Destiny 2 – Edge of Fate review (PS5)

After the high-stakes climax of The Final Shape, Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate arrives as a fresh starting point for Bungie’s evolving sci-fi saga. While not a full expansion, it serves as a narrative and structural prologue to what’s ahead – an attempt to reset expectations and open up new storytelling frontiers. In that sense, it’s an intriguing mix of familiar elements and forward-looking ideas, though not all of them land equally well across the board.

At the heart of Edge of Fate lies the mysterious Kepler-11, a desolate planetoid on the fringes of the solar system. The destination is atmospherically designed, with its fractured landscapes and distorted architecture reflecting the lingering effects of a powerful anomaly. The area is rich with Destiny’s signature visual detail, offering striking skyboxes and environmental storytelling, though the design is lacking in terms of the freshness needed to feel like a true leap forward from prior locales. As a backdrop, however, Kepler still manages to carry a certain allure thanks to its tone and how it feeds into the broader mystery.

Narratively, The Edge of Fate picks up the pieces after the defeat of the Witness and launches a new arc centered around unraveling the consequences of that final confrontation. It teases deeper lore developments while reintroducing characters and factions that longtime players will recognize. Yet despite some compelling setups, the campaign doesn’t quite reach the emotional or narrative highs of its predecessor. Some story beats feel like they’re holding back, saving key revelations for later rather than delivering satisfying payoffs in the moment. It walks a careful line between being an onboarding point for new players and a bridge for veterans, but that balance isn’t always handled with confidence.

Gameplay-wise, Edge of Fate leans into modular difficulty through its “World Tier” system, letting players tailor the challenge level to their preference. This adds welcome flexibility, and higher tiers do meaningfully impact enemy aggression and mission complexity. However, the core loop hasn’t changed much – mission structure and enemy encounters can feel like a rehash of older content with only slight variation. New enemy types, including the Vex-based Kobolds and the flying Fallen Corsairs, offer visual variety and require tactical adjustments, but don’t dramatically shift combat dynamics.

One of the more intriguing additions is the “destination abilities” mechanic, which ties player powers directly to environmental exploration within Kepler. While this hints at a deeper level of immersion and narrative integration, the actual implementation is a mixed bag – while it brings a thematic coherence, in its current form it also lacks depth and long-term significance. Still, it’s a step in the right direction, showing Bungie’s willingness to experiment with interactivity beyond simple shoot-and-loot.

Controls on PlayStation 5 remain as polished as ever, with smooth aiming, snappy mobility, and fluid use of supers and abilities. Bungie’s technical mastery continues to shine in moment-to-moment gameplay, and the PS5 version runs with excellent performance and crisp visual fidelity. The sound design, too, adds weight to combat encounters and lends an eerie ambiance to Kepler’s more quiet, desolate areas – though the musical score in Edge of Fate leans toward subtlety rather than bombast, which won’t be to everyone’s taste.

Ultimately, The Edge of Fate is a transitional chapter – one that opens a new book rather than telling a full story of its own. It introduces interesting new concepts and a visually captivating setting, but it also inherits some of Destiny 2’s long-running weaknesses in narrative pacing and mission repetition. For long-time Guardians, it’s a curious, if uneven, foundation for the episodes to come. For newcomers, it’s a slightly hesitant handshake into Bungie’s world, offering mystery and mood more than action-packed impact. Whether it fulfills its promise will likely depend on where the saga heads next.

Score: 7.0/10