The Division 2: Echoes of Central Park Review – Manhattan Has Gone Feral

The first Division completely took us by surprise, and we played the hell out of that game. Waiting for the second game to come out was a different kind of hell, as we watched and rewatched trailers, counting the days until we could finally jump in. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re huge fans of this series, and The Division 2 has been keeping us busy and well-fed for more than seven years. Ubisoft, bless their hearts, believes we haven’t seen enough of post-pandemic New York. And we haven’t. We feel like we never could.

Echoes of Central Park takes us to Manhattan’s Upper West Side, where a mysterious threat has turned one of the city’s most famous landmarks into a place that even heavily armed soldiers are reluctant to enter. With a new story campaign, three companions, and an endgame built around hunting challenging enemies, there’s quite a bit for returning agents to sink their teeth into. But regardless of our love for the series, we have to put on our somewhat objective hats and try to answer whether this expansion is substantial enough to convince veterans to dust off their equipment and head back into the fight once again.

Something Nasty Is Lurking

The new story begins when Division agents intercept a distress call from Miranda, the CEO of Veer Corp. Initially, it appears to be a rescue operation, but that quickly turns into a much more complicated investigation, with people disappearing around Central Park, bodies turning up, and rumors circulating about a new virus variant. Everyone is understandably terrified, and it’s up to us to investigate this new threat and deal with it to the best of our abilities.

The expansion takes place during the summer following Warlords of New York. The story unfolds primarily through flashbacks narrated by a woman whose account of events might not be entirely reliable, as is often the case when we’re relying on memories or when personal agendas influence how events are remembered. We have to pay attention to the information we uncover and try to separate the truth from the rumors rather than simply follow orders.

The devs have clearly taken inspiration from horror fiction, although the familiar third-person, cover-based combat remains at the heart of the experience. From those opening moments, you’ll notice an interesting contrast between our military equipment and the increasingly disturbing things happening around us. The new missions take us through recognizable locations such as the American Museum of Natural History. Central Park itself has been reclaimed by nature, with vegetation spreading beyond its original boundaries and into the neighboring streets. During the initial outbreak, the park was used as a mass burial ground, and we can’t emphasize enough how much this adds to the grim atmosphere of the area.

The devs have also constructed a playable map roughly twice the size of Battle for Brooklyn, although we should point out that much of the actual park is reserved for the later stages of the expansion. We always enjoyed exploring the environmental details and abandoned locations in The Division, and if you’re anything like us, you’ll most certainly enjoy the new districts as well. They provide a welcome change of scenery, even if the circumstances behind their current condition are, to put it mildly, unpleasant.

Three Companions, Three Approaches

One of the bigger additions is the companion system, which builds on the mechanics previously introduced during the Mutiny season. We can recruit three characters throughout the campaign, each with a different background and combat specialization. One is an Olympic shooting medalist who specializes in sniping, another is a former mall security guard who provides defensive support, and the last is a former first-wave Division agent with a, well, let’s say, more aggressive fighting style.

Only one companion can accompany us at a time. Building their trust through story missions unlocks additional combat abilities. Each character has four unlockable traits, although only three can be active simultaneously, alongside two abilities. It’s a functional, albeit somewhat rigid, system, as it doesn’t allow us to equip companions with custom weapons or develop elaborate talent trees. That’s perfectly fine, although we’d be lying if we said we didn’t expect a bit more depth. Considering how complicated our own character builds can become, however, we wouldn’t be surprised if many players actually preferred this simplicity and welcomed it with open arms.

Even with these – some would say – limitations, the different combat roles offer plenty of practical ways to experiment. The long-range support of the sniper is great for agents who prefer to advance carefully, while the defensive abilities of the former security guard come in handy when we need additional protection. And you’ll probably love the third companion if you prefer a more aggressive approach. Replaying missions with a different companion also changes some of the accompanying dialogue, and it was cool hearing another character’s perspective on the unfolding events. The companions have their own personal stories, too. Eventually, we grew attached to them and were glad to have them around, especially as we started working towards our longer-term goals.

From Hunted Prey to Hunter

Once the campaign is completed, Central Park becomes the setting for a replayable endgame where the expansion moves away from the usual mission structure and places greater emphasis on survival, enemy pursuit, and preparation. GPS assistance is removed during the initial encounters, and aggressive enemies keep the pressure on as we explore the park. We have to learn more about our opponents, improve our equipment, and gradually turn the situation in our favor.

The main targets are five Guardians, each equipped with unusual abilities. For example, Hollow uses a Leech Hive that provides considerable damage reduction while it remains active. Mire is particularly dangerous around his Corrosive Traps, as triggering one temporarily increases his damage output. These mechanics require more thought and careful planning, forcing us to consider whether to deal with a supporting skill first or concentrate on avoiding traps while fighting the Guardian.

The Hunt allows us to track down these Guardians individually, and successfully defeating them rewards us with new skill variants. Once all five have been dealt with, Containment introduces a stricter challenge that requires defeating the entire group during one uninterrupted session. Completing it for the first time grants us The Ratel, an Exotic Assault Rifle whose Voracious talent increases damage as enemies lose health and armor. It’s a great weapon. For easier reference, and for nostalgic reasons that we have neither the time nor the will to elaborate on, we call it Linda.

With Linda in hand, we managed to collect six new skill variants, including the Corrosive Trap and Gas Bomber. The Apex Protocol gear set also provides additional incentives for those who enjoy experimenting with different character builds. As every Division fan knows, exploration has its own rewards, including a series of hidden Guardian cards that eventually lead to the Clockwork SMG. Guess what we named it? Go on, it starts with L and ends with A.

Some parts of the exploration also involve specific environmental puzzles, including navigating a timed maze or interacting with objects during nighttime. There’s a lot to do here, and we hope you won’t be discouraged by the negative reviews on Steam. We found this to be a solid expansion that’s well worth our time and money.

Is Another Trip Worth It?

Intentionally or not, this expansion has angered some longtime players. Prototype Gear has been normalized within Echoes of Central Park at launch, meaning that some of the additional power provided by existing endgame equipment doesn’t carry over at full strength. We understand that the devs wanted to preserve the intended difficulty of the expansion, and we can certainly appreciate their desire to prevent highly optimized builds from trivializing new encounters. However, restricting equipment that players have spent considerable time improving is bound to frustrate those who enjoy the game’s extensive progression systems.

We don’t mean to justify this decision, as it raises some valid concerns, but we were strangely okay with it. We never really formed a strong attachment to specific weapons or equipment in the first place. Much like in Borderlands, we prefer discovering, experimenting, and constantly trying new things rather than relying on the same equipment for months. So, while we understand why some players are upset, this particular restriction didn’t bother us nearly as much, or at all.

Once More into the Fray

Our score: 9/10

Game at a Glance

• Platforms: PC (Steam, Ubisoft Connect, Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
• Developer: Ubisoft
• Publisher: Ubisoft
• Genre: Third-Person Shooter, Action RPG, Looter-Shooter
• Release: November 3, 2026
• Mode: Single-player, Online Co-op
• Price: $19.99 (Standard Edition)
• Requirement: The Division 2 base game