Needledrop - 'Destiny 2'
Destiny 2 excels at storytelling, atmosphere, and music. Here's my favourite needledrop amongst the masses.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve seen positive press reaction to the latest Destiny 2 DLC titled ‘The Final Shape’. Acting as a conclusion to a long-running story arc (and what I thought was the game too, turns out I was wrong *phew*) This put Destiny 2 back on my radar and drew me back to a moment in Destiny 2 that triggered memories with a single chord. Here’s what that moment was, as well as what artists and composers can learn from moments like this.
What is Destiny 2?
Need to know
Needledrop: “Deep Stone Lullaby”
What can we learn from this needledrop?
1. What is Destiny 2?
Destiny 2, developed by Bungie, is a first-person shooter (FPS) set in its own mythic-meets-science-fiction universe. Imagine ‘I, Robot’ but a bit further into the future and much more colourful.
Players, known as Guardians, defend humanity against various threats—no spoilers here. The game’s narrative has evolved significantly, with "The Final Shape" Downloadable Content (DLC) receiving high praise for its compelling storyline, enhanced gameplay, and stunning visuals. This expansion ties up major story arc, offering a fulfilling conclusion that has resonated well with players and critics alike.
Destiny 2 scored an 85 on Metacritic and a fluctuating monthly player base between 50,000 to 300,000+, depending on new update drops. The game was released in 2017 as a full priced title, becoming a free-to-play live-service game two years later. This is likely due to the monolithic competition of Fortnite emerging as a competing free-to-play game that was setting a ‘new standard’ of game pricing. Destiny 2’s commercial model is to enable customers to purchase the latest DLC while keeping all previous DLC free to play as well as being cross platform too. So, essentially early access to the next part of the story, while giving everything else away for free. Nice.
I jumped in when it became free to play in 2019 👀. After all, being developed by Bungie inc. and having underlying themes and inspiration from the Halo universe, I couldn’t have shied away from it. The elements of Destiny 2 that I’ve enjoyed are the storytelling, atmosphere, and music (of course). These 3 elements are orchestrated to complement each other within this game.
Is this a competitive game for me? I don’t think it is as much as others, but it’s one hell of an experience. Halo did an incredible job of storytelling in a FPS game, and I believe that this is Destiny 2’s unique selling point. There are many examples of Destiny 2 showing off glimmers with its story, but here is a moment I’d like to highlight.
2. Need to know
The needledrop I’ve chosen is found within a ‘raid’. A raid in Destiny 2 is a high-level activity designed for a team of six players. Raids are known for their challenging mechanics, intricate puzzles, and powerful enemies, requiring strong teamwork, coordination, and strategy to complete. Unlike standard missions, raids often have unique encounters and mechanics that test players' skills and knowledge of the game. Completing a raid can yield some of the best loot and rewards in the game, making it a highly sought-after activity for dedicated players.
Given their complexity, players who have done it before and guide new players through the raid are called Sherpas. You can also find a variety of guides online.
After a raid, you can also give your players commendations to tell them how well they did. Isn’t that nice?
3. Needledrop: “Deep Stone Lullaby”
Oooh it’s needledrop time! My aim is to give as little as possible away here, so excuse me for being vague on setting the scene as it does not do this moment justice, but I will describe this as if you’re not familiar with Destiny 2’s lore.
In the Beyond Light DLC, during the Deep Stone Crypt raid, this needledrop is nicely nestled between events. You are sent to a space station to investigate the operations of a morally ambigious character in the Destiny 2 universe (Clovis Bray - If you know, you know). Prior to the needledrop, they have already had to do a 6-person puzzle room as well as a whole boss room, and you know you have more to go. As the dust settles after the first boss battle and the room returns to silence, you make your way out of the room and are led to an air-locked door that shows you the outside of the space station. As the door opens to begin your space walk, you are greeted with this music:
Now, as a standalone track without any context, this could seem like a rather peaceful melody, almost mechancholy, but it is the context surrounding this piece of music that adds so much value:
This is a breather between combat instances. Raids are often long, uninterrupted segments of gaming containing various puzzles and firefights. Carving out a moment of peace between these creates space where you can design atmosphere and suspense.
The view is stunning. You can take in the work that the designers put into the environment.
The music is ‘different’ to the rest of the raid. Both before and after this moment, the music is mostly intense. This is no way a bad thing, as this marks how much intensity runs in the gameplay and gives the opportunity for the music after this sequence to really hit home. And that it did.
You’ve already fought, but you know it’s not over. From the above link, we know that after this moment of peace, we will be faced with music that gives us another opportunity to throw us back into the story with intent.
Clovis Bray is talking to you over your intercom, uncovering secrets that affect the entire lore of Destiny 2. After delivering some heavy news, he finishes his monologue, preparing you for the next combat with the following phrase: “You now face godlike judgement. May it extend eternally". I mean, come on. That’s just so heavy, isn’t it.
Here’s people on Reddit agreeing with me:
This moment was orchestrated beautifully by carving-out space and making the main music the foundation of the bittersweet emotion of the player. This was clearly shared by players, confirmed across forums and comment sections.
What we can learn from this Needledrop
Using my ‘taxonomy’ of music use categories in a previous post (which I will expand upon soon), I’d say that this is ‘Main Music’, or to quote myself, “The tracks are crucial in driving the story and enhancing the player's emotional engagement with the game.“
Destiny has proved since 2019 (not 2017) that as a live-service model, it can tell its story over time. Funny that, because this is how stories are usually both made and told in real life too. As shown in the above player statistics, player numbers go up and down. When it’s up, there’s been a fresh chapter added to the book of Destiny 2. However, when it’s down, there is already so much to do that it takes time to understand the deep tendrils of the lore. All in all, to understand the Destiny 2 experience, all players need to dedicate time to the full story.
The way we interact with media in recent years has changed. When the latest series of Succession drops, you know people will binge the entire series, and then the story finishes, so then they need to move on to something else. How can you encourage people to stay in your world? The benefit of a video game is that you actively have to explore the world in your own way. I’d say players (or viewers) need to identify as a community - and Destiny 2’s intrigate raid system, collaborative focus, and shared needledrop story moments like this one forge this game’s community.
The latest DLC ‘The Final Shape’, feigns an air of finality. This has ignited a retrospective of the community and a joint sense of pride with the closing of such a massive story arc. I believe that this DLC’s critical acclaim has realised Destiny’s potential to become a vehicle to stand the test of time, and with time, comes the benefit of it.
The benefit of time?
Yes. This is the whole reason for this post. The benefit of time.
Destiny 2 has been an 8 year long story that has a moment of reflection now that a story arc has finished. When a story closes, people look back on great moments. Audiences age, grow and change over time, but the relationship between players and gaming companies only grow (providing they communicate and provide). After revisiting this moment in my mind and feeling the nostalgia of the story we all went through together, my advice to artists and composers is as follows:
It’s not about haggling for what you think the 'biggest' placement could be, but actually what is the most impactful. If you have any opportunity within a game, make it count, and cooperate with the environment offered. Those small selections of chords in “Deep Stone Lullaby” had a lasting impact that grew naturally in the community, and over time, these gems are revisited and compared against the new. “Deep Stone Lullaby” was just a passing moment in the middle of a raid between two parts, but it struck a chord with a growing and reinforced community that, after all these years of new DLC chapters, this needledrop still stands as one of my favourite, most powerful compositional moments in the history of Destiny 2.
TLDR:
Destiny 2 closed a major story arc with its latest DLC, sparking nostalgia among players. “Deep Stone Lullaby” is my needledrop of choice from an earlier DLC detailing a quiet period mid-mission between combat events where story, atmosphere, and music collaborated, mapping context and emotion to this music. This moment demonstrates how even a few quiet chords can have a significant impact when contextualized within the game. Destiny 2's evolving story and long-serving community make such memorable moments resonate throughout the game's lifespan.
Honourable mention - “Journey”. If you know, you know.