Destiny 2: Episode: Echo impressions — Calm after the storm

When Bungie announced it would be deviating from the tried and true Destiny 2 seasonal model, the decision was met with equal parts optimism and skepticism. The main concern amongst players was how episodes would differ from seasons. With Episode: Echoes, the first of three episodes in Destiny 2 year 10, now in the rear view mirror, it is clear that the skepticism was well founded. Episode 1 wasn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination, as it was an entirely serviceable affair. But anyone who came into Echoes expecting a fundamentally different experience from the typical seasonal structure was undoubtedly disappointed.

Measuring up against the current Destiny 2 expansion, The Final Shape, is a tall order. The Final Shape was the climax of events set in motion 10 years ago; it’s safe to say there were some lofty expectations for Episode: Echoes. These expectations included, but were not limited to: match the hype of The Final Shape, provide answers to burning questions, and potentially lay the groundwork for the future of Destiny 2. Sadly, Echoes did none of these things. But in all fairness, Destiny 2 will likely never hit the heights of The Final Shape again. And that’s okay – it was such a heavy-hitting milestone of an expansion that it didn’t really need an encore (more on that later).

In the epilogue to The Final Shape’s campaign, we see the Traveler expel 12 echoes across the galaxy. These echoes are immensely potent and mysterious artifacts seemingly capable of mimicking the Traveler’s might, granting strength, control, and power to those who wield them. Unfortunately for the forces of good, one of the echoes, the Echo of Command, landed on Nessus, at the feet of the enigmatic Conductor. When the Conductor seized the echo, the Vex on Nessus began obeying the Conductor’s instructions and the planet began experiencing strange changes. As a direct result of these events, Orsis, Saint-14, the Guardian, and the long-absent Failsafe embark on a research expedition to better understand the effects of the Echo of Command on Nessus, the Vex, and Saint-14, while simultaneously trying to foil the Conductor’s nefarious plans.

Episode: Echoes featured a very emotional story for the characters involved. Osiris and Saint-14’s relationship was put to the test as Saint-14 learned some unfortunate truths. Additionally, it was revealed in a surprise twist (not really) that The Conductor was actually Maya Sundaresh, also known as Lakshmi-1, all along. I actually believe the tone of this Episode matched that of the bulk of The Final Shape’s campaign. Both stories featured some emotional moments between characters that truly care for each other and result story implications that will leave an impression moving forward. It made sense to release the two side-by-side, and I appreciate the change of pace in relation to seasons past. 

That being said, the story of Episode Echoes was a little bland. The Maya Sundaresh reveal could’ve been seen from a mile away, and by the time the last chest is looted at the end of the final mission, the story didn’t really have a resolution. Maya escapes into the Vex hivemind, Osiris and Saint-14 are left on edge, and the Echo of Command was lost to the Vex. Honestly, Echo’s narrative was a bit of a nothing-burger.

Going into Destiny 2’s new episodic structure we knew that Episode 1 would launch with a story. If it didn’t, there would be little reason to invest in its content. What we didn’t know was what else would be included. To seemingly everyone’s disappointment, the activities included in Echoes confirmed that there would be few differences between the content included in the seasons of old and the episodes of new. 

Since the episode was split into three acts, different activities were introduced in each act. In Act I, the first of these activities was introduced: the Breach Executable missions. These were the standard arena-style missions where players are dropped into specific destinations to fight waves of enemies (mostly Vex and Cabal), contest with a few jumping challenges, and sometimes solve a very light puzzle. Though there were some menial Nessus-themed research objectives littered throughout these missions, realistically these were more of the same and similar to past seasonal activities such as Deep Dives or Nightmare containment. Needless to say they got old pretty quickly.

Act II contained three new Battleground missions. These were made up of Nessus/Vex themed missions similar to what we’ve seen for a few years now, consisting of a flurry of objectives, enemy encounters, and boss fights. Battlegrounds function in the same vein as Strikes, which I actually appreciate as Strikes are one of my favorite Destiny 2 activities. However, similar to Breach Executable, these activities failed to introduce anything new, at least in a gameplay sense. Thankfully they were set in the core of Nessus, an area we have never seen before. Lush vegetation and complex Vex-architecture were commonplace in these new areas, and they served as engaging backdrops for explosive, albeit familiar, action.

Finally, in Act III, a new exotic mission was introduced: Encore. Encore also took place within Nessus’ core, and was filled with some truly breathtaking architecture and scenery. The mission itself was very engaging, chock-full of platforming, enemy-dense encounters, puzzles, and two excellent boss fights (one of which pitted you against both a Tormentor and an Omen at the same time). Encore felt almost like a dungeon on its own, and was arguably the best part of Episode: Echoes, with its intense fights, great atmosphere, and stupendous reward for completion: Choir of One, Destiny 2’s first special ammo auto rifle. Choir of One is a seriously powerful void weapon that mimics the Vex Wyvern’s ranged projectile attack, similar to how Ex Diris was a direct rip of the Hive Knight’s arm cannon. My only problem with Encore is that the main story of Echoes required completion of the mission three times in close succession. By my third completion I was seriously bored – there’s really no reason to grind this Exotic mission after you have the craftable exotic after all.

Crucible did not see many updates during Echoes, which was to be expected after the pretty large update the gamemode underwent during Into the Light. Trials of Osiris remained largely inaccessible to the average Guardian, especially with the waning number PvP players in general. Something something Gambit was forgotten about again, per usual.

An unexpected highlight of Episode: Echoes for me was the fact that the season pass featured 200 tiers this time around instead of the typical 100. This just meant more seasonal challenges, currency, rewards, and cosmetics; all good things if you ask me. The season pass introduced the Red Death exotic pulse rifle, a Destiny fan favorite, to Destiny 2. That thing was a beast, and I loved playing around with it throughout Echoes.

At the end of Episode: Echoes, the first of our three promised Destiny 2 episodes, one question remains: what was different about episodes in comparison to seasons? The answer is, practically nothing. The activities on offer are largely identical to what we’ve seen in the past, and the story we were given was pretty standard for Destiny with the exception of its structure. Yes, the season pass had more to earn and the episode was split into three parts, but barring these changes, nothing else was really added to the core Destiny 2 experience. Player sentiment was pretty negative towards Echoes, citing a lack of meaningful innovation. 

Personally, I believe Echoes was a safe, albeit somewhat bland start to the episodic structure. It did have the misfortune of being the follow-up act to The Final Shape, and there were some changes that I liked, sure, but I do wish there was a little more meat on the bones here. All-in-all, I don’t think many people will look back on Episode: Echoes very fondly, and I don’t think it will be talked about long-term. So if you took a break from Destiny 2 for this one, no sweat – you didn’t miss much.

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