Destiny 2 is adding Back to the Future-style hoverboards and I doubt I'll ever ride a boring old Sparrow ever again

Images from the Guardian Games: All-Stars event — if you're trying to lure players back to your game, this isn't the worst start. (Image credit: Bungie)

It's no secret that Destiny 2 has been in a rough spot for a while, between the current marathon season due to the delay of The Final Shape, last year's brutal round of layoffs at Bungie, and game director Joe Blackburn's surprise departure this month. Throw in a notoriously vocal community that's grown fatigued with the game's seasonal model and monetisation, and the current gloom at parent company Sony, and the good times are very much not rolling if you're a guardian. But, hey… Hoverboards!

As part of today's This Week in Destiny blog, Bungie dropped the news that players are about to get a new type of personal transport: the Skimmer. It's the first time in the series' entire history that we've have had an alternative type of mount, with players standing on these Skimmers like surfboards rather than straddling them like the old and now terminally uncool Sparrows.

You'll be able to earn your first Skimmer, the Allstar Vector, from the Guardian Games: All-Stars Event, which is free to all players and starts on 5 March. Here's the trailer.

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As you'd expect, you'll be able to perform several sweet-looking tricks on your skimmer, including grinding rails. (Thankfully, without the vibes of the DrCrispy93 fiasco from the original Destiny's marketing.)

As you'd also expect, a second model will be available as a paid option from the Eververse MTX store, which Bungie says will be "inspired by a beloved Destiny weapon". My money is on Telesto, although that would increase the risk of mid-flight malfunction substantially. In order to earn the free Skimmer, all you'll have to do is complete the initial quest offered by grandma Eva Levante as part of the Guardian Games.

As for the inspiration, the most iconic example of a hoverboard is Marty McFly's skateboard upgrade in Back to the Future Part II. But, watching the Skimmer in action, I was immediately reminded of Marlon "Chopper" Shakespeare, the skysurfer who appeared in 2000 AD alongside Judge Dredd. His Song of the Surfer storyline from late '89-early '90 was particularly cool, in a doomed youth kind of way. (Which will also give you a clear indication of how ancient I am.)

Anyway, as you can probably tell, I'm quite excited about snagging my first Skimmer. Please note that because I'm all about the RP, I'll probably canonically only allow my Hunter to ride one. The flapping cape will just fit the vibe so perfectly, and my warlock and titan wouldn't feel right due to dignity and weight reasons respectively.

Other rewards coming with the Guardian Games at next week's reset include a swanky new red and gold weapon memento, a new wave frame arc heavy grenade launcher, and updated perk pools for the old gear. There are also a slew of sandbox changes coming as part of the 7.3.5 patch. It should all be a welcome wet spot in an otherwise especially arid drought, but whether or not that's enough to lure the pro-democracy forces back from Helldivers 2 is another matter.

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With over two decades covering videogames, Tim has been there from the beginning. In his case, that meant playing Elite in 'co-op' on a BBC Micro (one player uses the movement keys, the other shoots) until his parents finally caved and bought an Amstrad CPC 6128. These days, when not steering the good ship PC Gamer, Tim spends his time complaining that all Priest mains in Hearthstone are degenerates and raiding in Destiny 2. He's almost certainly doing one of these right now.