The Division franchise is greatest identified for being a post-apocalyptic looter shooter, set in an alternate timeline the place society collapsed as a consequence of a large-scale organic assault. Since The Division’s launch in 2016, Ubisoft’s builders have been telling a long-running story round a mysterious rogue agent. The Division 2’s most up-to-date replace features a twist that’s so implausible and goofy that it wraps all the best way again round to being a piece of genius.
In these video games, the Strategic Homeland Division is a authorities company that’s embedded in society till occasions of nice disaster, during which case its members are activated as super-cops aided by ISAC, a state-of-the-art AI. Within the first recreation, the participant meets with native Division chief Faye Lau, the 2 of them practically get murdered, after which the participant is allowed to start out capturing and subsequently looting their manner via New York Metropolis.
In between boss fights and collectible looking, the participant is launched to the narrative thread that the Division is definitely a foul concept for a disaster response workforce. A bunch of them have gone rogue, and the worst of all of them is an actual unhealthy egg referred to as Aaron Keener. Keener stays a background presence within the recreation’s lore for some time, solely rising to inform us in regards to the latest bioterrorism he deliberate or all the great schemes he was having fun with.
The thriller mounted over years. I performed via The Division 2’s marketing campaign looking for any signal of him amongst my new Division colleagues. One character, Agent Kelso, actually appeared like she was going to betray me. She even disappeared for a very long time throughout an important mission and reemerged with suspicious timing. However none of my suspicions instantly paid off, and the Black Tusk paramilitary group turned the first menace.
It wasn’t till the 2020 growth Warlords of New York that gamers have been lastly capable of confront Keener. The growth was stuffed with twists and turns, like Faye Lau murdering the president and framing the Division for the crime in a stunning double-cross. However gamers lastly received to combat Keener as a boss, in order that’s over with, proper?
It’s not over with. You’ve fallen proper into Aaron Keener’s entice, you gullible rube. He’s alive and kicking ass.
Ubisoft helpfully defined the brand new established order in a weblog submit, which reads partly:
12 months 5 Season 3 ended with a stunning revelation, Rogue agent primary and sworn nemesis of The Division, Aaron Keener is alive. In her hunt for fact, Agent Kelso situated him and determined to hitch forces with him.
The road between gentle and darkish, agent and rogue, retains blurring as we discovered that Keener was working with Faye Lau to undermine the Black Tusk and neutralize the Hunter menace throughout the occasions of Warlords of New York.
Keener is coming to Washington, D.C. and he has despatched us an invite to parley, however first we might want to move his twisted trials and show our value. An alliance with Keener and his Rogues might be the important thing to stopping Natalya Sokolova and the Black Tusk. However what is going to the associated fee be?
Can Keener be trusted? Is the enemy of our enemy really our buddy?
As somebody who had stored abreast of The Division 2’s growing story, my response to studying this missive and studying this data was “I’m sorry, what?” There’s numerous double-crosses to type via, particularly because the line between gentle and darkish retains blurring!
I hear you asking: “Wait, if Keener’s a boss within the recreation who gamers homicide, didn’t gamers see him die?” You idiot. You absolute buffoon. Keener hacked ISAC so it simply appeared like he was useless. However he’s alive, and now he needs to inform you his actual agenda, so long as you possibly can survive his Joker traps…
Sir, I’ve been looking for you and have a dialog for a few years straight, so I’m beginning to assume you’re only a messy bitch who loves the drama. Alternatively, the audacity of this inventive alternative wins me over. Of course Keener is a super-genius who faked his personal dying by hacking your mind. In any other case, he’d simply be a man in a hoodie recording brooding monologues for colleagues to seek out, and that’s not very enjoyable.
The Division 2’s subsequent replace consists of different content material and tweaks, in addition to permitting gamers to entry the endgame with out buying Warlords of New York. Many followers appear shocked to see that The Division 2 remains to be receiving updates, however Ubisoft has been supporting the sport — in addition to a lot of its different titles — with years of post-launch help. When that technique results in story beats this good, I positively help it.
