Destiny: The Taken King has a story worth telling

As a small part of my Banifest Destiny column, I’ve spent the past month berating Destiny’s story. I like to think I can put it on my résumé at this point. It’s just too easy; much of the game is so threadbare and vague that you’d have a harder time finding a Guardian who does understand what their motivations are supposed to be. However, that also means it’s easy to improve, at least on paper. It’s not hard to raise the bar when it’s on the floor, but if you’re the one who put it there to begin with, there’s a chance that’s where it will stay. Fortunately, this is not the case with The Taken King expansion, which not only artfully applies the few strengths Destiny’s story has already demonstrated, but incorporates new approaches to narrative.

The Taken King’s storytelling success lies in its origins. Although it’s largely based on the appallingly written Dark Below expansion, TTK hearkens back to even vanilla content with its focus on Oryx. In an ancient story mission, players destroyed a Hive altar in order to interrupt the tribe’s commune with a then-unseen God. We now know just who that God was—the same winged beast who wants our Light on a platter. Because of this, Oryx is more than an outside villain. He’s not just some Bowser patiently waiting off-screen, counting the seconds to his inevitable defeat, but a key player in the world of Destiny. He isn’t quite Far Cry 3’s Vaas, but he does maintain a meaningful presence throughout the world. Those pesky Echoes of Oryx help with that, albeit in a rather ham-handed way.

In essence, TTK doubles down on what made The House of Wolves great: intension, the innards of a central idea. Instead of creating and partially exploring new canon, like The Dark Below, it revisits existing content, characters and subplots. Old missions, Grimoire snippets and pieces of dialogue have fallen into place as precursors to a larger, more engaging picture. Most enjoyably, it delves into the history of the Vanguard by putting its three leaders on center stage.

The Titan, Warlock and Hunter Vanguard leaders have never seemed more personable than in The Taken King. Their constant bickering and guidance fosters a sense of camaraderie. TTK has an almost Borderlands 2 “the gang’s all here” vibe to it, what with our Guardian taking cues from the Vanguard’s top brass, which is leaps and bounds above Destiny’s history of skippable dialogue. Hunter expert Cayde-6 is particularly entertaining and influential. He’s a wild card, a smart ass, and most importantly, genuinely funny.

The individuality of each Vanguard leader is echoed by the way TTK’s new subclasses are handled. Rather than arbitrarily fetch-questing your way to new powers, the latest subclasses are unlocked via individualized stories. These quests reinforce the idea of serving as a Guardian and help to concrete the dangers of the oft-alluded Darkness. They also paint each Vanguard leader a different color, leaving them much more than a trio of stand-in vendors.

Ghost, too, is in rare form throughout The Taken King. Newly appointed voice actor Nolan North delivers lines with levity, asserting the urgency of some situations while expressing Ghost’s reluctance toward others. Ghost is as much a know-it-all as he is a worrywart, which is more than can be said for “Dinklebot” (RIP). It’s a shame our Guardians remain largely mute; we’d make a great two-man show.

With a more interesting story behind them, new missions have been made mechanically interesting in turn. The Taken King’s eight-or-so hours of story quests (fetch-quests notwithstanding) are well paced, each building on the principles of the last. This is culminated in (for PlayStation players) three new Strikes, all of which present refreshing obstacles to juggle. Environmental hazards, visibility constraints, timed puzzles—together these put a different spin on Destiny’s “shoot the dudes” mantra. Mixing multiple Darkness tribes via the Taken enemy type is another blast of fresh air, one closely followed by dozens of special attacks to play around. The Dreadnaught, the game’s newest “planet,” presents equal, if not greater personality with its many alcoves and styles. Much like the Taken King as a whole, it’s a place worth being, which is exactly what Destiny needed.