Lengthy-running residing video games are difficult beasts to wrangle and broaden in new instructions. After so a few years, recreation modes, prior modifications, and distinctive viewers teams, a recreation like Future 2 should cater to many masters. That problem is keenly felt with Future 2’s newest growth. Lightfall is the penultimate chapter within the storytelling arc that has been underway for the reason that unique recreation’s launch in 2014. It misses the mark as a story and in a couple of different key methods. However as a gradual evolution of what has come earlier than, it brings a variety of vital additions to the desk.
Lightfall’s meandering and poorly defined plot doesn’t supply a strong first impression. Makes an attempt to nod tonally to ‘80s motion flicks principally fall flat, making an attempt and failing to muster a playful vibe at odds with the approaching apocalypse. A brand new core character and vendor, whose dialogue is much more irritating than the mixed lot of early Future 2 leads, dramatically exacerbates that tonal misstep. After a number of missions that tease large revelations, the story closes with little payoff, placing gamers proper again the place it began within the opening cinematic.
The town of Neomuna on Neptune is colourful, however vacant and void of life. It lacks the sense of discovery and exploration that characterizes the perfect locations within the recreation. Nonetheless, the distant planet homes some pleasant fight locales and actions, together with invigorating public fight areas, new enemy configurations, and probably the most harmful non-boss enemies the sport has but launched, within the type of the Tormentors – an excellent problem, every time they present up.
The poor style left behind by Lightfall’s struggling marketing campaign is progressively alleviated by a lot of what the remainder of the growth presents. The brand new Strand subclasses take some time to wrap one’s head round however finally emerge as extremely rewarding and highly effective. Strand skills result in a extra cell and controllable battlefield, dramatically increasing the out there playstyles in the perfect of how.
Main quality-of-life enhancements additionally make a giant distinction, even when some methods nonetheless want tweaking. The long-awaited method to loadouts is superb, letting you arrange quite a few builds to flip between on the fly – each for perform and cosmetics. A brand new method to mods is less complicated to understand for newcomers to build-crafting. Alongside changes to how artifact unlocks present new skills, and continuous additions to every subclass’ choices, the aptitude to tweak and experiment is far more pleasant than it has been beforehand.
New commendation and guardian rank methods are good additions, however each really feel too prescriptive and restricted to be significant. Guardian ranks demand too-specific duties that don’t signify what they purport to do – specific a given participant’s expertise and experience. And commendations are a enjoyable concept supporting improved group expression, however in observe, gamers are principally simply spamming them out with out consideration.
Different endgame and investment-oriented actions fare a lot better than the marketing campaign. Stellar further missions supply new challenges and locales, just like the thrilling hidden quest for the Vexcalibur unique. On that observe, a number of new exotics add a lot to the sandbox expertise, making me desperate to chase them down. The most recent raid presents an intriguing core mechanic and a novel visible palette that blends natural and tech-infused seems right into a cohesive type. And the brand new seasonal content material, centered on Earth’s remaining protection towards invasion and destruction, is partaking and enjoyable.
I could have discovered the marketing campaign uninspired and its legendary problem a slog characterised by bullet-spongey foes. However an growth to a recreation this large is extra than simply its opening story. Lightfall units up some robust potentialities – narratively and within the gameplay sphere – for a rewarding 12 months of journey forward. Regardless of some frustrations, Future 2 continues to make strides in catering to a various participant base characterised by disparate wishes. Lightfall is hit or miss, however any stumbles shouldn’t be sufficient to derail gamers’ enthusiasm for continued journey or the thrill of seeing the epic conclude over the subsequent 12 months.
