Thanks for the memories: A retrospective on 12 years of Destiny and the 10 moments that defined my Guardian

Over the years, there have been games I've committed ungodly amounts of time and energy to. For the most part, these games have been multiplayer experiences where I've bonded and connected with friends throughout my teenage years and during the pandemic, some being mainstream titans like Call of Duty and others being more obscure hits that for some reason resonated with us, Smite as one example. But these games ebbed and flowed with my life, peaking at times and otherwise fading into memory when something else caught my eye. The exception to this, at least ever since 2014, was Destiny.

I'm going to bundle Destiny 1 and 2 into one collective whole for the purpose of this walk down memory lane as the first game launched, offered a couple of expansions, and then a few years later evolved into Destiny 2, which is heading towards its ninth anniversary at this point. As the ties between these two games are very tight - I've used the same Hunter Exo Guardian for almost 12 years - it feels like a cohesive experience, even if that isn't entirely true. It's because of this reason that Destiny has shaped my life in a way no other game has, or likely ever, will be able to do. It's been a fixture in my life for over a decade, with my adventure starting as I just turned 16, had left high-school and was beginning my time at Sixth Form (which is effectively a school-based college). I was a young whippersnapper still, bright-eyed and ready to take on the world, and I look back at that point and wonder how I would have reacted if I knew the character I was creating on a fateful September evening in 2014 on a relatively new Xbox One would still play an important role in my life 12 years later. So much has changed over the years, but one of the few things that have remained a constant is my fearless Exo warrior with the red splatter warpaint across his left eye.

The point is, Destiny has left its mark on me in a way that no other game has ever managed to do so, and I can't imagine there will be anything again that has even a fraction of the impact Bungie's universe has had on me over the years. Naturally, you probably can tell I'm a little disappointed by the way Destiny 2 has floundered over the years, with this disappointment peaking when Bungie decided to pull the plug on future support for the game with no clear path forward for the universe in sight either. It was kind of a heart-breaking situation, almost like having to put down a sick, elderly pet, a situation where you know this had to happen even if you really don't want it to. But I'm not here today to whinge and whine about Destiny 2's demise, Bungie's flailing, or how Sony has treated this entire situation. No, the purpose of this article is to simply look back on the good, spotlighting my favourite 10 moments from my time in Destiny, and sending off this truly wonderful game in a way it deserves.

A Guardian Rises

That's the name of the first mission Destiny 1 players ever experienced. It was an awakening that held so much potential, with Destiny coming at a time where multiplayer gaming on consoles had only loosely attempted to embrace such ambitious MMO properties. Hearing the stunning music and seeing the landscape of Old Russia in front of you, all while the subtle and somewhat robotic tones of Peter Dinklage as Ghost (the Game of Thrones actor would soon be replaced in the role) narrated the events and helped you find your feet like a newly born deer foal. There was something so special about that day, a moment that I still hold dearly, even if it was somewhat spoiled by the fact the rest of Destiny 1 didn't quite manage to reach the ambitious heights it hoped to achieve.

Iron Rising

To this end, I'm skipping ahead now to the Rise of Iron expansion for Destiny 1, as this DLC gave the game a bit of a jolt, introducing compelling new locations to explore, adding exciting mechanics in the form of the Iron Lords' melee weapons, seeing the Gjallarhorn begin its reign of terror, and introducing some hit other tools as well, including the fan-favourite Outbreak Prime (which would become Outbreak Perfected in Destiny 2). This expansion really showed the levels of lore Destiny could explore and set a fantastic precedent for what was to come when, soon after, we were sent...

Back to Square One

There's no denying that the launch of Destiny 2 was a bit of a trainwreck. The game took away most of the tools and items fans had been amassing for a few years, and it's precisely this evolution that has me a tad concerned about the arrival of a Destiny 3, should that ever happen. However, this aside, the Red War and the fight back against Ghaul was one of the top moments in Destiny lore, including the excellent and set-piece-laden mission on The Almighty, the immense spaceship designed to suck the resources out of the Sol System's sun. The threat, the danger, the loss, the reprisal of strength, the evolution, the hope for the future. This phase of the wider story had it all.

Cutting Down Calus

Similarly, in-line with the arrival of Destiny 2, Guardians found themselves travelling to the Leviathan, the opulent pleasure ship of the Cabal emperor known as Calus. For me, this Raid still stands out as it was the first I ever completed, as I never found the community nor the opportunity to tackle Destiny 1's alternatives. But I did for the Leviathan, a group of souls all searching for a gang to complete this intense and challenging task with, an event that took hours and hours and culminated in a few rewards I keep locked away in my Vault to this day as mementos of the feat I accomplished.

The Death of Cayde-6

Jumping forward a bit again and ignoring the middling Curse of Osiris and Warmind expansions, we now find ourselves staring down Forsaken, which for me stands out to this day as the best expansion Destiny 2 ever offered. The content was broad and exciting, but the true wonder of this DLC was how it basically served as a second-life for the game, a Destiny 2 Ver. 2.0, if you will. And all it cost was Cayde-6... Yep, to this day, I'm not sure Destiny's narrative ever recovered from losing the famed Hunter Vanguard, so much so that they had to bring him back for The Final Shape in a bittersweet reunion. As Cayde said himself in his memoirs in the Ace in the Hole mission, "Every story has an end. This is mine." If only we really knew at the time...

Shattering the Throne

Building on this, and mainly because Forsaken holds such a special place in my heart, we also have the Shattered Throne dungeon. As you can probably infer, for the most part, I played Destiny 2 as a lone wolf, only teaming up with other Guardians when required in Raids, Crucible, and such. For the purpose of the Shattered Throne dungeon, a mini Raid if you will, I originally ran through the mission with a close friend all before realising I could conquer this mission alone, and boy, was opening that chest and earning the solo Shattered Throne triumph a hugely gratifying experience. It was at a time when I was starting to treat Destiny 2 as more and more of a hardcore experience, a key part of my life, and ticking off these true endgame feats became the dragon I was willing to chase.

As you can see, there were many parts of Forsaken that stand out to me even to this day. When I look back at the DLC, it's the wonderful The Dreaming City and its complex environmental puzzles, the brilliant The Last Wish raid, indulging in public event-like fun at The Blind Well, the excellent side stories that add an extra layer of lore. Forsaken was the moment I realised just how special Destiny could be and what immense heights it can reach.

Finally, The Damn Pyramids...

Jumping ahead again to Beyond Light, the reason I've picked this moment is because for years up this point, the damn pyramids were simply a loose thread that it felt like Bungie was trying to bury. But no, not at all. After years of dealing with more manageable threats, true fear was on the horizon and now it was finally within reach. We didn't know what the pyramids were, why they had come to Europa and the Sol System, who commanded them, we only knew this was soon to be explored. And this was also the day the line was crossed, when Guardians decided to stray from the light and embrace the darkness, opening up powerful new abilities, which would eventually become crucial at the end of the Light and Darkness Saga.

Reaching the Lighthouse

In a similar feat to completing my first Raid and soloing Shattered Throne, I had long been a fan of the Crucible and the PvP element of Destiny 2, but traditionally in the form of Quick Play, Competitive, and Iron Banner. Eventually, after finally earning Not Forgotten by reaching the Competitive mountaintop, it became time to take on new challenges, which coincidentally lined up with the arrival of the solo queuing mechanic for Trials of Osiris. For the uninitiated, Trials of Osiris was the absolute pinnacle of Destiny 2 PvP, with it being a weekend-only event where teams of three Guardians faced off against other brave fireteams while completing punch cards. Unlike Competitive that had a regular ranked ladder, Trials of Osiris was not nearly as kind, as if you lost a game (maybe two depending on the card you choose), you sacrificed your chance to reach the Lighthouse, a special hub only for the limited few who could win seven matches in a row, going "Flawless", all to earn special Adept gear and rare cosmetics. Again, achieving this was immensely gratifying, a true moment of triumph I will forever hold dearly.

Savathun's Saga

If Forsaken is my favourite Destiny 2 expansion, The Witch Queen is a close second. In a similar manner to how Bungie cooked up a wonderful and deep location in The Dreaming City, Savathun's Throne World was also a complex and intricate destination you could spend hours chipping away at. Adding to this was a variety of new enemies, a proper and refined campaign, weapon crafting and more advanced customisation. After a few more menial expansions spanning Shadowkeep and Beyond Light, The Witch Queen came and suggested that Bungie had found its footing once more and was ready to end the Light and Darkness Saga with a bang.

The End of the Road

Then came Lightfall, which was... something, but thankfully The Final Shape was everything fans had wanted and then some. I won't lie, by this point, Destiny 2 was feeling more like a second job than it was a pastime for me. I wasn't an impressionable teenager any more with more time on my hands than I ever really knew what to do with, in fact, I'd been employed at Gamereactor full-time for a few years and life was very, very different than it was a decade prior. I didn't have the energy, time, nor capacity to give Destiny the focus it needed, but I wasn't going to let the Witness win either. And do you know what, finally stopping that demon, finally ending this long, long saga was hugely therapeutic. It was like covering the last mile of a marathon, as I was just searching for the finish line, but when it finally came it felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. The journey was over and my Guardian, after a decade of fighting daily, could rest.

It wasn't always smooth-sailing and there were plenty of ups and downs on the road, but as I look back on where I've been and where I've gone, I have nothing but fond memories for the thousands and thousands of hours plugging away at Destiny. Now that the final update is here, and while it is a big and promising one, I can't see myself returning to Destiny 2 all that much more from here on out with the future being so bleak. While I do hope Bungie finds a way to keep growing and expanding this universe so countless others can create memories and moments like the ones I continue to treasure, I think I'll be retiring from Destiny from here on out. My Guardian deserves rest, he deserves to kick back and relax beside the fire, letting new heroes take over and defend the defenceless.

All those years ago, Ghost promised I was going to see a lot of things I wouldn't understand, and that was true on so many levels, but it was also wonderful and beautiful. So thanks for the memories and hopefully, one day, I'll see you in the stars again too.