House of Wolves Bringing Players Back to Destiny

No matter how great a game is, it will inevitably join countless other titles we intend to finish at some point. Most of us lost track of how many hours we poured into Bungie’s impressive shooter, Destiny, but last year’s smash hit wound up on the extensive Prima backlog as we switched gears to find all 18 Nostradamus Enigmas in Assassin’s Creed Unity and unlock everything in the Mortal Kombat X Krypt; in fact, some of us still need to beat Dying Light. 

With Wolfenstein: The Old Blood currently available and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt debuting May 19 (and precious free time available), we’re prepared to say goodbye to loved ones and dive into these virtual worlds. 

Then there’s Destiny Expansion II: House of Wolves. 

Some of us never beat Destiny’s campaign. This includes tracking down all 20 Gold Chests along with the Dead Ghosts, so there still exists the desire to complete the core experience; we also can’t forget about Expansion I: The Dark Below. 

Based on what we’ve seen, House of Wolves takes Destiny to a new level. Yes, the DLC comes with new weapons and armor. We expected that. However, the Reef piques our interest the most. If you played the game you’re aware of the Tower, a hub world where you acquire new pieces of equipment, accept bounties, interact with NPCs and other players. The Reef is like that (think of it as a creepy ship graveyard), but with different NPCs beginning with Petra, who you visit to take on the new story missions. In addition there’s Variks the Loyal, whom you interact with to partake in the newly revealed Prison of Elders, and the tablet-wielding Brother Vance, who serves as your guide to the Trials of Osiris.  

What do these new modes bring to the Destiny universe? Prison of Elders is essentially the game’s Horde-style mode, where a three-person Fireteam faces off against progressively difficult aliens, be it the Hive, Fallen, Cabal or Vex. Modifiers work for or against you, and should you succeed, the game grants access to Fallen-themed weapons that we’ve wanted to get our hands on the moment Destiny released last September. 

Trials of Osiris, on the other hand is strictly competitive, as two Fireteams of three players battle it out to see which side achieves five points first, in the hopes of obtaining cool Egyptian-style armor.  

While on the subject of multiplayer, House of Wolves comes with three new Crucible maps. Black Shield is a decommissioned Cabal Firebase on Mars. Thieves’ Den takes players to a Fallen hideout on Venus, complete with dangerous looking drops. The third map is Widow’s Court, a Dead Zone on Earth that gives us a chance to explore a different section of Europe. 

Finally, there’s a new co-operative strike called The Shadow Thief, where players attempt to take down Taniks the Scarred before he uncovers a mysterious Hive secret. It’s probably impossible for newcomers, but with the option to boost weapons and gear to level 34, this should help turn the tide. In other words, we have a lot of work to do. 

All told, House of Wolves appears to be a worthy expansion to an already enjoyable shooter, and the possibility of even more secrets should keep us playing Destiny well into the summer. Considering it debuts the same day as The Witcher 3, there’s a good chance we won’t go outside for weeks, which seems like time well spent.

Watch the new Prison of Elders trailer below, and learn more about the Reef.