The Final Shape’s Pale Heart destination plays on a new kind of Destiny nostalgia

polygon.com:

The Pale Heart — the new location inDestiny 2: The Final Shape, which is located inside The Traveler — is more like a Destiny-themed funhouse than a completely new destination. And while that might sound like a boring or even disappointing way to end the first Destiny saga, it’s actually one of the most striking and engaging destinations in the franchise’s 10-year history.

On a visit to Bungie HQ, I was able to explore The Pale Heart of The Traveler and learn about how exactly the studio is using Destiny nostalgia to fuel the end of the Light and Darkness saga. It’s a risky move to lean so heavily on the past, a fact that Bungie’s Catarina Macedo, project lead for Destiny 2 expansions, and Ben Wommack, Destiny 2’s combat area lead, are well aware of.

“The Pale Heart specifically is shaped by the memories of whoever is there,” said Macedo. This is why there is a very “Earthy” feel to the start of The Pale Heart, and why the originalDestiny’s Tower plays such a big role in the safer half of the space, since it’s influenced by the player character’s memories. At the same time, the other half of the destination is controlled by The Witness, which inspires a darker, creepier, and more abstract environment.

After speaking to Macedo and Wommack, I spent several hours just roaming through The Pale Heart, soaking it in, and playing with the new Prismatic subclass. And while I was initially worried about it feeling too much like other places I’ve visited before in Destiny, Bungie appears to have stuck the landing here — at least in everything I’ve seen so far. The Pale Heart strikes a very promising balance between pulling on my heartstrings as a longtime Destiny player and giving me a regular dose of something new.

Every time I walked through a space I recognized, the environment shifted to something slightly different or off before the familiar area had a chance to overstay its welcome. For example, there’s the Tree of Silver Wings from Season of Arrivals inside The Pale