In 2014, the launch of Future promised the beginning of an epic ten-year story. It was a promise echoed by different live-service video games that rose (and fell) in its wake. With Future 2: The Closing Form, Bungie’s area opera is the primary to succeed in this main milestone. As such, The Closing Form is filled with excessive expectations.
The narrative should surpass earlier expansions, and work as an prolonged conclusion, bringing narrative threads and character arcs to a detailed. The gameplay should proceed the excessive bar set by Bungie’s esteemed pedigree. Lastly, it should set the stage for what is going to come subsequent on this sci-fi universe.
But, regardless of all of those expectations, a collection of layoffs, and the studio’s pivot to different initiatives, Future 2: The Closing Form delivers. It is the very best enlargement ever launched in Bungie’s historical past, filled with pleasure, larger-than-life drama, and essentially the most satisfying gunfights.
Future 2: The Closing Form – Into The Pale Coronary heart
After the yr of complicated storytelling in final yr’s Lightfall enlargement, the primary story of Future 2: The Closing Form is straightforward in plot and grand in stakes. The Witness, the godlike being of the Darkness and grand architect behind a few of Future’s most horrendous atrocities, is on the cusp of finishing their grand design. By delving into the center of The Traveler, it plans to make use of the cosmic powers of Mild and Darkness to type the universe into The Closing Form: A calcification of actuality the place every thing is pressured right into a waking nightmare of everlasting stasis.
Fortunately, the Alliance forces have discovered a technique to pursue The Witness into The Pale Coronary heart, spearheaded by the participant’s Guardian.
Complicating issues is the character of The Pale Coronary heart. It’s a panorama fashioned by reminiscence twisted into surreal and unnerving shapes by The Witness’ affect. To make issues worse, this funhouse mirror of nostalgia is invaded by a model new enemy faction referred to as The Dread.
Presentation-wise, Future 2: The Closing Form is filled with the form of fast-paced, larger-than-life, operatic storytelling that made Bungie a family title. It navigates excessive drama and bombast alongside quiet contemplation on the character of life, struggling, and the bittersweet magnificence in one thing coming to an finish.
In each sense of the phrase, the story of Future 2: The Closing Form feels… properly, last.
This propulsive storytelling blends properly with the extent design of The Pale Coronary heart. The environments are acquainted vignettes and areas throughout Future’s historical past corrupted into unsettling new varieties. Faces contorted in anguish jutting from a rock face. Arms with too many fingers breaking out of the bottom. Buildings and caverns which can be constructed the other way up. That is taken to its pure excessive within the new Salvation’s Edge Raid: an uncanny fortress filled with alien liminal structure.
Bungie’ narrative crew makes use of this surrealism to offer fan service with sinister overtones. From artwork path alone, the marketing campaign celebrates the sport’s historical past, an train in nostalgic horror, and a masterclass in an apocalyptic environment.
Whereas I used to be initially skeptical, Nathan Fillion’s return as Cayde-6 is dealt with expertly, forming the beating coronary heart of Future 2: The Closing Form. He fully nails the emotional minefield of getting back from the lifeless with the correct amount of solemn contemplation and wry wit.
An in depth second for appearing MVP is Keith David as Commander Zavala. David effortlessly makes the character his personal, sustaining the taciturn stoicism of the late Lance Reddick’s efficiency whereas bringing a tangible ache and vulnerability to the position.
Breaking Down The Wall Between Mild and Darkness
Gameplay-wise, Future 2: The Closing Form would not attempt to repair what is not damaged. A loop of weapons and area magic putting down aliens and getting loot. At this level, you’ve got both bounced off of this gameplay, or it’s comfortably acquainted.
The brand new wrinkle added on this enlargement is the brand new Dread enemies. General, they’re an amazing new enemy faction. They introduce components of air superiority with the flying Grim alongside crowd-control with the Subjugator’s Strand talents. They really feel like a pure extension of The Witness’ forces and complement established enemy factions.
However the greatest draw of this enlargement is the brand new Prismatic subclass. Within the easiest of phrases, it’s the Construct-A-Bear of Future subclasses. You’ll be able to take components from completely different subclasses and mix them. This results in robust combos that are not usually potential. Moreover, it introduces a brand new empowered mode known as Transcendence, which introduces extra enhanced talents for a quick interval.
As somebody who has put a whole bunch of hours into Future 2, the Prismatic subclass is a dream come true. Overlapping damage-over-time results with Jolt, Scorch, and Devour. Combining Strand, Stasis, and Void into nightmarish crowd management. The checklist of potentialities goes on.
Prismatic appears like a acknowledgment by Bungie to their devoted followers. After so a few years studying the ins and outs of talents and kit, this new subclass represents your mastery of the game-breaking your limitations.
This burst of private empowerment would not fully disrupt Future 2’s general stability. Prismatic is nice, but it surely would not provide you with each class potential. Some are solely accessible inside their devoted subclass.
The gear sport continues a gradual shift in Bungie’s weapon design. Early on, weapons had been key to break and crowd management with class talents taking part in assist. Now, outdoors of exotics, weapons assist the skills. Well-liked perks contain decreasing potential cooldowns, producing Tremendous power, and even briefly therapeutic teammates.
The result’s extra visually busy gunfights with bigger enemy hordes. Nevertheless it additionally means getting god roll on weapons feels much less vital.
The Finish of An Period
Not too long ago, Bungie laid out their plans for Future 2 after The Closing Form. They are going to be shifting from lengthy overarching narratives to an episodic construction, exploring the implications of the ultimate battle in opposition to The Witness. It is a noticeable however measured scaling again of ambition. One which comes with the acknowledgment that individuals could want to transfer on to new issues; each the gamers and Bungie themselves.
In 2014, Bungie launched Future, a sport that spawned the idea of the live-service sport with an epic ten-year story. After initially bouncing off, I’ve been an avid participant. Studying lore, taking part in by way of the raids, and creating long-lasting friendships with my fellow Guardians. In 2024, Future 2: The Closing Form concludes its story in a method that gamers will bear in mind perpetually in an trade flooded with failed makes an attempt to seize its magic.
It was a decade filled with euphoric highs and salty lows, however when it mattered most, it ended superbly.
The copy of Future 2: The Closing Form used on this characteristic was supplied by the writer — all screenshots had been taken by the writer.
