Destiny: Rise of Iron

 Xbox One
User Score
3.5

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 79 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 79
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 79
  3. Negative: 46 out of 79

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  1. Lycria
    Sep 27, 2016
    5
    I had purchased Destiny / The Dark Below / House of Wolves day one and after hours of gameplay I dropped the game due to lack of content. I had not played for a year but figured id give it another chance with The Taken King and Rise of Iron. While The Taken King seemed like a decent chunk of content (at least for the price i payed of 20 dollars) this expansion once again is anotherI had purchased Destiny / The Dark Below / House of Wolves day one and after hours of gameplay I dropped the game due to lack of content. I had not played for a year but figured id give it another chance with The Taken King and Rise of Iron. While The Taken King seemed like a decent chunk of content (at least for the price i payed of 20 dollars) this expansion once again is another disappointment, especially for 30 dollars. The story starts to pick up, then just ends abruptly, and there doesn't seem to be as many side quests as The Taken King had either. The new PvP mode doesn't seem that great ether, just a small variant on the basic slayer that they have already have. I would of liked to see a new objective based PvP mode.

    Overall this expansion builds on a incomplete game, and for the price doesn't feel worth it. I have been having fun playing it just because the gun play in the game has always been great, and some of the balancing they seemed to have done over the past 2 expansions make the PvE more enjoyable, but i cannot recommend this expansion to my friends that i had originally started the vanilla game with. Maybe for a reduced price of 10 or 5 dollars it might be worth it, or if the base game had included more, but as it stands everything in the game thus far and more should of been what was included with the base game.

    5/10    … Expand
  2. DarrkHawk
    Sep 29, 2016
    2
    I can't help but think of a single question when it comes to Rise of Iron, "How can this be classed as an expansion?"

    A yearly expansion should offer the players a large range of new content, multiple new areas, a lot of new quests, and a lot of new features. What does bungies yearly expansion offer? 1 new area,, 1 new story consisting of 4 new "missions", 1 new strike and a new raid.    I can't help but think of a single question when it comes to Rise of Iron, "How can this be classed as an expansion?"

    A yearly expansion should offer the players a large range of new content, multiple new areas, a lot of new quests, and a lot of new features. What does bungies yearly expansion offer? 1 new area,, 1 new story consisting of 4 new "missions", 1 new strike and a new raid.

    Firstly, taking a pre-existing area (cosmodrone), turning it white and building a little side house does not make good content for an expansion area. This is lazy development at it's finest. The game is based in the solar system. Why not release Jupiter as a planet? or Neptune? Stick to the theme and multiple new areas can be created and be captivating as it first was when released.

    The main story quest is once again lazy game development that offers very little in the story progression. It's the same formula as every other mission except no real challenge is offered and it literally only used to introduce the new enemy race which is literally just a reskin of the fallen that became extremely dull after the first encounter. Granted, the taken enemies introduced in The Taken King were reskins but at least we got all the races and not just one.

    The new strike is, once again, very lazy development. a very small strike that involves destrying a number of "nodes". Really nothing special. The end boss of the strike is just a poor excuse for a boss battle. There is nothing captivating about having to kill one boss while being chased by another that you can't harm. Couldn't think of any real tactical ideas for a boss fight here Bungie?
    The new strike list is, you guessed it, more lazy development. Taking existing strikes, amping up the difficulty and throwing them in a rotation with the new strike is NOT NEW CONTENT. It just brings back the feeling of what ultimately makes destiny a boring game. The grind to get new gear, which in itself has been made harder to obtain.

    The hype surrounding the new crucible mode is just a huge disappointment. For a single game mode and a single new map, we are given "SUPREMACY". It's kill confirmed that only appeals to the rushers With the new map almost being a clone of a pre-existing map with a new obstacle thrown in here and there and change the colour pallet.

    Can't really comment on the raid. Finding a time slot to get six people free and online at the same time is not possible for myself and my friends.

    I can only think that Bungies excuse for releasing this excuse of an expansion is that they have committed all their development teams to work on the new game for next year. Still no excuse though. The only saving grace for this game is that they didn't slap a full price tag on it. Still, £25 is ridiculous enough.

    They brought the Gjallahorn back though so I guess that's something right? Maybe if enough uproar is created by the community they can give everyone refunds on this joke of content.    … Expand
  3. DukeSilver
    Sep 25, 2016
    5
    Once again bungie finds a way to disappoint with it's overpriced and fairly lackluster DLC. The only way Bungie is going to learn that it's not acceptable to make people pay 20-30$ for mediocre DLC is if people refuse to buy it. Nothing is noticeably different aside from the obvious new areas and missions (some of which take place in areas that players have already spent countless hoursOnce again bungie finds a way to disappoint with it's overpriced and fairly lackluster DLC. The only way Bungie is going to learn that it's not acceptable to make people pay 20-30$ for mediocre DLC is if people refuse to buy it. Nothing is noticeably different aside from the obvious new areas and missions (some of which take place in areas that players have already spent countless hours in). The multiplayer still feels somewhat unbalanced because of new and old exotics that were never fixed(the last word). There is next to no actual story, which is frustrating because its' one of the few things players have been wanting for the past 3 DLCs, but Bungie just does not get it. The game is still just one giant grind that favors player that have nothing to do but play for hours on end to upgrade gear. The raid still isn't as good as the one that was available the first week of the game. This will likely be the last content I buy from Bungie for a while.… Expand
  4. walked08860
    Oct 7, 2016
    0
    Re-skinned map, re-skinned enemies, and re-skinned repeatable content. Not much new or interesting about this. Really disappointing. Got bored of the content in about 5-10 hours.
  5. DariusGI
    Sep 27, 2016
    1
    For $30 Dollars you get a season pass of DLC on most Triple-A titles ( Battlefront, Rainbow Six, Far Cry,,,etc). This was not on par of any DLC for a FPS or any recent RPG, total fail.
  6. SchroederRock
    Sep 23, 2016
    5
    Rise of Iron is nothing more than a weak extension of The Taken King. While last year's TTK was phenomenal in terms of expansion content and broadening the things to do in Destiny, Rise of Iron is the polar opposite. It borrows everything TTK did, only in less interesting ways. There's not a lot of NEW content, something that people wanting to be good with their money will be irritated toRise of Iron is nothing more than a weak extension of The Taken King. While last year's TTK was phenomenal in terms of expansion content and broadening the things to do in Destiny, Rise of Iron is the polar opposite. It borrows everything TTK did, only in less interesting ways. There's not a lot of NEW content, something that people wanting to be good with their money will be irritated to learn after they've spent $30 on a lackluster expansion. What makes Rise of Iron good is... Destiny - the game is still as well functioning and well-balanced as ever. It's the Halo of FPS/RPGs (literally) and plays so well it's hard to hate on it. It's clear that Bungie/Activision don't know what they're doing or Rise of Iron wouldn't be released. I don't say that lightly because I LOVED The Taken King (even though it didn't have much end-game content). If Destiny is to survive as more and more good games come to take the attention away from it, a 2+ year old game, it needs to hold the attention of its players. Only 2 days have passed since the Rise of Iron DLC has landed and I've already forgotten what it's about, who its characters are, and what I'm fighting for. That's the mark of a BAD game, and Rise of Iron is borderline bad. Bungie had almost everything right in The Taken King - a good narrative, cool strikes, a host of non-raid content to keep you busy for at least a little while, and a raid - even though the raid could be beaten within 1-2 weeks of the content launching.

    If you loved Destiny already and just wanted new content to play, this will satisfy you for a little while. If you wanted Destiny to grow and branch out - this "expansion" literally does NOTHING to progress the game. It's a sad $30 expansion. It has a little more than House of Wolves and Dark Below but not nearly as much as The Taken King. For a game as old as Destiny, I expect $30 to go way further than it already has. If World of Warcraft can offer 10x the content for only a little more, I expect Bungie to build out Destiny much more than they have so far. Perhaps I'm the fool for thinking they'd actually deliver, but Rise of Iron is both a welcomed add-on and a wasted opportunity. I'll play it, but only until Battlefield 1 and Titanfall 2 come around. At least I know those games are good and are doing big things to expand upon predecessor games.    … Expand
  7. Sovereign1337
    Sep 20, 2016
    2
    Another Rehashed content DLC. Don't buy into this gambling simulator, it has no longevity as usual and adds nothing meaningful to the game just like the other DLC. Nothing new here.
  8. ejim941099
    Sep 20, 2016
    2
    This is a **** joke man. I jumped on this bad boy this morning, the first mission started to pull me in. The second cut scene...even more...Then it's done.

    Gameplay time: This is perhaps the shortest expansion for a game of this caliber and for $30? **** that. I was done less than two hours. What the **** do I want to do? Grind for exotics? At least when I am playing Legion, there is    This is a **** joke man. I jumped on this bad boy this morning, the first mission started to pull me in. The second cut scene...even more...Then it's done.

    Gameplay time:
    This is perhaps the shortest expansion for a game of this caliber and for $30? **** that. I was done less than two hours. What the **** do I want to do? Grind for exotics? At least when I am playing Legion, there is so much to do. This is absolute trash. You don't understand, when I finished the game without knowing it was the end...I was **** pissed!

    New Location Hub:
    The new location central hub? Boring. There is a whole section int he back of the room dedicated for the iron legion as a throne, used for nothing but to bang the gongs in a specific order to get an achievement, which you must be in a group of 4 or more. Splicer? More like rehashed characters with a little bit of color. Imagine Grandma's boy where they didn't have time to create new NPC's so the asian suggested changing the color...that's what the **** they did. But if someone says they did but I am not looking close enough then that's the problem. They didn't change them enough to really stick out and feel like a new 'species'.

    Graphics:
    And for being an official NEXT GEN only game, this **** looks straight out of the last days of the previous gen. I mean, it doesn't look bad, but it...........nah **** that, it looks like **** If you zoom out with a sniper, it is the worst.

    Now before anyone else says I am bashing, listen up. Shut the **** up! Before this expansion I had all 3 characters max with all 335 gear. AND in my Vault I had over 30 primaries at 335, 25 335 secondary and 10 heavy. NOT including my 335 armor in the vault as well 36 exotic engrams. And I have the First Curse, Ace of Spades, and am currently running my Chaperone in crucible **** people up. I know my **** I have been playing this game since year 1.

    Don't believe the hype. DO NOT waste your cash on this.    … Expand
  9. mikefort82
    Sep 20, 2016
    0
    Okay so here I am it's half hour past 2am, the official release date and time. And the servers are down, great start Bungie, all the work you put into it and you forgot the one thing that makes it all work lol.
  10. hcliffed
    Sep 20, 2016
    0
    Digital **** stains are the worst.

    There's nothing to see or do here that hasn't already been done!

    Do not buy: Possibly worse than House of Wolves!
  11. TheTriforce170
    Sep 21, 2016
    0
    Terrible dlc for 30$, you can get a complete game for that amount of money. Its difficult to find in the digital store, recycled maps and repetitive missions
  12. fallouts
    Sep 20, 2016
    0
    Terrible and rehashed game with nothing substantial on offer. I guess if shilling continues, then they have no problem putting out shallow content for a quick buck.
  13. Knightsmarian
    Sep 22, 2016
    8
    Destiny: Rise of Iron is the Year III expansion and follow up to the successful Destiny: The Taken King.

    It follows the short but intense campaign of Lord Saladin fighting back a Fallen House of Devils that has stumbled across an old and powerful technology long forgotten by most. New Patrols, Crucible maps, quests, loot, a strike and full length Raid are included in Destiny: Rise of    Destiny: Rise of Iron is the Year III expansion and follow up to the successful Destiny: The Taken King.

    It follows the short but intense campaign of Lord Saladin fighting back a Fallen House of Devils that has stumbled across an old and powerful technology long forgotten by most. New Patrols, Crucible maps, quests, loot, a strike and full length Raid are included in Destiny: Rise of Iron.

    The Campaign: Campaign is short and to the point. Those who have played the Dark Below and House of Wolves will not be surprised by the length of the main campaign, however the areas you travel though are massive and well detailed. Plenty of hidden secrets and beautiful scenery to take in. The back story of the campaign is easy to follow and to the observant Guardian has plenty to tell you. If you have followed the story pretty well up to Rise of Iron, including the collapse of civilization detailed in the Grimore of the game, some of the outcomes of the campaign are disturbing and have far reaching affects to the lore of the game. The final mission is pretty.... interesting as well. No spoilers though.

    Quality of Life: Learning from many of their design choices the community was not happy with since the Vanilla launch, Rise of Iron brings some welcome and long awaited quality of life updates. 1:1 Infusion is still here since the April update of The Taken King and all Legendary and Exotic gear earned in Taken King can be brought forward to the new Light Level Cap of 385. Participating and overcoming the Raid, Wrath of the Machines, can further increase your Light Level to 400. A bug was allegedly introduced in The Taken King where after killing a certain amount of enemies, green engrams would no longer drop. This stifled the weapon part and armor material economy, both of which are invaluable to leveling up high end gear. This has been fixed and those materials are now more comfortably common encouraging experimentation with new load outs. Every Class item that has ever been in the game is now included in Rise of Iron at Year III light levels. Chroma made a return on gear, and more class items are affected by shaders. The customization options for Guardians is getting comfortable where it is actually fun to find a guardian outfitted with the same gear as you; unlike Year I where everyone had on the Raid Armor and weapons. Strike Specific Loot was a feature introduced in The Taken King that has been refined through the use of Keys. At the end of a strike, during the thirty second mission timer a chest will spawn that requires a skeleton key. Using the Key will guarantee one strike specific reward. Always wanted that Fusion Rifle from Alak Huul? Use a key. Ranking up with factions now gives you the option to acquire either a weapon, armor, or chroma armor. No longer up to chance if you get one or the other, and each choice comes with all sorts of goodies with it like reputation Boosters, Shaders Ships, Sparrows, Ghosts, Class items, or economy items. Crucible Rewards have also been revamped and they drop pretty consistently. Gone are the days of putzing around in the Crucible for hours to get a few blue engrams and one terribly rolled Red Spectre to show for it. Essentially all this breaks down to is that there is always something to do that will reward you in meaningful ways.

    Private Matches: Speaks for itself, but competitive players well use this feature extensively for tournaments and testing gear.

    New Exotic Amor and Weapons, plus ornaments (things that change how gear looks. Completely cosmetic but a welcome change.) for certain equipment.

    Raid: Has not been released yet, but it is there. And there is a Zamboni.

    Patrols: The new Plaguelands are absolutely massive with hours of things to do from just exploring, enjoying the scenery, doing Archon's Forge (essentially a more rewarding Court of Oryx), quests or just ranking up factions. They are deceptively large and have fun little secrets to discover. Ever opened a shipping container to have a horde of exploding thrall bum rush you? In the plaguelands you can.

    Final Thoughts: Rise of Iron will be loved by players who have stuck around this long in Destiny. Myself being on of them. Somethings feel recycled, and at the time of this writing there are issues to be worked out. Critics of Destiny will be quick to point of the conciseness of the expansion and approach it at surface level as they have for the entire franchise. If you have felt legendary since that time Ghost woke you up in the Cosmodrome and said "eyes up Guardian", proceeded to defeat a Vex Supermind, kill a God and his son, and shattered the Fallen hierarchy to nothing, this expansion is a welcoming and empowering one. If you like Destiny, get Rise of Iron. If you don't then go play something else.    … Expand
  14. rustybones16
    Sep 26, 2016
    9
    This is the best Destiny expansion yet. Don't listen to what they say about content, there's so much here beyond the 5 main storyline missions. A new raid, new maps, new PvP modes, new PvP maps, new guns, tons of extra content, hidden quests, a whole new book to upgrade, great storyline.

    Hopefully this trend continues into destiny 2.
  15. JackKasket
    Sep 25, 2016
    8
    The point of this DLC really is to push a bit more content for existing players. Sure, it is essentially rehashed locations, enemies, and guns, and only a few new twists in boss/enemy mechanics. But, the whole point is to have *some* new content before Destiny 2. I for one am grateful for that.

    The story is truly a disappointment, and no way near worth the 30 credits. However, if you    The point of this DLC really is to push a bit more content for existing players. Sure, it is essentially rehashed locations, enemies, and guns, and only a few new twists in boss/enemy mechanics. But, the whole point is to have *some* new content before Destiny 2. I for one am grateful for that.

    The story is truly a disappointment, and no way near worth the 30 credits. However, if you play Destiny for the end-game content, gearing up for it, or perhaps for PvP, there is plenty of new things to squeeze out at least 80 hours of gameplay. The new PvP mode in the next Iron Banner will be a blast!

    Frankly, if you bought this DLC expecting some epic story extension, you're an unwashed ignoramus, and perhaps a noob. For the rest of us, it's pretty much what we would expect. A few more missions would be nice, but there is still NEW THINGS TO DO.    … Expand
  16. ozorxoron
    Oct 4, 2016
    1
    Same poor excuse of content that Bungie have been putting as little effort into as possible for the past 2 years just rehashed once more.

    Same bad gameplay, no new features.
  17. araut
    Mar 27, 2017
    5
    I tell you this about the game overall, and not only this expansion, since i got the Collection of all. Can't help and think about what destiny could be. Right now, it is a "OK" shooter with minimal RPG elements, usually very disconnected or of small to none importance.

    Quests are not a simple system, specially once you get too many, and there are little to none lore focus. Single    I tell you this about the game overall, and not only this expansion, since i got the Collection of all. Can't help and think about what destiny could be. Right now, it is a "OK" shooter with minimal RPG elements, usually very disconnected or of small to none importance.

    Quests are not a simple system, specially once you get too many, and there are little to none lore focus. Single player is penalized, and levels are not balanced at all, since you could get, easily, killed by a sniper level 6, you being at 40 (max) level. Too bad i spent 70 bucks on the collection...get one with 75% sale discount, and maybe you gain some advantage....Seems to me that the efforts were mainly in skills and graphics, but the history is considered a small part of the whole. As far as a shooter goes, Specs Ops: The Line has a better history.

    World is very restricted too, not nearly the "open world" they were talking about on the early stages of development ("you will be able to travel as far as your view can reach, to the horizon and beyond", they said - just not). The enemies are all very repetitive, like 8 or 10 different kind only, and you kill all in same fashion. No strategy, just shoot and hit more than they do and you're ok.

    Vehicles are not a must, you actually use your sparrow for 30 seconds or less until you hit some place or get shot and have to hop off to fight. I imagine traveling very long distances, like on WoW, and occasionally drop off to investigate some ruins or caverns or a abandon city on every planet or moons. A "distance" dream...

    Space ships are purely cosmetic. Period.

    Loading screens, on Xbox One S, are very slow, sometimes nearly a minute to enter the action screen.

    Graphic-side the game is great, but the tech gadgets and elements could be more "well used". But we all know now that nowadays no graphic splendor will hold any game on high levels of quality and recognition.

    To Sum up, like many before me i do think this is a game rushed into the shelves in order to get some financial return to the investors. Maybe Destiny 2 will correct all the big mistakes in history and lore and continuity. The RPG elements are definitely desperately begging to appear more often on main story and side quests, and to matter more, too. The game has potential, but story and progression are now very poor, as most dialogues on NPC at main places. Ghost is ok, but should be more helpful and should have a more important role, after all is a creation of the Traveler.

    AND the Traveler is now a white giant ball. No role at all. Sad, but true.

    Masterchief is truly disappointed. We still hope for the future. Shine once more, Traveler.    … Expand
  18. Toldu_I_Tango
    Oct 2, 2016
    5
    There's not much to say SADLY !!! There's nothing new or unique on offer here and for nearly $50 I FEEL RIPPED OFF !!! I could of and should have bought a game for that money!!! Pure greed BUNGIE and in comparison to DLC"S such as BLOOD AND WINE & FALLOUT 4 DLC"S this shouldn't even be a pass score & I'm not a DESTINY hater as I love the game, I just EXPECTED MORE !!!! WAY MORE !!! InThere's not much to say SADLY !!! There's nothing new or unique on offer here and for nearly $50 I FEEL RIPPED OFF !!! I could of and should have bought a game for that money!!! Pure greed BUNGIE and in comparison to DLC"S such as BLOOD AND WINE & FALLOUT 4 DLC"S this shouldn't even be a pass score & I'm not a DESTINY hater as I love the game, I just EXPECTED MORE !!!! WAY MORE !!! In future I will be spending my money on GAME DEVELOPERS THAT OFFER GENEROUS CONTENT, UNIQUE IDEAS AND VALUE FOR MONEY. :(((… Expand
  19. DLCisMurder
    Nov 19, 2016
    0
    This game gets worse with every DLC. While Destiny started promising, it felt always incomplete and I guess many people -like me- where hoping to get the full experience with the next DLC. But all we got was a nerf of our gear... After over two years this game still has no functioning matchmaking. The devs seriously try to tell us we have to connect via third party software to find someThis game gets worse with every DLC. While Destiny started promising, it felt always incomplete and I guess many people -like me- where hoping to get the full experience with the next DLC. But all we got was a nerf of our gear... After over two years this game still has no functioning matchmaking. The devs seriously try to tell us we have to connect via third party software to find some people to do those stupid raids. I haven't completed most of them, because the so called community of this game is a bunch of douches... Don't waste your time trying to find teammates! Bungie, get your **** together. We don't want loot, we want real content, like new levels, missions and the movie-like story you promised us from the beginning and _never_ delivered!… Expand
  20. Caldan
    Nov 14, 2020
    7
  21. DestinyDoer
    Jul 2, 2020
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. There are way much better negative reviews here. There may be reskins but I enjoyed the expansion.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

45
#45 Most Discussed Xbox One Game of 2016
96
#96 Most Shared Xbox One Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. Official Xbox Magazine UK
    Nov 1, 2016
    80
    Not the biggest Destiny expansion, but certainly one of the most confident and classy. [Dec 2016, p.72]
  2. Game Informer
    Oct 23, 2016
    85
    While it doesn’t offer the same breadth and reimagining of core systems found in The Taken King, Bungie’s latest release has a sentimental tone that is refreshing. This adventure through forgotten legends stands strong on its own, and continues an unbroken string of content drops that have each made Destiny a richer universe.
    Read full review
  3. Digital Chumps
    Oct 9, 2016
    86
    Rise of Iron is a rather fitting end for Destiny and is worth the purchase for those who've followed the game thus far. The changes made by Bungie over the course of its lifespan have made the game a much more fun place to be. There are still the old drawbacks of the grind for gear but given that it's something so integral to the game it's not surprising this hasn't changed.
    Read full review
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