Rock Band Rivals Expansion
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Critic Reviews for Rock Band Rivals Expansion
Rock Band Rivals marks the best edition of Rock Band 4, building on what was already a solid base and bringing in more features. Rockudrama does something different with the career mode that’s not only refreshing but often hilarious, while Rivals brings you into a bigger world of competition. The completion of the multiplayer modes is also set to finally round out what is still the best place to rock out with your friends, making Rock Band Rivals an unmissable entry in the rhythm-action series, though fans may still hanker for something more revolutionary.
Rock Band Rivals has once again iterated in a way that makes it unquestionably the most attractive rhythm game so far this generation. It doesn't include the new songs or fundamental changes that fans might expect from such a package, and instead relies on the combination of its offerings and recent updates to satisfy players. Musical enthusiasts who wouldn't turn down a good reason to invest another few dozen hours into Rock Band 4 are in for something that will keep them coming back for the weeks if not months to come.
A year's worth of incremental updates have molded this into a game that has more to offer and is easier to navigate. Anyone who has waited this long to follow Rock Band to new consoles should know that this is the optimal time to get in now that the growing pains seem to be behind Harmonix. However, those people should also know that Rivals probably isn't going to be the part of Rock Band that they care about.
Rock Band Rivals offers less than expected, considering the state in which Rock Band 4 was released back in October last year. The content provided is not quite sufficient when taking the length of the Rockudrama and the poorly executed Rivals mode into consideration.
Harmonix has made good with making Rock Band 4 a platform, and with these updates it will also keep me coming back to rock out. Rock Band games are a time sink with me when I get back into them, and fresh content will always do just that.
Rivals makes Rock Band 4 a much better experience for the hardcore, whilst throwing a juicy story mode bone to the more casual player. As expansions go, this is pretty much how you should go about it.
There’s a lot of cheesy and over the top moments in the career mode and I personally loved it. There are also some references to past Rock Band games as well.
While Rock Band Rivals' new campaign offers little substance, its new persistent multiplayer component is an intriguing addition that genuinely enriches the core Rock Band 4 experience.
