Destiny 2: Beyond Light
What to Know
Average Score
- November 10, 2020
- Bungie
- Shooter, Adventure
Critics Consensus
- In-Game Purchases
- Users Interact
- November 10, 2020
- Shooter, Adventure
- In-Game Purchases
- Users Interact
Critics Consensus
# Reviews: 41
Beyond Light is beautiful and expansive, but Destiny continues to struggle giving players a reason to invest time into it. If you're itching for more Destiny, though, Beyond Light will satisfy that hunger.
Rate and Review
Critic Reviews for Destiny 2: Beyond Light
Critic Reviews
Score Distribution
41
Reviews
Ranges
Beyond Light is a fun campaign on a beautiful and expansive new world, but Destiny 2 is still some way from being the best version of itself.
One of Destiny 2’s best expansions thus far, providing an assured roadmap for the series to move into. It is just more Destiny though.
Beyond Light delivers one of the best raids in Destiny history and some of the best story moments in Destiny 2, and that’s more than enough to make up for a few disappointing gaps.
Phil Savage (PC Gamer)
80/100 - (Read Review)
Beyond Light is a fun campaign on a beautiful and expansive new world, but Destiny 2 is still some way from being the best version of itself.
Patrick Dane (Metro GameCentral)
8/10 - (Read Review)
One of Destiny 2’s best expansions thus far, providing an assured roadmap for the series to move into. It is just more Destiny though.
Austin Wood (GamesRadar+)
4/5 stars - (Read Review)
Beyond Light delivers one of the best raids in Destiny history and some of the best story moments in Destiny 2, and that’s more than enough to make up for a few disappointing gaps.
Outlet | Author | Score | Date | Quote | Read |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
33bits | Rubén Rionegro | 80 / 100 | 02-24-2021 | Destiny 2 continues to expand its content with a fairly complete DLC that offers a multitude of hours of gameplay and new missions, all using the same solid and addictive gameplay as always. Season of the Chosen looks very good and has a very promising story base that looks set to surprise. | Read review |
But Why Tho? | Quinn Hiers | 7 / 10 | 11-13-2020 | With a lengthier campaign and more questlines, “Beyond Light” offers plenty of new PvE activities and Stasis shakes up Guardians’ play styles in both PvP and PvE. Europa itself is a beautiful and elaborate map and it’s great to be able to explore the Cosmodrome again. However, the removal of a lot of the base content and the lack of new PvP content is upsetting. Although we still have some content that’s planned to be released in the future, like a new Raid, Bungie still has a lot to make up for. | Read review |
Checkpoint Gaming | Cameron Honey-Swain | 6 / 10 | 11-21-2020 | …there is fun to be found here. If it were not for the sudden vacuum you feel in the absence of vaulted content there would be no question in my mind about how much I enjoy this game. | Read review |
Critical Hit | Darryn Bonthuys | 8 / 10 | 11-24-2020 | Less is more, and Destiny 2: Beyond Light feels like a positive first step towards a new era for the franchise. New Stasis subclasses, a compelling storyline, and a gorgeous new planet to explore make for an intriguing new direction for Bungie’s cosmic sandbox. | Read review |
Destructoid | Chris Carter | 6.5 / 10 | 11-11-2020 | My advice? Wait to see how the next-gen upgrade of Destiny 2 shakes out if you’re either on the fence about returning, or jumping in for the first time. Come December 8, it should be a drastically different experience, as the lessened load times and sharper visuals (and performance) should help smooth over some of Destiny 2’s shortcomings. It still has many. | Read review |
Digital Trends | Giovanni Colantonio | 3.5 / 5 stars | 11-16-2020 | Destiny 2: Beyond Light is a slimmer offering than fans might have hoped for thanks to its disappointing campaign, but there’s still enough intrigue beneath Europa’s surface to warrant a return to orbit. The new stasis subclasses freshen up years-old experiences and make parts of the game feel new again, even if the honeymoon feeling melts away in a few weeks. | Read review |
Game Informer | Matt Miller | 7.8 / 10 | 11-25-2020 | An engaging story feels like a turning point in the canon, but the game feels diminished after stripping away roughly half of the locations, activities, and other core content | Read review |
Game Revolution | Jason Faulkner | 2 / 5 stars | 12-07-2020 | With the release of Beyond Light, Destiny 2 struggles to give players to continue investing time into it. Any content you buy or items you earn in the game are subject to removal at Bungie’s whim; we’re just buying a license to play the content, not the content itself. | Read review |
Gameblog | Jonathan Bushle | 7 / 10 | 11-23-2020 | Destiny 2 Beyond Light adds a descent campaign with a good narrative, and a lot of hours of play for the bravest players. | Read review |
GameMAG | Unknown | 7 / 10 | 12-30-2020 | Destiny 2: Beyond Light is not a revolution in the gameplay department and world of Destiny 2, but it can pleasantly entertain you for a while – basic shooter formula of the game still works perfectly. | Read review |
GameSkinny | John Schutt | 8 / 10 | 12-01-2020 | Despite a few hiccups, Beyond Light sets the stage for a triumphant year of Destiny 2. If the franchise continues this way, the best is yet to come. | Read review |
GameSpot | Phil Hornshaw | 8 / 10 | 11-25-2020 | With Beyond Light, Destiny 2 can still get cyclical and repetitious, but its new abilities and improved storytelling make it feel much more alive. | Read review |
GamesRadar+ | Austin Wood | 4 / 5 stars | 11-26-2020 | Beyond Light delivers one of the best raids in Destiny history and some of the best story moments in Destiny 2, and that’s more than enough to make up for a few disappointing gaps. | Read review |
Gaming Nexus | Sean Hattingh | 7 / 10 | 12-25-2020 | Destiny 2: Beyond Light is worth the investment for existing fans of the genre and franchise. Otherwise, the best way to experience this expansion is through Game Pass on Xbox or PC. | Read review |
GamingBolt | Ravi Sinha | 6 / 10 | 11-27-2020 | Post-sunsetting and content vaulting, Destiny 2: Beyond Light had some big expectations to meet. Instead, it plays things safe, delivering a boring main campaign, the usual Power grind and routine busywork to keep players engaged. Even with some interesting story bits, strong art direction and a fun raid, it’s hard to recommend for both new players and die-hard fans. | Read review |
GotGame | Cole Nixon | 6.5 / 10 | 12-05-2020 | The post expansion content at this point in time is decent. While the season is far from over, it does look like Bungie plans on expanding on Beyond Light. However, the current amount of content available, including post launch, is very bare-bones when compared to prior expansions. Because of that, and combined with the very mixed reactions at launch, Beyond Light is an ultimately flawed project. | Read review |
Hardcore Gamer | Kevin Dunsmore | 3 / 5 stars | 12-04-2020 | It’s been six years since the original Destiny was released and every year it feels like we’re getting closer to finally facing off against the Darkness. Every year, however, we’re told it’ll happen later. | Read review |
Hobby Consolas | Álvaro Alonso | 80 / 100 | 11-20-2020 | Beyond Light is a great expansion that shines thanks to the introduction of the stasis, a new and fun power that promises to changes everything. If you also love the lore and want to know a lot more about the Destiny universe, this expansion is for you. | Read review |
IGN | Travis Northup | 7 / 10 | 11-24-2020 | Destiny 2 breaks new ground with Beyond Light, while other parts remain frozen in time. | Read review |
Impulsegamer | Daniel | 4.1 / 5 stars | 11-24-2020 | Beyond Light brings a fresh start of sorts for a game trying to continue the success after Forsaken and reclaim a bit of that spark lost during Shadowkeep and subsequent seasons. | Read review |
Just Push Start | Mark Fajardo | 3.5 / 5 stars | 11-25-2020 | There is only so much you can say about Destiny 2 Beyond Light before it becomes a question of what is worth grinding for. The new classes add a fun new take on the experience, as does a new location, but right now the main draw is the story. It’s a good adventure, even if it is just a couple hours, though at the end of the day it’s still more Destiny 2. | Read review |
Kotaku | Ethan Gach | Recommended | 11-24-2020 | But it’s also undeniable that much of the rest of the game outside that experience is in shambles or has disappeared entirely. At the end of last season Destiny 2 told me to go to Europa to find an ancient power, and I have. The only problem now is that I don’t know where else to go with it. | Read review |
Metro GameCentral | Patrick Dane | 8 / 10 | 11-30-2020 | One of Destiny 2’s best expansions thus far, providing an assured roadmap for the series to move into. It is just more Destiny though. | Read review |
PC Gamer | Phil Savage | 80 / 100 | 11-24-2020 | Beyond Light is a fun campaign on a beautiful and expansive new world, but Destiny 2 is still some way from being the best version of itself. | Read review |
PC Invasion | Jason Rodriguez | 6 / 10 | 11-12-2020 | Although Europa itself is harsh and beautiful at the same time, Destiny 2: Beyond Light suffers from a litany of issues. The unnecessary back-and-forth to do missions on Europa, a weak structure for its campaign, and the sunsetted weapons with barely anything decent that replaced them all combine to lead to disappointments. Worse, although Stasis is a neat subclass to use in PvE, it doesn’t seem viable for high-end content and it’s extremely annoying in PvP. There’s a good chance that Bungie adds more in succeeding weeks, but this has been a rough start for a once-promising expansion. | Read review |
PCGamesN | Richard Scott-Jones | 8 / 10 | 11-26-2020 | Beyond Light is undoubtedly in the upper tier of Destiny expansions, but its arrival has disrupted the game in ways that pose big challenges for Bungie in the months ahead. | Read review |
PlayStation LifeStyle | Chandler Wood | 8 / 10 | 12-07-2020 | Suffice to say that Bungie is recapturing the magic that Destiny has always had at its core. It’s exploring concepts and story ideas that fans have been speculating about for years. And it’s focusing on developing a game for the players who love Destiny, not trying desperately to change things to get new players on board. As a living world, iterative in design with an evolving narrative and constantly updated content, Destiny 2 changes persistently, but Beyond Light feels like a whole new foundation rooted in the kind of space magic and vision that has made Destiny special all along. I can’t wait to see what comes next. | Read review |
PlayStation Universe | Mark Kriska | 8.5 / 10 | 11-20-2020 | Destiny 2 Beyond Light has turned the universe we know and love on its head by removing four major locations, five raids, outdated activities, and the sunsetting of weapons and gear. While the removal of content may seem negative, this is what the game needs to grow. Destiny 2 Beyond Light gives us a great story and an exciting new subclass with Stasis, and a huge new location in Europa. Bungie has made some hard choices to restructure Destiny 2 rather than restart the game completely with Destiny 3. What’s on the horizon is something I truly cannot wait for, and I am excited to experience everything the game has to throw at me. While the Darkness is finally here, the future is bright for Destiny 2, and Beyond Light is only the tip of the iceberg. | Read review |
Polygon | Ryan Gilliam | Recommended | 11-20-2020 | The best part about Beyond Light is that it looks and feels like a sequel without needing to start from scratch. A new power set like this isn’t something I expected to see out of an expansion. In that way, Beyond Light answers a question that’s given me serious doubts as a fan: how much can Bungie change Destiny 2 without moving to a new game entirely? For the first time, Beyond Light feels like Destiny 2 is truly putty in Bungie’s hands, rather than a titanic ship that takes eons to turn. | Read review |
Rapid Reviews UK | Rob Lake | 4.5 / 5 stars | 11-26-2020 | The Destiny 2 universe has changed forever and it’s all down to the latest expansion Beyond Light. With the release of Beyond Light, the latest expansion to Destiny 2, developer Bungie has not only trimmed down the game’s original content, but the studio has also added a new campaign and a new planet to explore. Whilst Beyond Light may not be as grand in scope as to how Forsaken was, it’s more of a bridge to what comes next. | Read review |
Saudi Gamer | Unknown | 7 / 10 | 12-07-2020 | The Beyond Light expansion offered decent amount of new content and fun along with the new Stasis power which changes for the players’ style in the Crucible or even the strategies in Raid missions, it is without a doubt worth giving it a try. | Read review |
Skill Up | Ralph Panebianco | Recommended | 12-29-2020 | Video Review | Read review |
The Digital Fix | Dani Cross | 3 / 10 | 11-27-2020 | Beyond Light fails at pushing Destiny 2 in a good direction. It’s lacking in countless ways, from the campaign to the seasonal content, and it doesn’t give you nearly enough for the price. Even the most hardcore Destiny fans will probably find plenty to dislike here, and casual players should skip this without a second thought. | Read review |
The Games Machine | Daniele Dolce | 5 / 10 | 11-17-2020 | Under normal circumstances, Beyond Light would have been a somewhat decent expansion with little new content, despite an engaging plot. However, the vaulting of much of the old content – most of which paid in hard cash by the users – represents an unforgivable sin since all the new activities and equipment of Beyond Light fail to come close to the amount of content removed. If Bungie continues to walk on this self-destructive path, it risks to irreparably compromise the future of Destiny 2. | Read review |
The Outerhaven Productions | Conner B | 4 / 5 stars | 11-17-2020 | Prepare to wield the darkness in the latest Destiny 2 Expansion, Beyond Light where you must the Fallen Kell Eramis for control over the moon of Europa. This fight will take you through some revelations about your relationship with the darkness and the horrid experiments that Clovis Bray have performed on the moon. | Read review |
TheSixthAxis | Tuffcub | 8 / 10 | 11-24-2020 | Beyond Light isn’t going to change anyone’s mind about Destiny 2. Either you love the weekly grind, the increasingly complex lore, and pushing your mates off a ledge in a Raid, or you don’t. For those who do, there’s a lot to discover and plenty to grind for with the added benefit of the reworked game engine. They, like myself, will no doubt be sinking hundreds of hours into this over the next year. A solid, well executed update to Destiny 2, with even more content on the horizon. | Read review |
TrustedReviews | Alastair Stevenson | 3.5 / 5 stars | 11-18-2020 | Beyond Light oozes potential and I can’t wait to see how Bungie develops the narrative it has started. But, by cutting so much legacy content out at once and failing to replace it, the endgame feels shallow and is already starting to feel a little too repetitive for my liking. Bungie also has brought some balancing issues into the game’s PVP modes with the new Stasis subclasses, which need addressing sooner rather than later. | Read review |
Twinfinite | Ed McGlone | 4 / 5 stars | 11-24-2020 | There will be work to do to ensure that Beyond Light’s content remains interesting for an entire year and that Stasis is kept in check, but overall Destiny 2: Beyond Light is a solid effort from Bungie and is a worthwhile expansion to pick up for anyone that enjoys the series. | Read review |
Wccftech | Kai Powell | 7.6 / 10 | 01-18-2021 | Destiny 2: Beyond Light is a negative net sum, with so much content vaulted in favor of a meager campaign set in Europa. So much is teased and promised to bring the original Destiny vision together with Destiny 2 that we can’t hope but be excited to see what Bungie is promising in seasons to come. However, what’s available right now is less than the exotic content that players might’ve hyped themselves up for. | Read review |
WellPlayed | Jordan Garcia | 6.5 / 10 | 11-18-2020 | It is my sincerest of hopes that this shaky start is just an anomaly for Bungie’s new direction, but the game’s state ever since Shadowkeep also leads me to believe otherwise | Read review |
Windows Central | Brendan Lowry | 4 / 5 stars | 11-12-2020 | Beyond Light has an excellent campaign and Europa is an awesome patrol zone, but the lack of new loot and the terrible Stasis balancing make the expansion difficult to recommend. | Read review |
Game Info
A new power is born out of the ancient Pyramid Ship above Europa’s frozen frontier, and a dark empire has risen beneath, united under the banner of the Fallen Kell of Darkness, Eramis. Join your fellow Guardians and bring down the empire at any cost – even if it means wielding the Darkness itself.
RELEASE DATES:
DEVELOPER(S):
- Bungie
PUBLISHER(S):
- Bungie
GENRES:
- Shooter, Adventure
SERIES/FRANCHISE:
- Destiny
GAME MODES:
- Co-operative, Multiplayer, Single player
GAME ENGINE:
- -
DLC:
- -
BUNDLED IN:
- -
DIRECTOR(S):
- Luke Smith
PRODUCER(S):
- -
DESIGNER(S):
- -
PROGRAMMER(S):
- -
ARTIST(S):
- -
WRITER(S):
- -
COMPOSER(S):
- Michael Salvatori, Skye Lewin, Rotem Moav, Josh Mosser, Michael Sechrist
GAME MODES:
- Co-operative, Multiplayer, Single player
GAME ENGINE:
- n/a
DLC:
- n/a
BUNDLED IN:
- n/a
DIRECTOR(S):
- Luke Smith
PRODUCER(S):
- n/a
DESIGNER(S):
- n/a
PROGRAMMER(S):
- n/a
ARTIST(S):
- n/a
WRITER(S):
- n/a
COMPOSER(S):
- Michael Salvatori, Skye Lewin, Rotem Moav, Josh Mosser, Michael Sechrist
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