Destiny 2: Bungie debuts first gameplay from opening mission 'Homecoming'

Bungie has debuted the first gameplay from upcoming sci-fi epic Destiny 2. Taken from the dramatic opening mission of the game, called 'Homecoming', the footage shows off new weapons, enemies and abilities as the Red Legion attacks the original's game's hub area, the Tower.

Broken up by cutscenes that put a greater focus on characters new and familiar, the second half of the demo takes place on a Red Legion dropship where the player takes on a powerful boss called Brann The Urgent Blade.

The demo ends with a cutscene as the player is introduced to Destiny 2's villain Dominus Ghaul.

Game director Luke Smith kicked off the livestream event by talking the audience through the three pillars that have informed the development of this high-profile sequel.

The first is Bungie's desire to create "a world that pulls you in", the second is giving the player "amazing things to do". The final part is making sure that there's "always someone to play with".

This third pillar led to the announcement that key features from the original game will be available to all players. That means Raids will be open to more players, where before they were only available to higher level players who were often part of organised teams.

This was followed with the news that competitive multiplayer will be limited to 4-vs-4 , down from 6-vs-6 in the original game.

Smith also elaborated on the game's story, explaining how the antagonist Ghaul believes his people are more deserving of the power humanity has been awarded by the Traveller – that enormous, mysterious orb floating above Earth's last city and visible in most of Destiny's marketing.

A second video, this time a developer diary of sorts, discussed the story in greater detail and confirmed a few gameplay details, including a change to weapon slots. The first slot is as normal, the second is the same but houses elemental weapons, and the third is for heavy weapons and snipers.

An official gameplay trailer (also embedded below) was also released.

Bungie officially announced Destiny 2 on March 27. Two trailers were soon released confirming returning characters and offering players a hint at what to expect from the game's story. One focused on Cayde-6 regaling viewers with the story of the destruction of Earth's Last City, the other showed those events in greater detail.

News regarding gameplay features were deliberately thin on the ground during the initial announcement, in advance of today's livestream.

Destiny 2 will be released worldwide on 8 September, 2017 for PS4, Xbox One and, for the first time, PC. Click here for our round-up of everything you need to know about the anticipated sequel.

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