Destiny 2 Lightfall's campaign is taking a battering from fans

Destiny 2 Lightfall
(Image credit: Bungie)

Destiny 2's Lightfall expansion is out, but players aren't loving it so far.

Now that the update has been available for one day, fans are wrapping up the campaign, with plenty of them taking to social media and online forums to vent their frustrations. A quick look at Twitter and Reddit will give you the gist of what people aren't happy about, but we'll go a bit deeper.

One of the more common points of contention is the story. As one popular Reddit post lays out, plenty of intrigue was set up beforehand but is ultimately not acted upon in Lightfall - the big bad's motivations are unclear, and heaps of questions remain unanswered. Destiny 2's narrative is continued through post-expansion seasons these days, though it seems fans haven't seen quite enough to hold their curiosity.

Another common criticism is the dialogue itself, which the community finds goofier in tone. While Lightfall is supposed to represent the beginning of the end for one of Destiny 2's long-running stories, the style offsets any sense of threat. A new character, Nimbus, has begun to represent those issues, with one fan offering an unflattering comparison to the MCU's Thor in Love and Thunder's take on the Norse god. 

The common thread between those complaints is that it throws back to the launch of Destiny 2, which featured another story that didn't explain much of its moving parts and features plenty of dialogue lighter in tone. 

"Ultimately, I was excited for this expansion's story but have come out so disappointed by the vague plot garbage we got that a lot of my excitement for this expansion has already died," one fan writes. "I'm not a famous author and I won't pretend like I am smarter than an entire writing team at Bungie, but what I do know is that a story with literally no explanation is never going to be well received; something that apparently was forgotten between Witch Queen and now."

The new Strand subclass has also been a lightning rod for chatter. While plenty find it fun, the cooldowns make it frustrating from a gameplay standpoint and the amount of time you spend over the campaign learning it has also been frustrating.

Regardless, it's not all bad. While players reckon the mod system has kinks to be worked out, the base gameplay remains fun - a consistent strength for Destiny 2. The campaign also takes the challenge people loved from The Witch Queen and brings it forward. 

Players spend most of their time with Destiny 2's endgame, so it remains to be seen how everyone feels about the real meat of the expansion. Still, the loot 'em up's story has gradually improved over the game's lifespan, so it remains to be seen if disappointment gives way to intrigue again with each new season of content.

Jumping in for yourself? Check out our nifty Destiny 2 Lightfall guide for everything you need.

Deputy News Editor

Iain joins the GamesRadar team as Deputy News Editor following stints at PCGamesN and PocketGamer.Biz, with some freelance for Kotaku UK, RockPaperShotgun, and VG24/7 thrown in for good measure. When not helping Ali run the news team, he can be found digging into communities for stories – the sillier the better. When he isn’t pillaging the depths of Final Fantasy 14 for a swanky new hat, you’ll find him amassing an army of Pokemon plushies.