A Complete Destiny 2: The Final Shape Review And Guide

by  John Uke Last update: October 7, 2024

Back in the days of Halo, Bungie showed how to properly make shooters on consoles and how to tell a story so that it becomes a cult one. A lot of time has passed since then, but Bungie remains a company that makes great games, and the Destiny franchise is proof of this. And now, finally, the story is coming to an end. The release of The Final Shape turned out great, and even those who had earlier abandoned the game returned to it. Bungie managed to beautifully and epically end the 10-year Light and Darkness saga. I’ve already played this DLC and am excited to share my Destiny 2: The Final Shape review with you.

About Destiny 2: The Final Shape

The Final Shape is the latest expansion content for Destiny 2, bringing the finale to a story that has been unfolding and ongoing all along. However, this is not the end of Destiny 2 itself; there are new stories and threats ahead. The DLC was released on all major consoles, both current and previous generations, and PC. Read this The Final Shape review further to learn more about the plot, missions, and grand finale.

Destiny 2: The Final Shape Game Overview

Let’s start this Destiny 2: The Final Shape review with some details on the game and plot itself. Destiny was released in 2014, and The Final Shape is the culmination of Bungie’s promised ten-year plan. It serves as the conclusion to the Light and Darkness saga that was the central theme of Destiny and Destiny 2 seasons. The finale of the story and the final boss of this saga is The Witness, an old enemy of The Traveler, who seeks to use The Traveler to freeze the universe, preventing all conflict, decay, or evolution, thus bringing the universe into The Final Shape.

Graphics, Design, And Art Style

Destiny has always been a very stylish and ambitious game. Here, attention is paid not only to graphics but also to the visual artistic content of the game – from weapons, enemy design, and world-building to icon design, hud, and monumental design of locations and various structures. When playing Destiny 2, you always want to, if not take screenshots and record videos of the game, then at least just stop and admire the locations. The artists did a wonderful job in The Final Shape. The game’s signature sound design also doesn’t lag behind.  

Atmosphere And Story

The Final Shape is definitely worth it. It is an emotional and clearly written story where we are immediately given a sense of what’s at stake and go on a journey. Your main goal will be to get to The Witness and prevent it from realizing the eponymous Final Shape – to freeze the entire universe in time for centuries, which, according to The Witness, will bring salvation from entropy and chaos. On your journey, you’ll be joined by a number of characters familiar to all Destiny players. Each character has their own problems and conflicts, making the story lively and emotional, and the splashes of humor in some missions only emphasize this once again. As opponents, a new faction has appeared in Destiny 2 in 6 years: The Dread, who are loyal to the Witness, and their Darkness power makes them more serious opponents than the Hive Thrall.

The Campaign

The Final Shape campaign is designed for 6-8 hours of leisurely walkthrough and includes 7 story missions, such as: 

• Transmigration; 
• Temptation; 
• Exegesis; 
• Requiem; 
• Ascent; 
• Dissent; 
• Iconoclasm. 

Your main task during these missions will be to stop The Witness from carrying out its plan. You start by walking through the jungle, encountering the forces of The Dread along the way, then gain new Prismatic abilities to take down these enemies and get closer to the doorstep of the Witness in the Iconoclasm mission. And finally, an epic PvE battle awaits you in Excision for 12 players, ending the entire saga of the game’s 10-year history. I must say, The Final Shape is worth it at least because of this PvE battle!

When completing missions, two difficulties are available: Normal or Legendary mode. Choosing the more difficult option will help you prepare for the raid, as you will receive an armor set with 1960 strength. The Salvation’s Edge raid is the end of the story campaign as it is here that you will have to fight The Witness and stop it from its plans. If, for some reason, you cannot get in and complete the raid, then you can still finish the fight with The Witness in a separate event. 

In addition to the plot, players will also find a lot of varied end-game content – patrol zones, searching for exotic weapons, and a bunch of different collectibles and secrets.

The Raid

A new raid, Salvation’s Edge, has become available to owners of Destiny 2: The Final Shape. To launch the raid, players must have a power level of 1965 and complete The Final Shape campaign and the Wild Card Exotic quest. The Witness will be the final boss, and defeating it in Salvation’s Edge will complete the story of The Final Shape. Bungie managed to make the final battle with The Witness feel like the big, spectacular, and challenging battle that the story demanded. I must note in my The Final Shape review that the raid requires a team of six players and very well-coordinated co-op play. The raid is filled with new mechanics, difficult battles, and very beautiful locations.

The Finale Mission

The real ending to the entire 10-year story will be unlocked after your team completes the Salvation’s Edge raid. The finale, which opens after the raid, has an incredible scope and epic. Bungie has long wanted to bring Marvel-level scale to Destiny, and with The Final Shape, they’ve done just that. But is Destiny ending with this finale mission? Actually, no, and I’ll explain that further.

The cutscenes are not inferior to The Avengers, and the final culmination of this story is a mission called Excision – a PvE activity for 12 players, which is available even to those who have not completed the raid. The event feels like the most important one in the game world, where 12 people, along with the game’s key characters, are fighting shoulder to shoulder to destroy The Witness. I won’t go into great detail in my The Final Shape review – I’ll just say that it left me speechless!

The Pale Heart

Pale Heart is a huge linear location that is the main location of The Final Shape. Pale Heart is on the other side of the portal that The Witness created at the end of the Lightfall campaign. The main events of the campaign, public events, and many secrets, Lost Sectors, and a bunch of different collectibles that players will need to collect to get exotic weapons are here.

The Exotic Missions

With the release of the new expansion, Destiny 2 also added new exotic weapons that can be obtained by completing special exotic tasks. They are unlocked after completing The Final Shape campaign. I have listed them in my Destiny 2: The Final Shape review.

• Destined Heroes quest – upon completion of this quest, you will be able to receive Ergo Sum. This is a sword with special ammunition, which is randomly assigned exotic perks.
• Convalescence: Budding quest – to complete this quest, you can get a Microcosm. It is a unique kinetic-damage Trace Rifle that uses heavy ammo and penetrates enemy shields.
• Khvostov is the return of a classic weapon with good performance and ricocheting bullets. To get the rifle, you will have to collect Motes of Light and Lost Encryption Bits throughout Pale Heart. In total, you will need to collect 32 items.
• Dual Destiny quest – upon completion of this quest, each class receives a Prismatic Exotic Class item. This armor piece has two random exotic perks that only work with Prismatic Subclasses.

Things I Particularly Liked About Destiny 2: The Final Shape

Destiny 2: The Final Shape is a logical conclusion to the 10-year Light and Darkness saga. Honestly, I absolutely love this add-on and have been binge-playing with my GameTree friends for weeks now. The game is truly incredible, and in this The Final Shape review, I would like to highlight the features I liked the most:

• This is the best extension that all Destiny fans have been waiting for! The DLC has everything: fan service, humor, and resolution of all the plotlines of the key characters in this saga.
• I was very pleased with the new enemies, the Dread, which do not let you get bored.
• A good and difficult raid with interesting mechanics.
• It’s nice to have raid mechanics in story missions and not just a run from point to point with incidental shootings.
• The Pale Heart turned out to be a very beautiful location with many secrets, which I enjoyed exploring.
• The Prismatic subclass update is fun and takes advantage of the game’s many improvements over the years.
• Endgame activities, the search for exotic weapons, various events, and secrets – all this catches and holds me; I want to continue exploring and finding new secrets.

Things I Didn’t Enjoy Much

• Pale Heart is a great location, but it has a drawback. This is not a public area, as we are used to in other locations of the game. You are completely alone there, and you cannot meet random players unless you are in a party with someone. Here, I was glad to be playing with my friends from GameTree.
• Some of the arenas in the campaign missions feel quite compact and cramped. Also, the repetitiveness of the endgame quests can be a bit frustrating.
• In my humble opinion, there is too much grinding in some quests. Of course, some people don’t see anything wrong with grinding, but it’s my Destiny 2: The Final Shape review and that’s exactly what I hate about modern games.

Looking For People To Play Destiny 2 With? Try GameTree

Are you now itchy to start playing the DLC after having read The Final Shape reviews? Team up with other Destiny 2 players to fully enjoy the epic nature of the final mission! Gather a squad of like-minded people and set out to destroy The Witness and stop it from putting its plan into action. Use GameTree to create a party and enjoy the game with skillful players! Our AI makes Destiny 2 matchmaking easier than ever and lets you find matchmates in minutes. Try our party finder right now!

So, Is The Final Shape Worth It?

Hell yeah! This DLC has everything to captivate players’ attention and give them answers to their basic questions about the game’s plot. Destiny 2: The Final Shape is the end of the Destiny story that has lasted 10 years. If you’ve been a franchise fan and played the previous parts, don’t miss this final expansion! Even (and especially!) if you were disappointed earlier. It’s full of excitement, epic battles, new weapons, mechanics, and many more. I hope my The Final Shape review has provided you with some insights on the game and you’re on your way to buy this DLC!