Destroy All Humans (2020) Review - Time to do questionable things with probes.

By Sam Coles:

Remakes and remasters have been rather ubiquitous in 2020 with certain events putting new productions on a slow burn, but it has been great revisiting classics with a new coat of paint as well tighter and more modern controls. Destroy All Humans was somewhat of a cult classic when it first released on the PS2 and Original Xbox in 2005, originally developed by Pandemic Studios who made the original Star Wars: Battlefront games and the mindlessly fun Mercenaries series. It was a fun third person shooter making fun of B-Movie tropes as well as the mind set of America in the 1950’s, which makes for a fun tongue in cheek adventure. It is worth a revisit as well as for new comers? Absolutely, and I will tell you why.

You play as the extra-terrestrial Crypto who has been tasked to scout out Earth for research, and when I say research I mean cause havoc on the planet while extracting human’s brainstems for genetic research. Now that sounds morbid, but fortunately Destroy All Humans does not take itself seriously at all. It completely makes fun of the 1950’s American society, so you have the classic and idyllic white picket fences as well as everyone talking about their distaste for communists every five minutes. It is very self-aware about how absurd the scenario is as it takes jabs at B-Movie conventions, with probes, flying saucers and ray guns that would make Michael Bay blush. If you are looking for a story that will make you laugh then this is your game, even 15 years later the writing still holds up.

Gameplay is mostly a third person shooter but it is also a mix of other mechanics, there are times where you have to take a more stealthy approach by donning a disguise as a human to gain intel. It adds a good mix with the gameplay coupled with the really fun moments where the game lets you go nuts as you unleash destruction with your ray-gun, or you can hop into your flying saucer as you do your best maniacal laugh as you destroy buildings.

As you terrorise the local populace you must extract their brainstems which makes a nice popping noise when do it, anyway this is in aid for upgrading your weapons and flying saucer. This gives the player an incentive to actually collect things within a level as you can upgrade your weapons to do ridiculous damage, which make your rampages more fun. To be honest it’s one of those games where it is fun to collect stuff, as well as shooting anything that gets in your way. The gameplay loop of Destroy All Humans is addictive, this stems from the upgraded controls which feel very tight and responsive.

Visually it has been given a huge bump in visual fidelity compared to its original PS2 and Xbox release, lighting looks superb with the sun setting on the beaches to the bright sunny days in a the suburbs. Character models look great and standout more with their exaggerated and cartoonish look, which work well with the better lighting and more saturated colour palette. Honestly it is astounding what they have done to bring this obscure gem into the modern era; it is just a joy to look at and appealing to my eyes.

Destroy All Humans is a fantastic game that doesn’t take itself serious, with a really funny story that still holds up 15 years later coupled with the chaotic gameplay it makes for a really good time. If you are looking for something fun, over the top and more light hearted then I high recommend this game.