Art of the Final Shape
The art of The Final Shape is amazing. The surrealism, which in some sections borders on body horror, makes moving through the spaces in the Pale Heart unnerving at the very least. Of course, there are places like The Landing that have minimal “weird” in them, but even there, one hand tree in the middle of all the earthy beauty reminds players of the Witness’s ever-presence.
I also appreciate the way old pieces of art, i.e. the old Tower, Dreaming City, IO, Cosmodrome, and more were chosen and integrated into the overall design of the Pale Heart. There’s a near perfect balance and blend of new and old haunts. When I played through each area, I didn’t feel as if the content was recycled and/or simply boring because I’ve seen it before. Many places felt familiar, but in a creative and nostalgic way that had me wanting to go back over and over.
In the last few years, we’ve seen plenty of places in the Destiny universe where the Witness messed with things and, as he drew closer to us and the Traveler, things got weirder. However, the Pale Heart is a full visual representation of what the Witness believed the universe should be, which brings the creep factor to another level. The buildings with faces and hands reaching out made me squirm in the best way. Throughout the campaign, I would round a corner right into a screaming face or the eyes of the Witness and my confidence in the Light winning the war wavered each time.
This twisted artistic vision that Destiny artists and modelers brought to life is best exhibited in the Salvation’s Edge raid. In the campaign we see a slow transition of Traveler energy to Witness corruption, but from the moment players step into the raid they know definitively, this is the Witness’s space.
Everything from floor to ceiling is wonderfully askew. Walls and structures feel slightly (or sometimes completely) “off”. This is a world made by a narcissistic entity who doesn’t necessarily take joy in pain but doesn’t shy away from it either. Each mangled figure in the Herald of Finality boss arena is a prime example of the Witness’s vision. Each amalgamation of the different races the Witness conquered forced me to pause and try to figure out what pieces went to what alien culture.
Overall, the art and level design for the Final Shape matched the Witness’s vibe in each new space. This made for tense, but incredibly satisfying gameplay that aided in increasing the re-playability of each mission. Unlike Lightfall, I can’t wait to play through this campaign again and discover details I missed the first time around.
