it should be encouraging that Bungie is very much focused on continuing this story with these seasonal stories being the stepping stones in the grand narrative of the Darkness.
Destiny 2: Shadowkeep is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter