It’s only been a day since launch, but players are already vocalizing their rocky reception to Destiny 2’s Lightfall expansion on social media after finishing its main campaign.
While the expansion had been billed as the beginning of the end, with trailers and marketing that suggested a darker tone for the Destiny story going forward, Lightfall isn’t living up to that expectation. One of the most notable pain points being discussed is Nimbus, the rookie Cloud Strider who serves as our vendor and guide through the new Neomuna destination.
Despite a lot of excitement around them prior to launch, their dialogue and characterization, in reality, have left a bitter taste in the mouths of most players, leading to one prominent post on Reddit calling their writing “god awful” and comparing it directly to what they believe is the worst of Marvel’s writing.
“They talk like Thor in Ragnarok and it’s completely tone deaf considering the circumstances,” u/ColdAsHeaven wrote in a post on the main Destiny subreddit that has now attracted a lot of attention. “Did you guys ever want to see a mix of Brother Vance, Love and Thunder Thor and Failsafe into one? But just the cringe dialogue? Guess what, that’s Nimbus.”
The specific moments they reference come from toward the campaign’s conclusion, where the death of Nimbus’ mentor figure has seemingly had no impact on their character. Despite the grave circumstances surrounding the narrative, the fate of the universe, and the fate of the city that they protect, Nimbus continues to joke lightheartedly with the rest of the cast about the “magic green strings” of Strand and how defenses are “lit” currently.
“I hate Nimbus’s writing and voice direction. I’ll pretty much be abandoning Neomuna like I did Nessus if they don’t stop talking after the story,” they said in conclusion.
Other players shared this sentiment, with u/diaboescobar pointing out that any chance of Nimbus being a likable character dwindled due to other issues with Lightfall’s narrative. “It would have helped if they had spent more than a single like 10 second cutscene introducing the two cloudstriders,” they replied. “They have no character development at all so all you get are the one dimensional one liners.”
The way that Nimbus clashes with the wider tone of the current state of affairs was a big point of concern for u/BuccaneerBarbatos, another disappointed player in the comments. “This is supposed to be THE big deal. End times. We watched the Witness slice a Ghost and a Guardian into tiny pieces with a wave of its hand,” they stressed. “Then 15 minutes later I’ve got some weirdo who’s oddly chipper about their home being ravaged telling me “Let’s go do some hero stuff.” Holy shit, read the room.”
After only 24 hours since launch, Destiny 2’s Lightfall expansion is already sitting at “Mixed” on Steam after almost 700 reviews. While the post-campaign content and gameplay might be living up to expectations, the narrative that Bungie is trying to tell has fallen flat for many in the community.
