Destiny 2 Episodes fail to trim the “fodder” that haunted seasons for years

Bungie’s replacement for Destiny 2‘s tired Seasonal model was released on June 11, but Guardians haven’t been convinced that Episodes are anything more than a rebrand.

Episode: Echoes picks up directly after the events of The Final Shape, offering two bespoke gameplay activities — Breach Executable and Enigma Protocol — and a vendor, Failsafe, offering various new rewards, including the powerful Timeworn Wayfarer.

Sound familiar? The package deal mimics Destiny 2’s Seasonal model closely, but familiarity isn’t inherently bad. Per feedback offered by players on Reddit, core contentions relate to time-gated content and arbitrary legwork — two commonly criticized aspects of Seasons.

“I was really hoping with the switch to Episodes we would be done with the fodder,” stated one post, later adding, “Doing brain-dead Public Events and Lost Sectors in spaces you’ve played for a decade before you can progress is a terrible mission model.”

With Episodes consisting of multiple Acts intended to unlock at specific intervals (Echoes has three in total), many had assumed each Act would be fully playable on release, instead of being delivered piecemeal weekly.

“I wouldn’t even be disappointed if at least Episodes weren’t weekly time-gated exactly the same way as Seasons. And with the exact same lore unlock and voice comms at the end,” opined one response.

Others echoed a similar sentiment, responding: “Honestly sick of the weekly story and Holo Projector crap. Would much rather a Warmind, Dark Below-type campaign instead of it being drip-fed for two months.”

All these criticisms are based on Echoes’ current progression model, but it’s worth pointing out that two further Acts for the Episode have yet to roll out. Whether these will distance Destiny 2’s new content delivery model from what’s come before remains to be seen.