By George & Josh Bate
Today, Destiny 2 launches its Renegades expansion, which may just be one of the strangest Star Wars video game releases ever. We’ll explain….
Bungie developed the expansion in partnership with Lucasfilm, who, of course, is primarily known for a galaxy far, far away. Destiny 2: Renegades feels, looks, and sounds like a Star Wars adventure, but it isn’t really one. The story is canon to Destiny, not Star Wars, although the expansion heavily incorporates visuals, equipment, weapons, and more from Star Wars. As a result, Renegades lands in an odd position: it’s an officially licensed Star Wars-inspired game (perhaps the first of its kind).
Playing Renegades and you will quickly realize just how strange this fusion of Destiny and Star Wars is. There’s a location called Europa that is, in all but name, Hoth. Another location named Venus is identical to Endor. Tatooine, meanwhile, is realized as the planet Mars, which features the Tharsis Outpost that is eseentially Mos Eisley. There’s even a Sarlaac Pit and Jabba’s sail barge. And yet, despite these glaring parallels, this is not a Star Wars game.
The references run even deeper. The font for the title is clearly reminiscent of the iconic Star Wars font, the logo is similar to the Rebel Alliance logo, and a character even holds up a lightsaber exactly how Luke Skywalker does on the original posters for Star Wars (1977).
Speaking of lightsabers, yes there are even lightsabers in Destiny 2: Renegades. But they’re not called lightsabers – they’re Praxic Blades. Those who wield Praxic Blades are known as Praxic Warlocks, the Destiny stand-in for Jedi.
Even if you’re not a fan of Destiny, this expansion is worth a look at if you’re a Star Wars fan. We can’t quite think of a title that is officially created in collaboration with Lucasfilm that basically is a Star Wars video game but is not actually a Star Wars video game. It’ll be interesting to see what precedent (if any) this release sets for future Star Wars video games. If received well, Destiny 2: Renegades may open the door for more officially licensed Star Wars video games to be integrated into existing properties without worry about adhering to canon.
