Rock Band Rivals Expansion Reviews

Rock Band Rivals Expansion is ranked in the 75th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
8 / 10
Dec 16, 2016

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.

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8.5 / 10.0
Dec 15, 2016

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.

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7 / 10
Dec 10, 2016

Rock Band Rivals is set to appeal to the fans who most wanted a competitive side to Rock Band 4. Other than the addition of the new campaign mode in the form of the Rockudrama and the titular Rivals mode, there aren't really any major changes to the core Rock Band 4 experience. There have been some definite changes to the game for the better in the past year, and if that competitive drive is what players were missing the last time around, this might be the reason to dust that guitar and drum kit off for another show.

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6 / 10.0
Dec 8, 2016

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.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 3, 2016

Who knows how long it will last, but Rivals had me clearing a permanent place to store the plastic drums and guitar once again, items that were long ago retired from the lounge room. It took Harmonix a year and an expansion pack with a hefty price tag, but Rock Band 4 is once again a headline act.

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Ken McKown
Top Critic
7 / 10.0
Oct 31, 2016

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.

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8.5 / 10.0
Oct 27, 2016

Rock Band Rivals has once again sparked my love for Rock Band, and the thrill of the chase. I am a drummer and have been since the days of Rock Band 1. I have missed drumming for hours at a time, chasing Gold Stars and Full Combos. This expansion was exactly what I needed in order to spark that passion back up.

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Oct 23, 2016

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.

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83 / 100
Oct 23, 2016

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.

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7 / 10.0
Oct 21, 2016

Rock Band Rivals is a more focused and diverse version of Rock Band 4 on all fronts, even if it does have a high price point with no new tracks. Harmonix has done well in tweaking the original game for the past year and Rivals is a great extension of this. With new ways to play and new ways to keep people coming back, Rivals is in a lot of ways what Rock Band 4 should have been when it came out. If you still have the desire to bust out your old plastic instrument but for some reason haven’t done so yet, Rivals is a great time to jump back in.

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7.8 / 10.0
Oct 19, 2016

Rock Band Rivals is a great expansion to Rock Band 4 that expands on the existing experience and keeps the band rockin'.

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Oct 19, 2016

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.

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8 / 10.0
Oct 18, 2016

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.

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9 / 10.0
Oct 18, 2016

Rock Band 4 never stopped being fun even if you've been away from the game for a short time, but Rivals is a great reason to return to your rock roots.

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