Destiny 2 is a good game, not a timeless classic, but a game that I’ll be playing on and off for a couple of years at the very least.
Whilst some of it might end up being a bit of a grind, and ultimately a chore, there’s one thing that makes all of the activities and areas quite literally sing.
The soundtrack to this game is exceptional. Haunting, brooding, hopeful, melancholy. It has it all, and it is a complete joy to take in. To the point that I made sure to buy it as soon as I could, and it’s been almost exclusively listened to for the past couple of weeks.
Game soundtracks can come with iconic themes, they can be bigger than a game. Sometimes they help accentuate action and drama and all that’s in between. This is one of those soundtracks.
There isn’t a moment that I recall thinking “this music doesn’t work here”, but I definitely remember the first time I heard “Lost Light”. In fact, I have as many notes about the music of the game at certain points, as I do about the game itself.
My personal favourite is the chirpy “The Last City”, the first time I heard that was just after the final story mission, and it just lifted me out of the place I’d put myself into mentally whilst focusing on staying alive and defeating Ghaul. It couldn’t have been more perfect for that moment, and now it’s a friendly reminder of that moment, every time I step into the tower.
Hearing “The Farm” after finding relative safety early on in the story, it soothed me after struggling to comprehend the enormity of the things that were happening. It’s beautiful, and deserves to be heard by as many people as possible!
If a good soundtrack helps to set the tone of the scene/scenario that it accompanies, then this soundtrack is excellent. Honestly, there aren’t many games in recent memory that have had a soundtrack that has not only stood out, repeatedly, but struck so many emotional chords with me in all the right places.
Whilst it’s perhaps not as iconic as some of the Final Fantasy games, or Zelda series. It deserves to be mentioned among them in the future. I can only hope that it gains as much traction as it deserves amongst Destiny fans, and soundtrack fans alike.
Impact
The impact of this soundtrack to me, is so great that it’s going to receive my first ever “Exceptional” review rating.
Moving into headset use for game audio soon, and I think it’s going to end up giving the soundtrack even greater depth, can’t wait to get stuck in.