Last week, I had the urge to go back to Destiny 2. Once a staple of my gaming diet, my legendary Warlock has sat, unbothered, in his little ship in orbit around the Tower for over two years, now. I didn't even go back for the assumedly spectacular ending, and the final expansion to the 'Light & Dark saga', in the form of The Final Shape. I just didn't care. Lightfall had put a pin in the game for me, nearly 10 years after my initial flirtation with my 'forever game' in Destiny 1's mind-blowing alpha.

I hear the new update (The Edge of Fate) is looking pretty good, despite some questionable grind-heavy tactics that feel pilfered from Diablo 4 and the ARPG world. This is the first major expansion to the game since the devs wrapped up the story that's been told over the last decade of Destiny, and demonstrates a new beginning in more ways than one. Sure, the reality of it all plays out the same; the call to adventure on a mysterious new planet, variations of well-known enemies hunt you down, and a baffling new NPC to listen to on your intercom.

But there's some new weirdness to it, especially when you're rolling around as a ball like something from Metroid Prime (yes, really). It's good. It's a big change for Destiny, really. Layer in the environmental puzzles that actually have you change pieces of the environment, and weird mid-combat morphing strats, and it sounds like you're onto a winner here, Bungie.

Thing is, Destiny 2 probably offers the worst experience for lapsed players I've ever experienced. Jumping back in, I have no real way to catch up on what's happened since I last logged in, there's loads of missing voice acting (without much in-game explanation), I get shoved right into a story mission I've got no context for, and a vast majority of the stuff I had access to last time I played has been 'vaulted' (or for the uninitiated: just plain removed from the game.)

What am I supposed to do? Where I am supposed to go? How do I find out exactly what I can and cannot play versus last time I checked in? There is no in-game tool to really show that to me, and even going online to try and figure it out is a pain since there's so much granular information and specific terminology, it all ends up turning to word soup in my brain. Once upon a time, Destiny was a bastion of gaming interface and a vision of UI genius. Now, it all feels like an afterthought. It's almost as sad a legacy as the whole business with Marty O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori.

This expansion (The Edge of Fate), and the next (Renegades), are supposed to set up the next big Destiny story arc - presumably also designed to last a decade. Why would Bungie not take this opportunity to refresh the returning player experience, to smooth things out and make it easier for lapsed players to plug and play?

But it isn't just returning players that are having this problem; new players are also met with an assault of absolute nonsense when they (try to) sign in, too. Back in 2019 - that is six years ago, now - Destiny 2: New Light appeared, and it made a meaningful attempt, at least, at presenting a new campaign and a new way for brand new players to get into the game. It's not amazing, but it was something. Since then, the game has changed a lot, and the now-aging 'new player' experience isn't really fit for purpose.

Whilst the developer has promised it will no longer vault paid-for expansions (meaning you can actually play through the whole story without chunks of it missing), what we're left with is a very complicated game, telling a very complicated story (now broken into pre- and post-Light & Dark saga) with no way for returning players, or new players, to get a foothold in the world. It's a big problem.

But it's one Bungie is at least partly aware of. Game director Robbie Stevens filmed an interview with YouTuber MrRoflWaffles recently, and Stevens noted that the team wants to make the game smoother so that people find it "easier to just play" and can "jump into [it] very quickly."

Per Stevens:

We need to find a way to have a more curated experience for the early parts of the game. We also think, even for some core players, some curated experiences are things they also might just want for their average play session. But when we do that, we want to do it in a way that does not take away from all the depth and buildcraft agency that being a more veteran or hardcore player comes with.

What's the right focus of a new player experience and getting you into the systems of the game? For us, we need to put more focus on a more curated experience that understands that people are smart [enough for onboarding to skip] some of the basics of how video games work and it's okay that they don't need a ton of handholding there. [...] We want to spend a little more time getting your feet wet and giving you curated experiences that let you better understand how the systems of the game operate at the foundational level so you can grow into them.

Thing is, none of this is going to happen until we're beyond the Renegades expansion set to drop in December 2025. So there's this brand new story gestating in this expansive, beautiful world, and new and returning players are being hamstrung from engaging with it? Renegades, by the way, is Star Wars-themed. Which I imagine will cause even more confusionto anyone jumping in here that's wondering how one completely different sci-fi world ties into another.

The plans, and the current state of the game, doesn't really make sense to me, and I've got over 1000 hours across both Destiny games so far. By the time the new on-boarding stuff actually materialises, it will be too late: we will be a year into a new narrative, there will be even more mechanics separating me from where I last left off, and even if I wanted to start a fresh save, I will be unable to play a large amount of the content I have already paid for.

So where is the impetus for me to return? As good as The Edge of Fate looks, I just cannot bear to open up the game, get thrown into a story mission I'm completely in the dark about and then poke around blindly until I'm directed to another hub, all over again. I think, until Destiny makes some meaningful changes to every aspect of its on-boarding process, I am going to keep my Warlock in his accidental, orbital deep sleep. And I don't think I'm the only person that feels that way.