The earliest incarnation of Destiny drew heavily on the science/fantasy roots established by Star Wars, nodding to this pillar of genre fiction in various ways over the years. As an expansion, Renegades makes these inspirations much clearer, borrowing directly from a galaxy far, far away to introduce lightsabers, Jedi, blasters, specific storytelling beats, and familiar costumes – albeit with different naming conventions. The deluge of familiar Star Wars elements feels strange and forced at times, and sometimes loses touch with some of the things that have always helped Destiny stand out.
Nevertheless, it is hard to deny some of the transplanted elements (especially lightsabers) a lot of fun. Moreover, on a more momentary level, Renegades represents a sturdy loop of storytelling, game modes, and upgrades that is a significant step forward from Edge of Fate from earlier this year. All in all, this is a solid chunk of content that’s worth exploring, especially if you haven’t played the game in a while.
Following the discoveries in Edge of Fate, the Guardians now grapple with the divine power of the Nine, trying to shape fate as they see fit. In particular, one of the Nine has taken control of a Kylo Ren-type person who disagrees with the Vanguard and is preparing a doomsday weapon that will destroy the Guardians. As Wilhelm screams, garbage compactors clench, and red energy blades collide with green, the narrative that ensues is fun yet almost familiar, demanding that each moment be recognized as a nod to the Star Wars canon.
What saves him is the pace and action, which push everything forward. Your guardian is now a truly epic one-man army, and the Renegades gather dozens of enemies in each battle to mow down. The bosses are powerful and pleasant; the traversal puzzles are thrilling, especially the long temple visit to get the glowing blade; numerous seasonal and bonus rewards provide a steady stream of incremental, thrilling improvements.
The sweeping novel social space is built around the lawless Cantina, and I like the loop of different competing factions that you jump between from their base around the bar. Setting out to separate play spaces on Venus, Mars and Europa, you hunt for bounties, smuggling and other jobs you undertake come with varied and challenging objectives, especially as you climb higher difficulty levels. These quests borrow concepts from games like Helldivers or extraction shooters like Arc Raiders, but the main action and shooting is undoubtedly Destiny.
Of all the Star Wars inspirations, the undoubted success is the introduction of the Praxic Blade, a lightsaber equivalent that radically changes the playstyle for everyone and offers a variety of sought-after customization options. There’s an undeniable power fantasy to being a mythical warrior with a glowing blade in your hand, and Bungie has really captured what’s chilly about chopping up enemies, throwing weapons in wide, boomerang-like arcs, and deflecting blasts back at enemies.
While the content organization has undergone significant overhauls over the past year, I quite like the customizability that allows you to tailor many of the activities offered. Bungie seems to be aware that many players may have dropped out and may only now be returning, and much of the current game is aimed at bringing back great dungeons, raids, exotic missions, and other high-end content that the player may have missed, but with a lot of flexibility in how hard (and rewarding) that content will be. In addition to fun novel chases, such as the addictive novel 3-player Equilibrium dungeon, there’s plenty to do, and many of them are engaging and well-thought-out.
I’m not entirely elated with the mix of universes that Renegades is going for, but I think the expansion as a whole offers many hours of satisfying exploration, building, and novel rewards to discover. It’s not the fundamental reimagining of Destiny that many fans have been waiting for, but as a innovative twist to expectations, it provides plenty of good moments.
