The release of Destiny 2 Lightfall has arrived, and sadly, it doesn’t seem to be good news for developer Bungie. Billed as the pinnacle of the ongoing Light and Dark saga for FPS gaming, the campaign promised real achievement with the arrival of The Witness and the answers to many important questions. But while Destiny 2 Lightfall’s quests are packed with exciting gameplay, the community seems to be largely disappointed with the direction of the story.
“Gameplay-wise it’s explosive and fun, but story-wise it lacks great opportunities and I can’t recommend it in good conscience, at least to new players, potentially gamers from back. And it breaks my fucking heart.” Certainly damning words from a man who has been affectionately described by the community as Destiny’s “lore dad.” James Byford, better known as “My Name is Byf” or simply Byf, has been at the forefront of showcasing Destiny lore for many years.
From deep one-on-one dives into specific aspects of Destiny lore to full explanations of the timeline, Byf has acted as a kind of librarian for many players, cultivating all of the great details scattered throughout Bungie’s games and arranging them into delicious meals for easy consumption. But in a 26-minute video after finishing the Lightfall campaign, Byf discusses his biggest complaints and where he feels let down.
“This campaign time the moment, and I feel like it’s something that absolutely needs to be pushed,” he begins, explaining everything that has built up so far and the final intro to The Witness. So what was wrong with Byf’s head? “Nothing is explained… at all. At a time when Bungie needed to start answering the questions they’ve been asking for a long time, they’re narratively mute.”
In particular, Byf highlights one of Lightfall’s central concepts, the veil: “I’m the lore man in this community,” he exclaims, politely pausing to point out other key contributors. , “I am the ‘father of tradition.’ and I can’t tell you what the Veil is, because I don’t know. They don’t explain it in the story.” The full video dives much deeper into spoiler territory, which we’ll avoid here for those of you who haven’t played it yet, but suffice it to say that Byf is disappointed.
You’re certainly not alone either: Destiny 2 Lightfall Steam reviews are currently “mostly negative” at the time of writing, with only 28% of over 2,000 reviewers giving the expansion a positive rating. Many of these reviews go so far as to compliment the gameplay systems and even some of the mission design, but there’s an overwhelming sense of disappointment in the narrative. Even many positive reviews include comments such as “the story and pacing were a mess” or say “the story doesn’t explain anything”.
Giving credit to the main antagonist, Byf says, “The Witness is well done, it’s a shame everything they’re looking for is so nebulous, because that affects the character as well.” As a result, he notes, it is difficult to strongly oppose them. On the other hand, Byf calls the game’s jokes about Nezarec “really good”, saying he’s excited to see where these story arcs are going. “We get a glimpse of something remarkable happening in the background of the story, and it is slowly beginning to reveal itself.
With the follow-up to The Final Shape set to arrive shortly after Lightfall, there are questions in the air as to whether Bungie is holding its cards to play its final hand in the future. However, it brings little satisfaction at the moment, and if the community at large feels disappointed with Lightfall, some may decide not to stick around and check out the sequel. A comment on a popular thread sharing Byf’s video perhaps sums up the sentiment best: “When even Byf doesn’t know what happened, you know the story is bullshit.”
Hopefully the Destiny 2 Lightfall raid release will help shed some light on things. Do you understand, light? In the meantime, we’ve got everything you need to know to prepare, including all the Destiny 2 Lightfall Exotics, a Destiny 2 Strand subclass guide, and even how to beat the Destiny 2 Lightfall Calus fight if you’re finding it difficult. .