Destiny's storytelling and worldbuilding has come a long way since the days of grimoire cards, but that hasn't necessarily made the lore any easier to keep track of. Destiny 2 is a game dense with proper nouns, and it only gets denser: Each season and expansion piles on more in-game lore books and implication-heavy item descriptions, any one of which could eventually become a focus for the ongoing story.
Luckily, we've got tireless Destiny lore YouTubers like My name is Byf, affectionately titled "Lore Daddy" by his many pupils, to keep all our story-relevant space orbs in order. And don't get it twisted: those orbs take a hell of a lot of ordering. Byf's latest Destiny story recap, released today with a live premiere, clocks in at a healthy nine hours—roughly a third of which I'd guess involves cataloging the setting's various Shapes of Cosmic Importance.
Clearly, there's an eager audience for it. As Byf tweeted around two hours into the video's live premiere, nearly 12,000 people were watching to brush up on their Destiny lore mastery in time for The Final Shape.
Nearly 12,000 of you watching along. Thank you so much for an incredible launch so far. We have a long way still to go. Almost 2 hours down.We're about to hit the collapse.https://t.co/X1vEzY7s2hMay 31, 2024
For the story-hungry Destiny player, Byf's work is a valuable reference. We're close to seven years since Destiny 2's original release, and it still hasn't entirely figured out how to present its lore in a coherent way.
I won't argue that the 10-hour runtime on Byf's history recap, which covers everything from the setting's prehistory to the current in-game moment, isn't a substantial undertaking for the viewer. Hell, it's about as long as a back-to-back marathon of the Lord of the Rings movies (unless you're watching the extended editions). But it's still less time than you'd otherwise have to spend cross-referencing fan wikis and the Ishtar Collective.
Take my word for it. I've been doing it for a decade. And while I wouldn't take back the thrilling hours I've spent surveying the existing evidence for the origins of the Vex, I can't recommend that anyone else do the same.
You're better off with Byf. And hey, you've still got plenty of time to catch the live premiere. As I write this, there's around six hours of lore left. In thirty minutes or so, we'll just be starting the story recap for Destiny 2! Or you can just watch it at your own pace. If you start tomorrow, you'll only need to watch around two and half hours a day to be caught up before the Final Shape. Easy.
