I'm enjoying Destiny: Rising a lot more than I thought I would. Instead of trying to port Destiny 2 (and all its flaws) to mobile, NetEase has developed an entirely new Destiny game that plays to the strengths of the mobile platform. Its approach to sizeable tasks and daily routines makes it perfect for bathroom breaks and the part of the day where you zone out while flicking your mouse so the boss doesn't catch up. I could see this becoming another game in my daily rotation, but I'm having a hard time getting past the odd decision to set Rising in an alternate universe from the Destiny canon.
Destiny: Rising, developed by NetEase, is a licensed game. Normally we think of licensed games as movie tie-ins and whatever Funko Fusion was trying to be, so this is a weird situation where a game is based on an IP that has never been anything other than a video game. This isn't a sequel or prequel to Destiny, it's basically fan fiction.
That's not to say Bungie isn't involved with Rising. The mobile game is filled with Destiny 2 assets. All the familiar weapons, logos, perks and enemies are here. Almost all of the SFX come directly from Destiny 2. NetEase didn't just go off and make their own version of Destiny. It's clear that Bungie worked side-by-side with the studio to ensure its authenticity.
Destiny: Rising Has A Non-Canon Story
And yet, when it comes to story, Rising seems to have free rein to do whatever it wants, regardless of established lore. In the first hour, it introduces a fleet of uber-mechanics that humanity once controlled, an Iron Lord with a pet Ahamkara, a friendly Eleksni spy, and the concept of light-infused artifacts that are spiritually linked to individual guardians. All of these things contradict what we know about Destiny lore in the era Rising takes place.
I'm not one to get my panties in a twist over retcons. People like to get upset about logical inconsistencies in Star Wars prequels or spin-offs like The Rings of Power and House of the Dragon, but I couldn't possibly care less. Storytellers must be free to create their own stories without being slavishly bound to source material, and at the end of the day, everything is made up anyway. I wouldn't begrudge Rising for tainting the timeline (lord knows Bungie does that enough on its own) if it even tried to expand on Destiny's rich lore. Instead, it tells you right from the start that you are free to ignore its story.
A True Destiny Prequel could have been great
It's such a shame because Destiny's Dark Age is ripe for exploration. We know a lot about the Iron Lords and the transition to the early city age when Rising takes place, and I would have loved to see Rising expand on that knowledge and fill in some of the gaps. It's easy to imagine a canonical Dark Age game that informs our understanding of Destiny's history and adds depth to the heroes that existed back then. I loved meeting a young Renegade Ikora before she began her training with Osiris, and I want to meet the Iron Lords we've only heard about from legends. Instead, we get Gundams, the Hive on Europa, and so many inconsistencies that it almost feels like it's going out of its way to throw away Destiny's story.
I can't see the justification for this being a purely creative decision. NetEase claims they wanted to decanonize Rising so they would have the freedom to tell their own stories, but that's a mistake. Bungie made sure to distance itself from Rising as soon as the game was announced, referring to it as “[Netease’s] game”. Maybe the excruciating microtransactions that come with mobile games influenced this separation, or maybe the Sony acquisition lessened the connection between Rising and Destiny 2, but whatever the reason, Rising's alternate universe story is a huge missed opportunity to expand the Destiny world, and it makes me less eager to play it.
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