Fans of Bungie’s online first-person shooter Destiny can now take their looting and shooting on the go, as the company has partnered with mobile gaming giant NetEase for the franchise’s first free-to-play live service mobile title, Destiny: Rising, which translates the hectic massively multiplayer online shooting action into an accessible, portable, and still immensely engaging handheld format.
Much like its two console and PC game counterparts, Destiny: Rising once again thrusts players into a war between humanity and alien invaders, but this time, it’s taking a leap into the past. Set multiple years before the events of 2014’s Destiny, the game is set in an alternate timeline and follows a character called Wolf, who is revived by a Ghost as a Lightbearer, humans capable of wielding special Light powers, in a quest to fight back against the alien threat and restore human civilisation.
Featuring gameplay most fans should feel right at home with, Destiny: Rising offers players the choice between traditional first-person perspective or over-the-shoulder third-person shooting, now with intuitive touch controls and some additional quality-of-life options to ease those new to the shooter genre, such as the ability to automatically aim down weapon sights when pressing the fire button. Additionally, the game features a plethora of options to tweak controls, such as gamepad support, key remapping and even controller dead-zone and sensitivity options players can adjust to suit their preferences.
Apart from taking on its main quests, players can also join others around the world in PvE raids or even PvP matches, with a fair play system that reduces everyone’s Character Relic level to one, ensuring a level playing field. Unlike the mainline games, Destiny: Rising lets players choose from a roster of playable characters, each with their own unique abilities and stories. Additionally, the game also features some systems not seen in past titles, like racing, the ability to dual-wield weapons, and various mini-games like a Flappy Bird-style side scroller or a collectable card game named Shadowshaper Duels.
As a free-to-play title, players might justifiably have concerns about its in-game monetisation systems, and while they are present, fans can rest easy knowing that it isn’t as egregious as most other mobile titles. Weapons are primarily obtained via gameplay, while its gacha system to get new characters definitely benefits paying players more, but all characters can be attained just by playing the game. Additionally, players should expect the live-service mainstays like battle passes and an energy system, with the latter currently being addressed by the development team to provide more freedom and fewer restrictions while still maintaining game balance.
Monetisation and gacha aside, Destiny: Rising is still an ambitious gaming undertaking that has largely succeeded in scratching that looter shooter itch even while on the go, with many players even remarking that it’s a return to form to the days of the OG Destiny. The developers’ commitment to player feedback, alongside the game being completely playable even for players who don’t spend a single cent – at least for now – means that this is one mobile title worth checking out, especially if you are a Destiny or looter shooter fan.
Destiny: Rising is now available for free on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
Debbi Koh
