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70/100
Players30 ratings
77/100
Critics7 reviews

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Destiny 2: Shadowkeep cover

2019 · Expansion · Bungie · Adventure · First-person shooter

Destiny 2: Shadowkeep

Expansion

Destiny 2: Shadowkeep does not require ownership of any previous Destiny 2 expansions to purchase or play.

Released
1 October 2019
Platforms
PlayStation 4PlayStation 5StadiaWindowsXbox One
Genres
AdventureFirst-person shooterPost-apocalypticScienceShooter
Developers
Bungie
Publishers
Bungie
Series
Destiny
Perspective
First person
Themes
ActionScience fictionOpen world
Country
United States
Age ratings
CERO DACB MCLASS_IND 14GRAC 15+PEGI 16ESRB TUSK 16
Languages
Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish (Spain)
Directors
Luke Smith
Composers
Michael Salvatori

About

Destiny 2: Shadowkeep is a major expansion for Destiny 2, a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie. Representing the fourth expansion and the third year of extended content for Destiny 2, it was released on October 1, 2019. It was the first major expansion to be published independently by Bungie after acquiring publishing rights for the series from Activision in early 2019, as well as the first to arrive on Steam rather than the Battle.net client which had been used since Destiny 2's launch. On June 4, 2024, the Shadowkeep campaign became free-to-play for all players, with the rest of the expansion's content repackaged as the Shadowkeep Pack.

The expansion returns players to Earth's Moon as a playable destination, with the location reprised and expanded upon from the original version of the first Destiny (2014). The story sees the return of Eris Morn, who had been absent since the events of Destiny 2's original base campaign. Eris seeks the help of the Guardian in defeating "Nightmares" that she accidentally released into the Solar System after interacting with the dormant Pyramid ship beneath the Moon's surface. The Nightmares are manifestations of the Guardian's past, and players face off against previous adversaries, which are being resurrected by the Darkness, the ancient enemy of the Traveler.

›Story

As the heroes of the last safe city turned their attention to frontiers beyond the protection of the Vanguard, new Nightmares have emerged from the shadows of our long-forgotten Moon. Called forth by the haunting visions from her tormented past, Eris Morn has returned and unleashed something that once slumbered beneath the lunar surface – a long dormant power even she cannot control.

Keywords

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Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Shadowkeep is similar in scale to the original Destiny's fourth expansion, Rise of Iron, and features a "full campaign", two new multiplayer PvE "strike" missions, and one new PvP Crucible map, as well as two reused ones. The expansion features the Moon as a returning, playable destination, where it has been reprised and expanded upon its original patrol mode from the original Destiny. Bungie claimed that the Moon would be twice the size of its original iteration, featuring major changes to the lunar environment, including the erection of a massive Hive fortress on the lunar surface, the Scarlet Keep, that serves as a key area for the expansion. Eris Morn, a character from the original game who had been absent since the events of Destiny 2's base campaign, serves as the main non-player character (NPC) for Shadowkeep.

The expansion also introduces a new faction of enemies called Nightmares—spectral manifestations of the trauma from the Guardians' past that have been reanimated by the Darkness and have been accidentally unleashed onto the Moon by Eris. Nightmare enemies are mostly major story bosses from both Destiny and Destiny 2, as well as minor enemies from the Fallen, Hive, Cabal, Vex, and Scorn enemy races, made more powerful by the Darkness and can even regenerate their health. Nightmare enemies can also be found in Lost Sectors. A new raid mission, "Garden of Salvation", was released on October 5, 2019, and takes place in the Black Garden on Mars from the original game; the raid was tied to the expansion's first seasonal content offering, Season of the Undying, which focused on the Vex, who invaded the Moon as a result of players' actions during the raid.

Story

One year after the death of Cayde 6, Shadowkeep focuses on Eris Morn, who had departed from the Tower and remained absent since the events of the Red War that occurred two years ago. Following the events of Season of Opulence, the Guardian is summoned to the Moon by Commander Zavala in response to a disturbance originating from a massive citadel recently erected by the Hive near the Hellmouth called the Scarlet Keep. As the Guardian makes their way to the keep, Ikora Rey contacts the Guardian and reveals that the disturbance was accidentally caused by Eris Morn while she was investigating the Moon, and asks them to find her. The Guardian enters the Scarlet Keep and descends to the caverns below in search for Eris.

They eventually discover a derelict alien vessel called the Pyramid (which was teased in the final cutscene of the base game), which Eris had discovered and accidentally activated. The Guardian tries to approach the Pyramid but is pushed back by a barrier emitted by the structure. The Guardian is then suddenly attacked by a phantasmal Nightmare of Crota, Son of Oryx, and an army of Hive; it is soon joined by Nightmares of Dominus Ghaul and Fikrul, the Fanatic, and they begin to overwhelm the Guardian. Eris then contacts the Guardian and teleports them away to safety.

Reception

Destiny 2: Shadowkeep received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.

Game Informer praised the new location, liking how it was transformed for the expansion, "It's fascinating to explore what has changed and what has stayed the same, even if it ultimately means that the “new” destination is mostly a rehash of somewhere we've already been". VG247 enjoyed how content was made more accessible, "Shadowkeep's content is available for every player who owns the expansion. There's a lot of grinding, sure, but it's the good kind; it's unlikely we'll see the weird, exclusionary and overly difficult experiences from Black Armory in future seasons". Destructoid felt the new gearing system was an improvement, but criticized the reuse of content in the expansion, "Bungie has come full circle when it comes to reusing old content, as the new zone — the moon — is basically recreated and restructured from Destiny 1, and the “new” enemy type — nightmares — are just existing baddies and bosses with red mist around them".

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Windows1 October 2019Worldwide
PlayStation 41 October 2019Worldwide
Xbox One1 October 2019Worldwide
Stadia19 November 2019Worldwide
PlayStation 58 December 2020Worldwide

Editions and related releases

Included in
Destiny 2: Legacy CollectionDestiny 2: Shadowkeep - Digital Deluxe Edition
Part of
Destiny 2
Expansion of
Destiny 2

In the same series

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Collections1 collection

Years

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.