Sci-fi RPGs and looter shooters are always quite popular when they are well made, and such is the case for both Destiny 2 and Outriders. While the former continued the success of the first game, Destiny, the latter was a brand new IP and still managed to become very successful. Regardless of fame, these games do share some similarities and some differences that are not uncommon within the genre.

Many sci-fi games, movies, TV shows, novels, and stories in general end up being a means to narrate what could happen to the human race in the near or far future. It is also fairly frequent for the tales told to have main characters either transcending humanity in some way, having to save the human race from impending doom, falling within the "good guys" trope, or all three. This holds true for Destiny 2 and Outriders as well, albeit in different ways.

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Humanity And The Earth In Destiny 2

season of the hunt

Destiny 2 builds up from its predecessor in terms of lore and world-building elements, with some returning characters and some who may never return. In Destiny's lore, the humans were nearly wiped out by the Traveler's enemy, the Darkness. This event is known as "the Collapse," and it marked the end of the Golden Age of humanity. This was the greatest time in history, when the Traveler terraformed the planets and moons of the Solar System, allowing mankind to travel to the edge of the system and colonize other planets, and tripling human lifespan.

Because of the events of the Collapse, the Traveler was severely injured and entered a form of stasis over a site on Earth now known as The Last City, which is the last bulwark of humankind. The Earth was basically left in ruins afterward, and it became the target of several alien species seeking to claim it for their purposes. The only safe place is The Last City, thanks to the Traveler's protective shields and the Guardians infused with the Traveler's Light.

The Guardians In Destiny 2

When the Traveler was about to enter its stasis form, it sent out Ghosts to revive worthy beings among mankind, Exo, and Awoken. These people were known as the Guardians, "Lightbearers" with the task of defending the Solar System and The Last City, with no memories from their past lives. Guardians channel the Traveler's energy, and they are immortal (for the most part), and they are the main playable characters.

Throughout both games from the Destiny saga, players started speculating that Guardians may not be "the good guys" after all. This theory is supported by the fact that Guardians don't make too much fuss about killing other alien species just because they see them as bad, sometimes even overtaking their homeworlds. The Guardians' actions are often debatable, and the faith in the Traveler also doesn't seem a choice pondered through and through, with the entity being ever-silent and not revealing its reasons nor its motives. The Traveler even abandoned the Fallen, a race previously blessed by the Light and known as the Eliksni, now enemies to kill for humankind.

Sure enough, Guardians even get to obtain and use the powers of the Darkness itself (which is the same that caused the Collapse), by the name of the Stasis. This seems to be for a good cause because, apparently, it is the only way to eliminate the current threat to the Solar System, which with Beyond Light was Eramis. She was the new leader of the Fallen, wielding the Darkness to forge a new future for her race. However, despite taking on the Darkness' powers, the Guardians seem to still be very devoted to the Light and the Traveler, making it sound like it was a "means justify the end" situation.

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Outriders: Earth And Mankind

Outriders Cryo Pod

In Outriders, players immediately learn that Earth has been long dead by the time the events take place. Towards the end of the 21st century, humanity had to flee the planet to seek shelter in some other Earth-like world to preserve the species. The reason for Earth's destruction is unclear. It seems to be due to global warming waking up volcanos, or secret tectonic weapons capable of targeting any location to cause earthquakes. Either way, the main factor leading to the planet's demise was an ever-increasing seismic activity, making the Earth uninhabitable by the end of the century.

The major former political leaders and multinational CEOs all worked together to save the human race by building ark ships to travel to the planet Enoch. This group was the Enoch Colonization Authority (ECA for short) and oversaw the construction of two ships: the Flores and the Caravel, with the latter exploding due to failure, and the former reaching Enoch successfully.

Humanity is meant to survive there, and the data showed the planet as being hospitable. On arrival, Outriders discover that it is ridden with Anomaly storms. Humans then have issues with resources being stuck on the Flores, still orbiting Enoch, and riots begin up until they give rise to a war between the Insurgents and the ECA lasting for over 30 years.

Main Characters In Outriders

outriders key artwork

In the game, players customize and then control an Outrider, a soldier originally in charge of exploring and securing Enoch, awakening after 31 years spent in cryo due to the injuries from the prologue. The Outrider was touched by the Anomaly, granting them god-like powers based on the players' chosen path (Technomancer, Pyromancer, Trickster, or Devastator). Compared to Destiny 2's Guardians, the Outriders don't depend on some entity to grant them powers, because they are infused with the Anomaly's powers as an accident.

Despite the immense power the Altered possess, they somehow end up serving the interest of an old acquaintance, slaying Insurgents in battle as well as other Altered. The Outrider is even told as much by another Altered, who tells them they could do whatever they want and that they are almost literal gods among humans, so serving someone else doesn't make sense. The Outrider seems to do this for the greater good and for friendship, which are both values held by the "good guys."

However, the protagonist operates in a grey area, much like Destiny 2's Guardians. An example of this is a side quest completed for Alastair Cullen, during which the Outrider cannot make everything the way the Overseer of Deadrock Pass wants, but still claims the reward. What could Cullen do, anyway, with the Outrider being incredibly powerful?

Also, the Outrider seems to have little to no regard for human life, despite their main job previously was to ensure the safety of mankind on Enoch. Whether this is caused by the Outrider's newfound powers or a general disregard for life is unclear, but an example of this would be the "Terra Infirma" side quest. Here, the protagonist finds one of Shira's missing officers only for him to be shot in the head seconds later, with the Outrider exclaiming "Why do I even bother?"

Outriders is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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