‘Beyond Light’ is finally here and the threat that players heard of in Destiny 1 from the Exo stranger has finally come to light and things certainly look grim. Beyond Light is the latest expansion to Destiny 2 by Bungie and is available on PC, Playstation 4|5, Xbox One, Series X|S and is under the Xbox Game Pass for the console release.

Players are met with a cutscene upon starting Beyond Light to cover some backstory that had happened during the live event leading up to this expansion, as many players missed out on it due to regional timing and player queues. We get to see some old faces such as the Exo stranger and the war that she had been fighting when we first met her back in Destiny 1 and boy was she not lying about how bad the threat really was.

‘The Fallen’ have harnessed the darkness to give themselves powers that rival even the Guardians and their light that the Traveller has blessed them with. The Guardians will now set off on the new task to take down the Fallen while also dipping into the darkness themselves. The new power class is a welcome addition, along with Solar, Arc, Void Beyond Light now adds Darkness or Stasis which is nicely ice-themed.

The story for Beyond Light is a little on the short side of things and it can be finished fast in a fire team or if you have powered up before jumping into the plot. I did neither solo and underpowered and it felt good for a change as it added to the threat that has been building up since Destiny 1. By the time I got to the final boss, I was a little more powered than them so it felt more balanced with the storyline of the player harnessing a new power.

The new supers for each class are very unique to the play style that the class goes for; the Warlocks super Winters Wraith fires out orbs that freeze the targets before raising their staff and sending out a denoting blast to shatter frozen enemies. It fits well with the Warlock’s damage control across multiple targets.

The Titan’s Glacial Quake summons a gauntlet that the Titan slams into the ground creating shockwaves and Stasis crystals, freezing nearby enemies while also being covered in a new layer of armor. This increases the jumping and punching output of the Titan. It is a great super for Titan players as it covers both aspects of tanking, with a single large hit and also the added armor it is a great touch.

The Hunter’s Silence and Squall, a pair of Kuma blades, each have a unique feature. The first thrown will explode on impact freezing enemies in the area close to it, while the second blade sticks into a target and explodes causing a whirlwind of Stasis that will track enemies nearby, slowing them if they are hit. Again another good crowd control super that fits the fast-paced style of the Hunter and makes for setting up kills for teammates or if you just need a bit of breathing space to reload.

In addition to the new supers, there are new enemies under the Vex and Fallen control both are impressive in design and have some great attacks to keep the player on their toes. New features that came with Beyond Light that new and returning players can use is the new exotic vault located on the tower, this will be an archive of past exotics that can no longer be acquired via quest lines in the game anymore so don’t feel like you missed out on a chance to add a gun to the arsenal.

The light level has also been raised. New and old players that were not at the last season cap will start Beyond Light at 1050, it is still a bit underpowered for the new content but not to the point where it is unplayable. The new light cap is 1250 soft cap and 1260 with the seasonal artifact, levels may be boosted over the next few seasons like how they were pre-Beyond Light.

Europa will be the start and finish point for Beyond Light with one trip to the Cosmodrome. Also gone are the tasks of having to jump all around the universe to find out that the bad guy you are looking to hit was behind a rock on the new planet. I enjoyed this as it gave me time to take in Europa and explore it while progressing instead of having to go back to a planet I have been on thousands of times already. With the Cosmodrome being back adding to an experience I missed from the old stomping grounds for Destiny 1, I absolutely went back to all my old spots to get kills on certain enemy types and it is nice to see it has not changed.

For the raiders, the new unnamed raid should be expected on the 21st of November, no details have been mentioned on what to expect just that it will take place on Europa. Also, Vault of Glass will be added in 2021; by far my personal favorite raid. I am looking forward to returning to it and seeing how much has changed.

As mentioned earlier, Destiny 2: Beyond Light is out now on all platforms, though the upgraded version of Destiny 2 for the Series X/S and PS5 will be releasing on December 8th giving you all the new fancy bells and whistles the new consoles will provide.

Overall though, Beyond Light was a great addition to the franchise albeit a short journey.

Written by: Shane Walsh