There are not many games like Destiny 2, as it is one of the most prominent first-person shooters out there, but it also comes with deep lore and a compelling narrative. Bungie's space magic title is going strong despite being four years old, as yesterday's Steam charts demonstrated with Destiny 2 taking the third spot overall. Destiny 2 is now well into the fifth week of its Season of the Lost, which acts as a bridge between the game's old content, like Forsaken, and what's to come in The Witch Queen.
Among its cast of characters, Destiny 2's Season of the Lost features the resurrected Uldren Sov, now a Lightbearer by the name of Crow, who first came back in Season of the Hunt. This Season also features Savathun, trapped in a crystal prison while she waits for Mara Sov to perform a ritual that will exorcise her Worm. With these two characters inevitably going to interact with one another in the coming weeks, it shouldn't come as a surprise that both Forsaken and Cayde-6's death are still so relevant to this day.
Cayde-6's Death and Role in Destiny 2
Savathun's speech at the end of this week's quest sees her mocking Cayde's death by saying "RIP Cayde" in a humorous tone. The former Hunter Vanguard was a popular, successful character in the first installment of the series. He was portrayed throughout the series as its comic relief whenever the story was going to dark places, like when Oryx's Dreadnaught was a serious threat in the Taken War.
Cayde was such a beloved character because he embodied the sentiment of many gamers looking to just have fun, as did the legendary Hunter. Cayde was restless and a true Hunter at heart, but he also happened to be pigeonholed into the role of a jokester, with most of his best quotes coming in the form of funny remarks. He would have hated the direction Destiny 2 was headed after his departure, but that was the best direction to take the game.
Bungie has succeeded in crafting a much darker universe where enemies conspire against humanity and nothing is as it seems. The alliance between mankind and the Cabal or the Awoken wouldn't have the same emotional impact it had if Cayde was still around, and most likely the same would have applied to the Guardians finally encountering the Darkness and harnessing its powers. All the heavy lines in Beyond Light and in several Seasons throughout Destiny 2's history would have been made less serious by Cayde's remarks, and that's something Destiny 2 didn't need anymore.
Why Cayde-6's Death Was One of the Best Things to Happen to Destiny 2
Destiny 2 is now a very different game from what it was at launch, and its narrative has deeply changed in terms of tone and content, leading to peaks like Uldren's redemption through Crow or Saint-14's desperate search for Osiris. Even the first chapter in the game's story, the Red War campaign, could have delivered a more somber tone if Cayde wasn't involved. While his presence was appreciated by many, it's hard not to wonder what could have been if he hadn't been there. That's why Destiny 2 killing off Cayde was one of the best things that happened to the game, as Destiny 2 can now fully embrace the darker route Bungie had planned.
Even the upcoming The Witch Queen seems quite grim compared to other expansions in Destiny 2, with the Hive taking the Traveler's Light. Cayde would have probably said something along the lines of how he looked forward to crushing a Hive Ghost after shooting the Hive Guardians with his Golden Gun, and while this could be voicing the thoughts of some players, it wouldn't have fit the current tone of the narrative. The same holds true for the Vanguard discovering Osiris was Savathun since the events of Season of the Hunt, which was a huge reveal with branching plot consequences.
Even the lore in Destiny 2 feels different since Cayde's departure, as now the general atmosphere is bleaker than it ever was prior to Forsaken. Not only that, there have been missions like Harbinger and Presage in the game, with the latter being especially praised by the community for its horror-like setting and creepy encounters. If Cayde was still alive,one has to wonder if the story of the Glykon and the Crown of Sorrows would have the same impact as it did by predicting something gloomy associated with the possibility of Calus returning.
While players will never know the answer to this question and many others associated with Cayde, Destiny 2 has moved on and proven itself to be as successful as ever, if not more. This speaks volumes about how much it needed to fully embrace ominous plotlines, ultimately making Cayde's death the more dramatic and a fixed moment in time that needed to happen.
Destiny 2 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.