Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate Wears Its Metroid Influences on…

Summary

Destiny 2's Edge of Fate brings a new narrative saga starting July 15, unfolding across multiple expansions.
Kepler in Edge of Fate resembles a Metroidvania, allowing gradual exploration and discovery.
The new Matterspark ability in Edge of Fate mirrors Samus' Morph Ball, opening up new areas for players to explore.

At long last, Destiny 2's upcoming expansion, The Edge of Fate, has been revealed, and it looks to be a substantial upgrade to the game when it launches this summer. With the release of The Edge of Fate on July 15, a new overarching narrative Bungie is calling the "Fate Saga" will begin for Destiny 2 and then unfold across multiple years and expansions, much like the previous Light and Darkness Saga did for an entire decade.

During the recent Edge of Fate reveal event, Bungie disclosed a vast number of additions and changes coming to the base game with the launch of the expansion. Many of the elements The Edge of Fate aims to introduce make the expansion look like it could be a true return to form for Destiny 2, which is a great sign for the game's future. What's most curious about some of the new features, however, is that they resemble Nintendo's Metroid series on multiple fronts — namely, the design of the new planet Kepler and the Matterspark ability that will accompany it.

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By Josh Cotts

Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate Has Metroid All Over It

The Edge of Fate's Kepler Is Metroidvania in Its Design

One of the biggest additions coming to Destiny 2 with The Edge of Fate is the new planetoid Kepler, which has been designed in a unique way that all but screams "Metroidvania." While Destiny 2's Pale Heart location might have set a standard for the game moving forward beyond The Final Shape, Kepler looks to take things a bit further by combining key elements of various Destiny 2 activities into one fully explorable location. As disclosed by assistant game director Robbie Stevens during the recent Edge of Fate reveal event, Kepler is a "labyrinthian world that took inspiration from things like the Dreaming City, exotic missions, dungeons, and it's wrapping it all through a Metroidvania experience."

A Metroidvania experience is generally defined by a large interconnected world that gradually opens up as players gain new abilities, allowing for exploration, backtracking, and discovery.

Ultimately, what this means is that Kepler will be a place that players can discover more of over time, rather than every corner and space of the planet being immediately available to them. At the heart of Destiny 2's new planet Kepler is a player-driven experience that opens up more as players obtain new abilities, similar to the exploration formula of classic Metroid games. Destiny 2 has always invited players to explore its many diverse locations, but it seems that Kepler might be on an entirely different level when it comes to exploration and how it encourages players to view it through that lens.

The Edge of Fate's Matterspark Is Essentially Samus' Morph Ball Form

Of course, Kepler wouldn't be a proper Metroidvania experience without its fair share of abilities that gradually open up the planet to players, and that's where Matterspark comes in. Matterspark may only be one of the new Kepler abilities players will be able to use in The Edge of Fate, but where it stands out is in how much it resembles and functions like Samus' Morph Ball ability in the Metroid series. When players transform into the Matterspark form, they can "squeeze into tight areas, race around areas, jump over stuff, and it also allows you to turn into this electric rolling ball of death, jolting and shocking enemies that come across your path," according to art director Dave Samuel during the Edge of Fate reveal event.

At the heart of Destiny 2's new planet Kepler is a player-driven experience that opens up more as players obtain new abilities, similar to the exploration formula of classic Metroid games.

In the end, Matterspark and the other abilities factored into how Bungie approached world design with Kepler in The Edge of Fate. Specifically, something like an innocent crack in the wall that can only be accessed using Matterspark might reveal a whole new area for players to explore on Kepler, or a simple hill might be used as a ramp for players to reach areas they couldn't otherwise. Needless to say, Destiny 2's Edge of Fate expansion has Metroid written all over it. Perhaps that might even lead to a Metroid collaboration at some point, as Destiny 2 has never shied away from crossovers.

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