Destiny 2: The Witch Queen Review: Oryx Has Finally Been Dethroned
Finally, after years of build-up, Destiny 2: The Witch Queen brings Guardians face to face with the Queen of Lies herself, Savathûn. She was introduced in Destiny's first expansion, The Taken King, alongside her siblings Xivu Arath and the Taken King himself, Oryx. Since the release of The Taken King, it has been hailed as the pinnacle of the series' storytelling and has served as the point of comparison for all subsequent expansions - but this may no longer be the case.
The Witch Queen doesn't add a whole lot to the gameplay loop, at least not in the same way that others like Beyond Light did. Here, the major additions to the game are the updates to the Void subclass, dubbed Void 3.0, the glaive weapon type, and a weapon crafting system. Glaives are a wonderful addition to the game and are absurdly satisfying to use, while weapon crafting offers some interesting possibilities but is definitely in its infancy.
What The Witch Queen really focuses on is its story, something not seen in Destiny 2 since Forsaken - at least not to this degree. The unfortunate consequence of this is that it makes trying to talk about it in a review incredibly difficult, as each moment in the story is either a continuation of the main storyline or is implementing some of the universe's more discreet lore. This naturally makes the narrative spoiler-ridden, and it's absolutely best that players jump in completely blind to get the best experience. It's easily one of the best narrative instalments of the series, however, and well worth returning for, whether just a casual observer of the game's plot or an in-the-weeds-type of lore enthusiast.
On the topic of player experience, this is where The Witch Queen really finds its weak points. As a returning player, it was nice to see that The Witch Queen, like Shadowkeep, changes the player's power level to the required minimum, meaning that all new and returning players are able to jump in without too much difficulty - for a while, at least. One of the things that define Destiny is its social aspect, encouraging players to form fireteams and take on the various worlds and stories as a unit. However, this isn't a reality for all players.
This is not to say that the social focus is good or bad, but it does play a factor in how accessible parts of the game are and that includes the campaign. About halfway through The Witch Queen, solo players will experience a sharp increase in difficulty that affects them more than it does a team, thus forcing them to grind and ruin their momentum. Though this is expected to a degree, it is a bummer considering that the story is less of a rollercoaster and more of a racecar, which is to say, there is no good spot to take a breather and farm for some weapons.
This is the only noticeable downside to this expansion and it's one that will only affect certain players. Even then, the story alone is absolutely worth dealing with what is realistically a minor inconvenience. Destiny 2: The Witch Queen is an achievement in storytelling for Bungie, which somehow has two more expansions still to come for its ongoing game. The Witch Queen is a must play for fans of the series, casual or otherwise, as it's an intriguing story that is well told, exudes confidence, and hints at an even brighter (or darker) future that's still to come.
Destiny 2: The Witch Queen is available now for PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Screen Rant was provided with a PS5 digital download for the purpose of this review.