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#Future 2’s Season 22 pulls essentially the most anticlimactic bait and change – Destructoid

Future 2’s Season 22 pulls essentially the most anticlimactic bait and change – Destructoid

Future 2‘s Season 22 story is nearly full. With the formal weekly story updates culminating in a finale for Week 7, all that is still, barring any substantial deviations from the norm, are a couple of audio logs, lore entries, and a remaining exercise within the Imbaru Engine. However as a substitute of a satisfying conclusion to the suspense that had been constructing even earlier than the Season of the Witch started, gamers bought a complicated mess of a cutscene that prompted extra questions than it offered solutions. Maybe worst of all, crucial narrative-moving occasions happen straight after the depicted scene, partially nullifying the finale’s cinematic. Nevertheless, that very important data lives solely in lore pages that the majority gamers won’t ever see.

Season of the Witch begins the place the previous Season of the Deep ended. Gamers uncover they want Savathûn’s assist, because the Hive God is important to traversing the portal utilized by the Witness on the finish of Lightfall‘s marketing campaign. In opposition to those plans is Xivu Arath, Savathûn’s sister and the Hive God of struggle. To that finish, the season noticed Guardians serving to Eris Morn interact in rituals to propel her into Hive Godhood. Whereas that is occurring, rigidity is rising between Eris, Xivu, and the plans inside plans Savathûn is understood for.

Regardless of the sturdy hook, Season 22’s storytelling falls aside in its most pivotal moments. Gamers by no means get to see Eris flex energy as a Hive God, and Xivu has nonetheless but to seem exterior of flashbacks to the Hive Gods’ origins. Making issues worse, key narrative occurs off-screen, together with the half-baked, meandering reply to how gamers will comply with the Witness into the Coronary heart of the Traveler.

This looks like The Veil once more

Screenshot through Bungie

The proposition was easy: revive Savathûn and get no matter MacGuffin permits the plot to maneuver ahead. Nevertheless, issues don’t come to fairly as neat a conclusion. Whereas Season 22’s Week 7 cutscene reveals Eris Morn killing Savathûn to realize her energy and seemingly voiding the unique deal, the Hive God remains to be fairly alive. Following the check-ins on the H.E.L.M, gamers obtain a lore entry within the Rites of Passage ebook. It reveals that Savathûn is instantly revived by her Ghost following the cutscene’s occasions. She then tells gamers that the important thing to following the Witness will reveal itself when the second is correct.

So, to be clear, Savathûn is aware of no matter is required to comply with the Witness and is opting to present a hand-waving reply that quantities to, ‘Effectively I suppose you’ll simply have to attend and see.’ All of the whereas, she presses the significance of gamers not failing to pursue the Witness. Bungie has tried this technique of making a winding thriller round a brand new plot gadget earlier than, and it blew up in its face. This stinks to the excessive heavens the identical approach the intrigue round The Veil did in Lightfall‘s marketing campaign.  

What’s The Veil? Gamers actually didn’t know on the time, however NPCs appeared to grasp how essential it was. But there was almost no dialogue about what The Veil was and why gamers ought to care about it. It was only a hook with none bait. Bungie finally acknowledged that narrative supply round The Veil was off and took measures to treatment the problem. Nevertheless it looks like historical past is repeating itself. The opposite massive drawback is, as a result of these essential story particulars exist solely as a lore entry, there’ll possible be many gamers who’ll merely consider Savathûn is lifeless, having solely watched the cutscene.

Xivu Arath was unceremoniously defused

Screenshot through Bungie

Whereas it’s irritating that important story beats had been surprisingly much less accessible in Season 22, it’s no extra so than how Xivu Arath was dealt with. After Eris absorbs the ability from killing Savathûn, she creates a fiery picture of Xivu Arath’s image in her hand. Eris crushes it, and similar to that, Xivu is banished from her throne world. The act renders the God mortal and successfully takes a whole lot of the wind out of the villain earlier than she will seem within the recreation.

It was by no means possible that Eris and Xivu would battle one another one-on-one, on condition that the Hive God of struggle attracts energy from acts of battle. Nevertheless, coping with Xivu Arath off-screen after the final two seasons had her screaming over Guardians’ comms for battle feels a bit deflated. It might have felt like a worthwhile payoff for gamers’ work, even when it was just some seconds, for Xivu to get her on-screen debut or to showcase Eris’ energy defending herself from the God of struggle. 

In fact, it doesn’t look like Xivu is totally out of the image. However dropping a throne world, the supply and manifestation of a Hive God’s energy, is sort of the blow. Whereas there’s nonetheless some likelihood Guardians will hear from Xivu once more earlier than the season formally ends, it’ll lack the aptitude that would’ve been integrated into the Week 7 finale.

Season 22’s confusion results in nothing

Screenshot through Bungie

On the finish of the season, what are gamers left with? Effectively, for many who care sufficient to learn by way of the non-obligatory lore entries, they’ll know Savathûn is alive, albeit withholding the knowledge that enables the story to progress. Those that didn’t get out their studying glasses will likely be in shock the subsequent time the Hive God of lies reveals up unscathed, making pointed remarks as if nothing’s unsuitable. All gamers will know from the cutscene that Xivu Arath was handled off-screen. Not formally defeating the long-withheld Hive God, however doing sufficient to defuse a seemingly inescapable confrontation.

So, with all that thought of, Guardians are just about proper the place they began. Gamers nonetheless don’t have a definitive reply to the overarching query that’s been stretched because the finish of Lightfall‘s marketing campaign: how will we undergo the portal? However there apparently is a solution; it’s simply being tugged in entrance of gamers like a carrot on a stick. The battle with Xivu Arath wasn’t resolved in any main approach; simply placed on maintain. And gamers nonetheless haven’t gotten a glimpse at Xivu’s present kind, even after two seasons of Bungie hyping the God up.

If something, Guardians’ solely progress this season was in bringing again a strong enemy. And even that will likely be some extent of rivalry between those that simply casually play the sport and people who learn each scrap of lore. It’s a disgrace as a result of Season 22’s story was fairly attention-grabbing — showcasing Eris grappling in opposition to the Hive’s and Xivu’s affect. It was actually simply the weird finale and its awkward break up presentation that left such a bitter notice. Future 2 is a stay recreation, and issues might change instantly, however proper now, it looks like Season 22 was gamers getting screwed out of their finish of a deal.

Jonathan LoChiatto

Jonathan LoChiatto is a author, editor, and content material creator with content material throughout Destructoid, GameRant, SVG, and extra. Jonathan is the creator of The Dorkweb podcast and continues to dabble in leisure. When he isn’t streaming Future 2, he may be discovered digging into RPGs, technique video games, and shooters.

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