The True Curse of Osiris - A Bad Boss Battle

I was one of many who hopped on the hype train when Destiny 1 rolled out. It was a brand new franchise from the makers of Halo, a series that I never got to enjoy as a dedicated PlayStation user. As such, the chance to experience a game crafted by the same minds that produced a series so revered as Halo was too exciting to pass up. Unfortunately for most, the hype did not live up to the reality of what the game was. 

The Split

Destiny 2 has new appeal, especially now that Activision and Bungie have split, as the perception seems to be that Activison has harmed the ambitions and vision of the Bungie team, resulting in a weaker Destiny. This news, in combination with the fact that I got the base game for free a few months back, encouraged me to dive back in. 

While Destiny 2 has its highs and its lows, it's the Curse of Osiris’ final mission that I want to briefly examine here today. The overall story culminates in an explosive boss battle which in Destiny plays like the same shootout that you would perform on any given mission. Seeing such a large and intimidating boss step into the field however was exciting, and I was ready for something interesting to emerge from this encounter. As the game threw wave after wave of Vex, Fallen, Hive, and Cabal at me, I found myself disappointed. After fighting a flurry of enemies, an elite “Infinite Proxy” would appear. This doesn't change the flow of battle much, as it’s simply a bigger enemy to sink your bullets into. And this is where the fight in boss fight ends, after which the mission plays more like an interactive cut scene.

Killing the proxy triggers Osiris, who will appear and perform some dedicated animations with the Vex boss Panoptes. Vex jump gates appear that whisk you briefly across the map, no danger in sight. You land on a platform where Osiris spawns an arc charge for you to pick up. A large gap between you and your target is quickly filled so you can just walk across it. Then, without even needing to hit a button, you slam the arc charge down into some strange Vex structure. Osiris then immediately teleports you directly in front of Panoptes’ eye to blast him into oblivion. Wash, rinse, and repeat this process until he dies and you trigger an actual cut scene.

Hand Holding

Have Destiny boss fights always been this way? The base shoot and loot gameplay definitely has, but that’s an enjoyable staple of the franchise. The true issue is that where a boss battle should feel like a challenge to combine your accumulated abilities and skills, I found myself holding hands with the game as it guided me from point A to point B and literally told me to “Use the arc charge!” so I could be handed the boss on a silver platter. I barely even had to aim because I was within 5 feet of Panoptes’ face. 

If you compare this to a boss fight like the one found in the Savanthun’s Song strike, you’ll find that dunking the void orb is a dangerous maneuver that requires you to hop between moving platforms while being shot at by a wizard that you must rely on your fireteam to hold at bay. Dunking that ball then results in a few precious moments to fire away at a still potentially lethal target. These are minor changes that make a big difference in how the boss fight plays out and that tension and need for teamwork is completely lacking in the fight with Panoptes’.