The Final Shape’s official artwork shows off the abstract horror of the Witness

Destiny has, over the years, been privy to more ups and downs than most gaming franchises end up ever having. Bungie’s concept art, however, has always been phenomenal, and the new Destiny 2: The Final Shape artwork truly drives home what a nightmare of a being The Witness was.

Notably, Bungie appears to have chosen to prominently feature the artwork of Destiny 2: The Final Shape on the widely popular ArtStation website. You can access this impressively substantial selection of artwork using this link right here, or simply by opening the ArtStation homepage. It’s all very hard to miss, really. Of course, the vast majority of the art has something to do with the ultimate villain of the Light and Dark saga: the Witness. Whether through concept art of the Witness’ true form or through depictions of what it’s really doing to its victims, the art of The Final Shape tells the story that might’ve otherwise gone over our heads.

Destiny 2: The Final Shape’s official artwork shows off how nightmarish the Witness really is

Though it might’ve looked at least moderately humanoid for the majority of its in-game appearances, the Witness is in actual fact the very embodiment of terror. Certainly, some of Destiny‘s background stories are pure fridge horror and nightmare fuel, but few of them can hold a candle to Tobias Kwan’s production renditions of The Witness’s centipede/snake/elder god form. This idea is driven home by Aaron Cruz’s 3D modelling efforts, which allow us to get a better look at the architecture of one of the DLC’s final campaign combat arenas. If you need more ammunition, look no further than these Indexation showpieces, each depicting what a fully indexed world might look like after the Witness is done with it:

Top it all off with this surprisingly striking texture of killing grounds, and you’ve got absolutely everything you need to truly appreciate just how horrific of a foe The Witness really was.

From enemy concept art and designs all the way to 3D model showcasing, it is my firm belief that every fan of Destiny 2 and, indeed, horror fantasy at large, should flip through Bungie’s ArtStation showpiece now that it’s been published and highlighted. There’s a special little something for everyone here, and it all helps tell the story of The Final Shape and set just the right mood for its DLC campaign.

If nothing else, it’s a pretty good opportunity to take a step back from grinding the Battlegrounds-ridden Vanguard playlist or struggling with the time-gated seasonal content.