At E3 2018, Game Rant had the opportunity to play one of the story missions included with Destiny 2’s Year 2 expansion, Forsaken. Like with The Taken King a few years ago, this demo was merely a taste of what players can expect – in this case, the first mission in the DLC.
The early parts of the mission fall in line with what we already know about Destiny 2: Forsaken. A prison breakout has erupted at the Prison of Elders on The Reef and Cayde-6 and the player’s Guardian have been sent to check it out. Unfortunately, things are more intense than initially assumed.
While Prison of Elders in Destiny 1 was simply a series of interchangeable arenas, the Prison of Elders in Destiny 2: Forsaken feels like a real prison, only with a lot of destruction all around. There are large open areas with cells for various baddies, many of whom have escaped and are running amok.
Where past environments in early Destiny 2 missions have centered on teasing scope or scale, this Forsaken demo had a more intimate feel. This is a prison breakout and so there is destruction all around and enemies from almost every race running around. What’s most interesting about this prison escape concept is that it allows the various alien races of Destiny to come into conflict with each other. Past expansions have toyed with this somewhat, but Forsaken seems to take things to a new level in this mission.
In a lot of ways, the demo called to mind the first mission in The Taken King, where players descend upon a new area to handle a routine problem before it becomes apparent that something larger and more nefarious is afoot. But make no mistake; Cayde-6 is along for the ride so there is ample opportunity for his signature quips.
Prison of Elders is a fun environment to battle through, even if it doesn’t have the wow factor of some iconic Destiny 2 missions. But this opening is going to be remembered for another, more important reason.
As is revealed in the Destiny 2 cinematic trailer, Cayde-6 meets his demise at the hands of Prince Uldren. While seeing Cayde-6 die in the cinematic trailer is disturbing enough - and actually not how it happens in-game - watching it in the context of a story mission is even more disconcerting. It also perfectly sets the stakes for Forsaken, which Bungie bills as a revenge tale for our Guardians.
More than anything, Destiny 2: Forsaken’s story demo at E3 2018 establishes a darker tone for the series and gives weight to the missions to come. Whereas past expansions have focused on stopping a bad guy simply because he/she/it is bad, Forsaken players now have a real antagonist and a score to settle.
Destiny 2: Forsaken releases September 4, 2018 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
