Destiny 2 test The Witch Queen: a convincing but not very accessible extension

A little over a year after the release of Beyond Light, it's time for The Witch Queen, an ambitious new extension to Bungie's online cooperative FPS, accompanied by a brand new season.

Destiny 2 test The Witch Queen: a convincing but not very accessible extension See PriceRead ConclusionDestiny 2: The Witch Queen

Magnificent decorations
A new, very large play area
A convincing scene
Legendary difficulty mode

Nothing is done for new players
The anecdotal return from Mars
Some regrettable shortcuts in the scenario
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This time, that's it: Savathûn is finally at the heart of the action. So far, the one presented as one of the main antagonists of the entire franchise had only been mentioned, or simply seen. Never mind: she is now very present, and stole the mastery of light from us in the process to give her troops the benefit of it. How ? Why ? This is precisely what brings us into his world, a world of pastel colors that amaze us.

A world bigger than it seems

There is something notable in the world of Savathûn, it is that Bungie has hidden from us what it really has in store for us. Beyond the citadel of the witch queen hides a much larger, marshy world, which will also bring back memories to those nostalgic for the reef.

And as long as we have fun exploring the map a little, we discover here and there the delusions of grandeur of the developers. If all that is visible is not explorable, unfortunately, the atmosphere of this new extension turns out to be particularly striking. If Bungie had already made us happy in the Bastion of Shadows extension, the studio offers in The Witch Queen a total overhaul of what we were used to with the Hive. So sure, it's still the same enemies - they can just use Light powers and get an extra shield with the help of a moth, but their behavior turns out to be quite different from the enemies that the we could cross on the Moon. It's also an opportunity to rediscover those good old Infâmes, whom we had somewhat forgotten.

It must be said that this extension is a turning point in more ways than one: it comes to complete a project of several years, and if there are still two extensions to end with "the saga of light and darkness", the fans de lore will get their money's worth.

A grand scene

Because finding Savathûn has something very exciting for a Destiny fan. Firstly because the witch queen has caused a lot of trouble for humanity in recent months, but above all because she is ultimately at the center of many intrigues since the very first opus of the franchise.

Three chapters (divided into several parts) make up the expansion's main storyline. You will have it at a classic pace for about 5 to 6 hours of play. If you like the challenge, Bungie has finally had the good idea to add an additional difficulty on the missions of the campaign, and you will have to show talent to do so. overcome. As a reward for your efforts, there will be more drops - though all too often the difficulty is just a bigger health bar for your enemies and higher damage for you.

What can be said, however, is that the story we are told is told in a remarkable way. It is an understatement to say that Destiny has come a long way. But for two years, and even more over the last two seasons, Bungie has really made an effort to better script its events through cutscenes (or in-game dialogue). Lore fans will be satisfied with many texts to unlock.

We certainly don't find the “wow” effect of the Pyramid of the Moon, but the staging is largely on point, much more so than for the Beyond Light expansion. It must be said that the scenario of The Witch Queen is a harbinger of darker events for our Guardian and all of humanity, and that it is therefore all the more important.

But by not changing one iota of the experience for new players introduced with "New Light" in 2020, Destiny 2 becomes even less accessible. Savathûn may have been at the heart of the season preceding the expansion, the fact that it is anchored in the saga since its beginnings makes it difficult for a player starting out with The Witch Queen to feel other than lost. Nothing really reminds us of the history of the franchise, especially since it has to be done with a few shortcuts taken by the scenario. Thus, the game does not even bother to properly justify the sudden return of the Infamous, just like the fact that Mars reappears (but we will come back to this later in this test). A rare thing, however: each of the main missions takes you through new environments.

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Content until more thirsty

As usual, Bungie is giving players new activities to take on outside of the main storyline. Once it is finished, you can thus carry out additional Adventures, but also Assaults whose staging proves to be very effective and in line with the Scarlet Bastion.

You can also perfect your knowledge through memories to unlock, as well as several public events, three forgotten sectors and an exotic quest whose interest is broken here by the absence of matchmaking (like the Dungeons). A completely incomprehensible decision that we cannot explain. However, matchmaking is available in the Source, an activity that changes bosses every week, and is played with 6 players.

The Source's purpose is to take control of a place distributing Light to agents of Savathûn. Several steps are necessary to overcome it, with some good platforming moments along the way.

In addition, Bungie introduces a new way to customize its weapons (adding the Glaive to your armament). By means of farming, we can now use a tool allowing us to forge combat tools by completely customizing its attributes. To do this, you'll first need to find one of the craftable weapons, then unlock its attunement - by killing enemies when you use it. If it requires some involvement in activities, Destiny 2 shows that it leans even more towards the RPG. However, we hope that this forge will be useful after year 5, which is far from guaranteed.

And as usual with the arrival of the Raid, some new features are to be expected. We will update this test accordingly by the end of March.

JVFR

A new season still anecdotal

True to form, Bungie is therefore offering a new season, that of the Reincarnated. 3 others will be added to the game during this fifth year, and service game requires, Destiny 2 will see its main and secondary scenario evolve according to them.

However, Season of the Reborn cannot be said to live up to the expansion with which it is intrinsically tied. For the moment, only the PsiOps Battlegrounds (which will evolve over the weeks) are proving to be outstanding. The goal here is to capture a member of Savathûn's luminous hive to unlock its secrets. The activity offers a high challenge and matchmaking for up to three players.

In fact, right now, more of the Abyss Doctrine update will be remembered. Free for all players, it offers exciting prospects for players who love the abyss. It is all the more important that it has aspects like the doctrine of darkness. Take a look, because at the Arcanist, the result is particularly interesting.

And if the "return of Mars" may have intrigued you, know that it is not in fact. The return of the planet is barely explained, and above all, is content with a simple hub. And it is not the anecdotal appearance of Anna Bray that will manage to convince us. There were 1000 ways to bring Mars back, and the one Bungie chose isn't satisfying at all.

Destiny 2: The Witch Queen

With The Witch Queen, Bungie propels Destiny 2 into a striking setting and a surprising universe. But the title lacks accessibility for new players and suffers from a season that still needs to be convinced.