E3 2018: ‘Destiny 2: Forsaken’ Expansion Trailer Darkly Murders Cayde-6

Destiny 2 fans have been asking for a darker tone for the game, and Bungie may have just delivered with the new Forsaken story trailer shown during the PlayStation E3 conference Monday evening. PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC gamers will have their attachment to Cayde-6 tested, and Bungie is already talking about it.

The new Destiny 2: Forsaken trailer opens looking directly into the face of a thoroughly beaten Cayde-6. The camera pulls a slow 360 degree turn to pan across multiple Fallen Barons before settling on Prince Uldren, who has not been seen since the opening cinematic of Destiny 1: The Taken King. The Awoken Prince displays Cayde’s Ace of Spades hand cannon before pointing it directly at the Hunter and pulling the trigger.

The camera continues its turn to show the other Fallen Barons before resting on Cayde’s fallen body as Uldren walks past him dismissively and holstering the Ace of Spades. The final cut is an image of a Guardian carrying Cayde.

Bungie billed Destiny 2: Forsaken as a wild-west story of revenge when it first revealed the expansion via a vidoc video last week, as covered by Inquisitr.

“We sort of just embraced that western revenge vibe,” Art Director Shiek Wang said.

“You go to a darker place, you’re gonna take on a different role as a Guardian,” added Marketing Director Eric Osborne.

The studio is indeed taking Destiny 2 to a darker place as the death of the Speaker in the main Destiny 2 campaign almost felt like an afterthought. Cayde-6 is different, however, as the Nathan Fillion-voiced rogue turned into such a fan favorite in the first game that Bungie upped his role tremendously when it came to marketing the sequel.

Cayde’s Dead?

Now the question is, “Is Cayde-6 actually dead?” The vidoc video showed him appearing with the player’s Guardian at the Reef and swinging from a Shank. If his death happens, then it likely happens relatively early in the story but not at the opening. Bungie Producer Scott Taylor was unafraid to say the characters is dead, though, during an interview (via GameSlice) with Geoff Keighley after the PlayStation E3 conference.

“We wanted to tell a darker, more high-stakes story, one with a gritty atmosphere. Most importantly, we wanted there to be a consequence in a world filled with immortal heroes and we wanted that consequence to be personal,” Scott Cotton told Keighley.

“We have some really great bad guys in this one, we wanted to make it so you really hated them and I don’t think there’s anything more we could have done to get the blood boiling than to off Cayde,” Taylor chimed in.

“It’s something we talked about a lot, it was a really serious call but we think it’s the right thing to make players really care about their journey.”

When Keighley asked Taylor if this means Cayde-6 is really dead, the producer stated “He’s dead. He is dead.”

Really, Actually Dead?

It will be interesting to see if Bungie keeps Cayde well and truly dead. The Destiny lore has Guardians able to be resurrected by their Ghost. The Forsaken story trailer shows Cayde’s Ghost being shot, however, possibly closing out that avenue of resurrection.

On the other hand, Cayde-6 is also an Exo, an artificial humanoid. In Cayde’s case, he was once human before having his conscience transferred to an Exo and presumably had his mind wiped or body destroyed at least five times, hence why he has a “6” at the end of his name.

This leaves possible shenanigans for Bungie when it comes to Cayde-6 and the conclusion of the Destiny 2: Forsaken story. PS4, Xbox One, and PC gamers will find out for sure when the expansion releases on September 4.