Gamers who want a unique sci-fi experience might find themselves conflicted in between two games - Destiny 2 and Warframe. On one hand, Destiny 2 boasts futuristic fireteams with a seemingly-mythological force known as the Light. Meanwhile, Warframe boasts fast-paced battles that combine gun-toting exosuits with flashy melee combat.
However, despite the radical differences in these titles, some sci-fi fans do settle the score with one thing: the lore. With regards to both titles, just which hit sci-fi title dominates in-game lore? For instance, does Destiny 2 live up to Destiny's legacy of the story between Traveler and the various civilizations outside Earth? Or rather, does Warframe and its nigh-fantastical take on extraterrestrial civilizations appeal more to sci-fi fans?
10 Warframe Wins: An Immersive Space Dystopia
When players wake up as the Warframe-wearing Tenno, both them and their character have no idea what's going on. As far as they're concerned, they're tasked with fighting back against the militaristic Grineer and the industrialized Corpus. Both factions follow their own agenda, and both invested in eliminating the Tenno for reasons players discover on their own.
Most NPCs remain hostile, neutral, or untrusting to the Tenno - and society lives in tight control over these warring factions.
While the Warframe narrative resembles more of a sci-fi espionage-thriller, the alienation of the player's Tenno in this foreign dystopia lets them immerse in this new status quo in the way that they want. Players can remain as the heroic Tenno, join a Syndicate for their own agenda, or remain an isolated third party.
9 Destiny 2 Dominates: A Knightly Post-Apocalyptic Aesthetic
When the Darkness attacked a freshly-colonized Solar System, its forces ushered the Golden Age of humanity back to Earth. The Traveler's intervention may have driven the Darkness away, but the Collapse managed to save just one city (the Last City) on Earth and forced an injured Traveler to enter into stasis. Earth and its Last City enter the Dark Ages - where few survivors barely remember anything of the Golden Age, and Guardians struggle to defend Earth against new threats.
As a result, Destiny and Destiny 2 adopt quite a mixed approach to their aesthetic. On one hand, the Traveler's Light gave humanity a renewed sense of purpose and duty. Guardians show this by way of futuristic weapons, sophisticated armor, and post-Earth fellowships with unique ideologies.
However, humanity does retain its militaristic roots. Behind the Guardian's knightly armor are combat pouches, tactical gear, and "ancient" weapons resembling soldiers of old. It's this unique aesthetic blend that highlights humanity's struggle to cope with its recent apocalypse.
8 Warframe Wins: Mythological By Nature
Newcomers to World of Warcraft might feel pressured to play old content just to keep up with current lore. Thankfully, Warframe doesn't force players to do the same, as its lore is inherently lacking for the purpose of the plot.
In Warframe, players take on the role of Tenno - beings who can channel the destructive Void's powers into the eponymous Warframe. Unfortunately, the player's Tenno have no recollection of events that led them to the start of the game.
Given this premise, it's up to both the player and their Tenno to uncover events of the past. Sadly, it's a few hundred years' worth of past in the form of data logs, rumors, and propaganda-riddled snippets. It's up to players to determine the truth behind these events - leaving both an air of mystery and mythology to Warframe's story.
7 Destiny 2 Dominates: Become The Lore
As with most story-driven games, Destiny 2 (and by extension, Destiny) begins straight to the action. When players start Destiny 2, the Cabal Ghaul and his Red Legion eventually arrive on Earth, seemingly answering the Cabal's distress call in The Taken King two years too late. With the Taken King now defeated, Ghaul takes over the Cabal and plans on capturing the Traveler's Light for himself.
With the Guardians losing their Light, they're unable to tap into their powers. Thankfully, the player discovers a physical shard of the Traveler that restores part of their Light. It's up to them to take the fight to Ghaul and restore the Traveler's Light.
Players who appreciate being an active part of history will appreciate their involvement as Destiny 2's main story character, even when everything else can be played in multiplayer.
6 Warframe Wins: Humans Take Center Stage
Due to its rather alien aesthetic, newcomers to Warframe might assume that much of its species - the Grinner, the Corpus, the Orokin, even the Tenno - are alien humanoids. Interestingly, they're not.
According to lore, the Grineer are a genetically-produced race originally intended to serve the Orokin Empire. Meanwhile, the Corpus found its roots in a humble farmer who grew a financial empire. Both groups formed their own factions since the Empire's destruction.
Interestingly, the Orokin serves as the "oldest" civilization in the Warframe universe, with its history and culture lost in time. Players surmise that the Orokin are a futuristic version of humanity - but this remains a theory. This lack of a "true" origin in Warframe adds to its alluring and mysterious nature - emphasizing the "alien" aspect of the genre.
5 Destiny 2 Dominates: Beyond Mankind
When the Darkness halted humanity's advancements in the Golden Age, humans faced the horrible presence of malevolent species. These include enemy factions such as the Hive, the Fallen, and the Taken, among others. As Guardians would learn, the Darkness would also annihilate various races or force them under its control. Their existence solidifies humanity's - and the player's - place in defending the Solar System from these threats.
Interestingly, Humans also formed "subspecies" during their time in the Golden Age. For instance, the playable race Awoken are actually Humans involved in a spacetime anomaly at the time of the Collapse. Meanwhile, the Exo are human consciousnesses uploaded into machine bodies. Thanks to Ghosts who choose them, players can tap into Humans, Awoken, and Exo to become Guardians.
4 Warframe Wins: Ideologies In An Alien Future
Outside Warframe's fast-paced action are Syndicates - groups of interest that have some stake in the Origin System. In-game, players can join any of these Syndicates and raise their Standing to get perks.
Interestingly, some Syndicates naturally oppose others. For instance, the Arbiters of Hexis believe in the untapped potential of the Tenno - they are supported by the knowledge-seeking Cephalon Suda but opposed by the merchants of the Perrin Sequence.
However, unlike other MMOs, a player's Standing in one Syndicate affects their relationship in others. Anger a Syndicate enough and they can dispatch assassins to kill the player during missions. Differing ideologies in Warframe's alien future give a semblance of today's ideologically-empowered groups. And the fact that Warframe offers in-game consequences of their interactions give a new dimension to factions in games.
3 Destiny 2 Dominates: More Than Reputation Points
In-game, players can earn reputation points for Factions to gain access to special perks. However, their existence do expand Destiny 2 lore in a lot of creative levels. For instance, the Cryptarchs aim to study and decode encrypted matter to study lost cultures - such as lost secrets of the Golden Age. Meanwhile, the Vanguard serve as Earth's protectors.
However, beyond these player factions are "hidden" groups such as Foundries that create Guardian gear. For instance, Omolon is known for creating energy weaponry and the only known manufacturer of Trace Rifles. Meanwhile, Hakke produce weapons similar to pre-Golden Age technology.
It's these tiny details that reveal an active corporate atmosphere despite Destiny 2's post-apocalyptic premise, and helps players feel as though they're a part of a living economy - a sign of a functioning civilization.
2 Warframe Wins: The Plot Is A Game Mechanic
Story remains one of the most noteworthy aspects of Warframe, particularly due to its integration as a game mechanic. Players begin their missions on Earth and slowly expand to other planets in the Origin System. While players are free to tackle their path to unlocking planet after planet, the game does bar access to some of them until players complete Story Missions. As a reward, players get eventual access to things such as Companions, Archwings, and other special perks essential to endgame content.
At its core, Story Missions help players and the Tenno piece together what happened to them before their reawakening. Meanwhile, replayable missions give small (and faction-focused) insights to the universe's current events. Think of reading newspapers or watching the television while conducting espionage - but this time, it's the Tenno conducting missions for the enigmatic Lotus.
1 Destiny 2 Dominates: The Narrative Remains Uncomplicated
True to its mainstream sci-fi roots, Destiny 2 consistently ties in with Destiny's story in an uncomplicated way. As agents of the Light, Guardians are tasked to protect the Earth at all costs from the opposing Darkness and its agents in the form of the Worm Gods, the Scorn, the Taken, as well as franchise staples the Hive and the Vex.
Albeit coming with a straightforward plot, it's the uncomplicated nature of Destiny 2 and its familiar theme that paves the way for relatable stories. At every story's core lies the same process: players save the day, answers come to some questions, and more mysteries resurface.