Bungie recently announced the gameplay premiere of its Destiny 2 title on May 18, and that will be your first chance to see Destiny 2 in action and learn how it has evolved from its predecessor. That would be exciting enough, but there's even more reason to be excited: Windows Central will be there, covering the event firsthand.
The Destiny 2 premiere event invite package
We knew we'd be attending the Destiny 2 gameplay premiere, but the physical invite package came as quite a surprise. Inside the tiny, unassuming box, we found the following:
- A metal Ghost pin.
- A 4-inch Cayde-6 figurine.
- A physical invite card.
The pin came cleverly attached to the inside of a fold-out cardboard case, making it a delight to discover. Who doesn't like a good metal pin, right? And it looks just like a Ghost, the floating robotic AI that helps Guardians (players) along their journies in the original Destiny. The black paint really helps the details stand out, too.
The Deadpool, I mean Cayde-6, figurine is a super-deformed (cutesy) likeness of the fan-favorite character who appeared in the first Destiny and will return in the second. Cayde-6 is a Hunter Vanguard (basically the top Hunter) who assigns missions and sells items in the Tower. The Tower, an important Destiny hub area, will find itself under assault in Destiny 2.
Could these trinkets be seen as bribes? Do they guarantee that we'll cover Destiny 2 favorably? Of course not.
Swag such as toys, pins, and shirts is quite common for these major releases. Professional critics and journalists don't allow it to affect their opinions of a game. Heck, I got some nice Farming Simulator 17 swag and gave that game a 2.5/5 rating, while the physical Collector's Edition of Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II still resulted in an honest review with a 4/5.
Prepare for the darkness
The Destiny 2 premiere invite card is not without its share of intrigue. One side simply relays the details of the event. The other cryptically states:
Welcome to a world without light.
Below the message, we see a dead ghost, its light extinguished. Light is a sort of magic-like technology and the source of the Guardians' powers. The Ghosts float along, acting as both talkative companions and channeling light from the Traveler (a mysterious, city-sized sphere credited with saving humanity from an enemy called The Darkness) into the Guardians.
Destiny 2 will definitely see the Guardians on the run, stripped of their powers. Along with the cryptic message about the loss of light, this seems to imply that either the Ghosts have been disabled in Destiny 2, or the Traveler's Light has otherwise been disabled. Note that the image of a dead Ghost is no big deal in and of itself – players encounter and revive a number of these in the original game. But losing access to the light altogether is a pretty big deal! Dark days ahead, indeed.
Destiny 2 impressions coming soon
The Destiny 2 gameplay premiere event takes place on May 18, just under two weeks from now. We'll be there, but will we actually get to play Destiny 2? The invite doesn't say so. At the very least, we'll get a special look and inside information that will give us a better picture of the game than ever before.
Destiny 2 is expected to arrive on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC on September 8. It will retail for $59.99.
