// PC GAMER — GAMING
I'm sad, I'm angry, I'm interested: Destiny's final cutscenes are a painful end to a new saga cut short
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Destiny 2's Monuments of Triumph is here, the final update for the game and potentially the last Destiny anything. Even This Week In Destiny, my weekly ritual for over a decade now, is coming to an end. To that end, Bungie has crammed in as much of a conclusion as possible, given we're actually at the start of a brand-new saga.
After the conclusion of the decade-long Light and Darkness saga in The Final Shape, Bungie kicked off the Fate saga, beginning with The Edge of Fate. It's all about the mysterious god-like entities affiliated with the planets of the Sol system who have been pulling the strings this entire time. They control time, setting up key events like dominoes.
Destiny has been with me for most of my life, as strange as that is to say. Destiny 1 came out when I was in high school, and Destiny 2 caught the tail end of it. Thousands of hours over the past decade, hundreds more watching lore videos. This is very much the end of an era for both the series and me, and what a way to wave goodbye. Spoilers ahead.
Say what you will about The Edge of Fate, but its story was the most fascinating aspect. New character Lodi (one of the best in the series, no less), a pre-Golden Age guy working at Destiny's version of the Federal Bureau of Control, was ripped out of the space age and brought to space in the far future. Turns out he was a co-worker of Ikora's, though Guardians don't tend to remember their past.
Unfortunately, this promising new saga was cut short, ending just as it was ramping up. And the new secret cutscenes in Monuments of Triumph are a bittersweet teaser of what was to come, and an obituary for a universe we might never get to explore again.
There's a bunch of great dialogue and story developments between its new quests, but I want to focus on its two vital hidden cutscenes. Obviously, spoilers ahead for 'the end of Destiny', so to speak.
"Thank you. For walking with me all these years. For carrying this burden with me. You make me proud."
The first cutscene sees our commander-in-chief for a decade reflecting on the journey and the weight he's had to carry. It tugs at the heartstrings of any long-time Destiny fan, not least because of the passing of his previous voice actor, Lance Reddick. Rightfully, Zavala's ready to hang up the hat, with no Ghost and only one life left. Zavala's story fittingly ends with him retiring and passing the baton to Ikora, the last vanguard of the old Vanguard.
And then your Ghost drops one of the most on-the-nose, poignant lines: "Nothing ever stays the same, does it? What do you think is in our future?" You know what, Ghost? I don't know, but I hope it's a continuation of this world.