Bungie just lately shifted away from Future 2’s seasonal mannequin for one thing the developer is looking episodes. These episodes are purported to differ from seasons—which delivered weekly narrative beats through a combination of cutscenes and repeatable actions— in various methods, reminiscent of the power to inform extra thrilling standalone tales and blend up the cadence during which they’re delivered. Nonetheless, when the primary act of the continuing episode launched shortly after The Closing Form, Future 2’s climactic growth, gamers have been upset to search out that little or no truly modified. Bungie is now attempting to make amends by altering the formulation, as promised.
On a stream earlier right this moment, Bungie detailed what to anticipate from Echoes second act—which launches on July 16—and acknowledged that it will be altering the supply of the content material following the completion of this present episode. As a substitute of drip-feeding tales for weeks prefer it has at all times accomplished, Bungie will likely be releasing the entire story content material for the acts directly. Thismeans that when the following episode, titled Heresy, arrives in just a few months, the entire content material for its first act will drop directly.
This cadence will proceed via the remainder of the episode. Now, fairly than get three weeks of story content material slowly meted out, after which one other three weeks to work via it earlier than the following act, gamers will be capable of go all out at launch. I’m torn on whether or not or not it is a nice name. As somebody who struggles to maintain up with the weekly grinds, and hates coming again for items of a story, the transfer form of resonates with me. With the ability to bang all of it out in a weekend seems like a dream come true, and permits me to carve out extra time for different pursuits fairly than deal with each login like an appointment.
Nonetheless, I do know that there’s a subset of parents who take pleasure in having a motive to return again recurrently. When that’s not there, it’s straightforward to get your fill, fuck off, and declare that the sport is useless when it doesn’t get new content material for greater than a month at a time. Furthermore, releasing the entire content material directly seems like a recipe for catastrophe to the builders, who will very seemingly have to put up with followers of the sport harassing them over a perceived drought each six weeks.
Sure, it’s true that Echoes’ first act was a little bit of a letdown. When it landed, gamers anticipated one thing—actually something totally different—and as a substitute they have been handled to what was primarily a reskinned season. Echoes’ first act appeared like a boring retread of the previous fairly than the sweeping evolution of the seasonal mannequin that gamers have been promised. However I’m not fully certain that releasing the entire story content material directly will liven issues up. Of us need the sport to really feel more energizing, fairly than repeat the identical cycle of experiences they’ve performed for years now, and altering how usually story beats are delivered doesn’t actually reply to that critique.
For now, Echoes will proceed the weekly drip of tales all through its remaining acts, and who is aware of, we could even study to find it irresistible by the point the following episode rolls round. Bungie’s proved it’s fairly fluid in responding to its fanbase, and normally winds up in place after some iteration, so there’s no approach to say for certain whether or not or not these adjustments stick round. We’ll simply have to attend and see how well-received it’s as soon as it’s truly applied in just a few months.
