I always knew I would one day be tempted to return to Destiny 2. After three years and several thousand hours of play, this past February I hit my limit on a garbage MMO as the massive FPS got trapped inside and uninstalled. But I still love the parts, including the cool sci-fi scenery. So when I heard that the final season was going back to the oceanic space moon Titan, one of my favorite locations, I was tempted. Oh you tempted me! But now Season Of The Deep started yesterday and Titan is here and no, that’s not enough.
Season Of The Deep sees the return of Titan’s Saturnian moon after its disappearance in November 2020. In the game’s story, Titan was one of the places that disappeared from the solar system as The Darkness moved on. In fact, it was one of the many parts the game was removed and locked in the Destiny Content Vault as Bungie tried to manage development challenges for a game that had become too big for them to handle.
Now, the story goes, Titan has appeared again. Deputy Commander Sloan (last seen donning Golden Age power armor and settling into a drawn-out battle after refusing to evacuate Titan) needs help salvaging technology from oceans of methane and contacts a mysterious giant worm for information in order to fight against The Witness. This includes a new activity where we dive into exotic waters teeming with vibrant life. This should appeal to me.
My views of the sea are well known and I used to adore Titan in Destiny 2. It’s a scattering of rigs and shimmering Golden Age buildings that stand above glistening waves, now swept by scavengers of Hive and Eliksni, a sign of how far humanity has fallen in The Collapse. Several expeditions delved into the depths of oncology, through lush gardens and stunning residential spaces, catching a glimpse of something beyond the vast swimming pool. I think we now know who he is: Al-Hasa, Sloane’s new boyfriend.
Still not enough for me. Honestly, I’m thankful that Titan will only return as a limited area for specific activities, not the free-roaming patrol area it once was. If the Titan was the focus of the full expansion, rebuilt and expanded into the space I always hoped it would be (the big chunks never really had anything to do in Patrol), this might have got me. I want to go back to oncology. I want to dive under the water and enjoy exotic anemones. I want to meet a worm. I want the cool looking new Taken weapons. But that’s not enough to get me through Destiny 2, the endless MMO.
It’s not just that you need to get cool weapons or play the best parts of Destiny 2 (like Grandmaster Nightfalls and Day 1 raids), though that’s certainly a big part of my dismay. It’s that every single system wrapped up in a straightforward multiplayer online service of a mess of rewards, quests, time portals, resources, crafting systems, and… even if you refuse to get sucked into it all, and don’t bother getting “god lists,” hocus pocus is still everywhere and never will. allow you to forget about it. Even new small game fishing, which must be a great relaxing time, requires a bait drop as a reward from other activities. Destiny 2 can’t conceive of the idea that you could do anything just because it’s fun.
None of the MMOs are ever interesting or rewarding. They don’t help you, they don’t challenge you in a meaningful way, they don’t ask you to make difficult decisions, and they don’t feel respect for your time. All of this is there simply to occupy you. It’s a shame that one of the best first-person shooters is trapped inside such a bad free-to-play MMO, especially one that still charges £80 for its annual expansion and season.
Ed and Liam both felt the same when they played Destiny 2 in Inventory Space, a video series exploring live-service games.
Season of The Deep is premiering now, running through August 22nd. See Bungie’s Deep sub site season For a great overview and Patch notes For more than 7,000 words about many changes.