With the release of Black Armory this week, we officially exit Forsaken “vanilla” territory. Now we can enter the realm of extended content through annual pass…or so we think. Before we dive into that, let’s talk about Forsaken as a whole.
In my Review in Progress I talked about everything that Forsaken brought to the table and how it was a major leap for Destiny 2. It saved the game, and arguably the franchise from certain doom; going above and beyond to impress even the veterans.
Tons of high-quality content unveiled over time. The events and activities rolled out organically. With the exception of the Thunderlord quest, nothing ever felt time-gated or drawn out. Forsaken was the cleanest Destiny experience to date.
For a glorious 3 months, we caught a very compelling glimpse into what Bungie is capable of delivering when their head is fully in the game. The road wasn’t perfect, but the potential is undeniable. If they can perfect their methods, and address issues still persisting with delivering on DLC expectations, then Destiny 3 is going to be a force to be reckoned with.
It Just Works
One of the biggest victories with Forsaken was delivering on a stellar campaign. It seamlessly transitioned to the endgame and the activities of the Dreaming City. However, as many Forsaken players came to experience, the real surprise was the breath of story and lore that was explored in the post-campaign.
Without spoiling anything, the Dreaming City started to explore the much deeper and admittedly much more compelling stories of the extended lore of the game. We experienced a weekly progression of the story as the game’s various cast of characters dealt with the curse that has befallen the city. The stories transitioned you into a brand new activity, the Shattered Throne Dungeon. It didn’t feel time-gated, because it felt like icing on the cake, as opposed to content we were somehow missing.
Even through the last couple weeks we had new characters and new events taking place, furthering the ongoing story of the curse. And as we have seen in recent leaks, the story of Forsaken is far from over.
Sadly this is lost in Bungie’s messaging. For all their carefulness, it has been impossible for Bungie to solidify a narrative of their content presentation. Players have become accustomed to less-than-good expansions. Due to the nature of the current state of console gaming though, it is a model that the majors at least understand.
Annual Sass
Forsaken’s new Annual Pass model continues to tread an uphill battle to justify itself. As I dive into the topic in today’s video (below), there have been mixed reactions to the Annual Pass. Regardless, what no one has expected is the continuation of the base Forsaken campaign. For me to call it here and rate Forsaken as an absolute would be a disservice.
I have semi-seriously viewed leaks as a purposeful way of Bungie to gauge the community’s reaction on certain things. For the first time I’m starting to seriously consider this otherwise crack-pot theory. We have no notion of a continued Forsaken story if it weren’t for certain story leaks. This presents Forsaken as a platform, and more importantly as a story that could potentially continue to unveil over time.
The Annual Pass will continue to deliver additional layers to the endgame. However, the true success of Forsaken has yet to be fully determined. For now, things are looking pretty good.
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