With the release of the Festival of the Lost yesterday we also got a brand new activity to try out for a limited time in Destiny 2, The Haunted Forest. This new activity throws Guardians into a branch of the Infinite Forest where they need to clear out as many enemies as possible in 15 minutes, ultimately defeating a boss. The goal of this mode is to collect Fragmented Souls in order to purchase the 600 Power Legendary weapon from Amanda Holiday.
What this new mode does is add a timed event that’s going to be remembered for the rest of the year, and looked forward to into 2019. It’s a great change from last year’s effort which felt more like bungie making a move for Guardian wallets with cosmetic items.
However, what The Haunted Forest does better than anything else is make use of the biggest addition from the Curse of Osiris expansion, the Infinite Forest. The expansion added an area that many thought should have been left open for endless gameplay potential, with random areas being generated that lead to one of the potential futures or pasts that the Vex has simulated. Unfortunately once all the story missions and Adventures were complete this area was completely useless to us.
I always felt that there was so much more that could be done not only with lore, but just with providing new daily and weekly activities in the Curse of Osiris expansion. Now for a couple of weeks we do have something that’s going to be bringing us back into this area again and again, as long as you’re looking to earn the best gear at the time.
While The Haunted Forest isn’t an endless game mode, since it’s going to get pretty familiar by the end of the event, it is a nice event to see in Destiny 2. If Bungie provide more game events like this in the future it’ll completely change the way Destiny 2 is perceived, rewarding players for putting in the hours instead of offering them lots and lots of items as long as they pay for them in real world cash.
There are areas in Destiny 2 that could be expanded upon outside of the Infinite Forest. Many feel that it’s a crime to have to pay for expansions in order to access these but that’s how Bungie finance further development. Small events such as the Festival of the Lost are a brilliant middle point that scratch that new gameplay itch with something special, and hopefully we’ll continue to see more of it.
Image Source: PlaystationTrophies
