Review Destroy All Humans! - Game for those who are 'Hate of life!'

Developer:
Black Forest Games

Publisher:
THQ Nordic

Release date: July 28, 2020

Platform:
PlayStation 4, Xbox One

One of the things a remake always hopes to do is improve itself enough to make the original release less competitive by comparison. Destroy All Humans! neither a perfect game nor a perfect remake, but it has improved so much since its release in 2005 that I don't think I'll ever go back to the original again. again. This game has all the elements that fans want.

As a die hard fan of the original two games, I wanted one with brand new content and a sequel to the series, but for what is often considered a hidden gem from the PS2 generation, also still great to watch it again and to have a chance… DESTROY ALL HUMANS!

Sorry, I've really wanted to do that at least once.

Destroy All Humans! puts you in the shoes of Cryptosporidium-137 , a Furon who travels to Earth to collect the remnants of Furon DNA from within humans before their race can no longer replicate itself.

The plot is pretty light and mostly just about the invasion and the clichés of the 50s, but throughout the game, I just got the feeling that it was quite funny but there was also a bit of dark in it. . Crypto and Pox are the highlights here, although Richard Horvitz's performance made me laugh the most throughout the adventure. I mostly only hear Invader Zim, but it's great.

Graphically, Destroy All Humans! looks great. The move from realistic to caricature is welcome and all the scenes in the game look great. I especially love the updates to Crypto's outfits and models, even if the holes in his weird squid-like head are a bit unsightly. There are a lot of small improvements that you will probably miss, especially if you haven't played the original in a while, like new loading screen visuals and smaller model changes like Ion Combustor ammo. It was all clearly done with a lot of heart and flair.

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Choosing to keep the original 2005 sound completely intact feels really out of place with this new version and has a big impact on the game's visuals and improvements. I understand it's a legacy of jokes and voice actors, but the audio quality here is clearly not up to par and makes the player feel a bit uncomfortable. 

Destroy All Humans! also delivers a fully stable experience. I had three crashes during my playtime, along with some audio and visual glitches. Some hint keys don't always work and the Anal Probe works extremely erratically for no reason whatsoever. It's not a big deal for me to give up, but it does make me lose some patience with it.

The most notable thing that the remake introduces are the efforts to modernize the gameplay. Crypto has 100x better control, his Jetpack is really useful, you can slide or move around quickly, you can also use powers and weapons in combination. The flying saucer is now highly controllable and the Holobob camouflage doesn't pose a huge disadvantage. These things sound petty, but they really make a difference in making Destroy All Humans! doesn't look like a game from fifteen years ago.

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These powers and weapons are infinitely more interesting thanks to better updated control functions. Being able to lift an enemy with one hand while still being able to use Zap-O-Matic to shoot others with the other hand is very interesting. Personally, I've never been too fond of this type of gameplay, but I still find it quite enjoyable in missions.

I feel the same way about the Sandbox play, which contains several different types of challenges to complete for DNA. Unless you're serious about completing or upgrading Crypto, I don't see too many people bothering to complete them. However, it would be nice to be able to explore the strange surroundings in addition to doing the main quests. 

Unfortunately, Destroy All Humans! Not a very long game. It took me about eight hours to complete the main story missions, with a few more hours to complete optional challenges in the main quests and the Sandbox area. This is not a problem with the remake, but I wonder if the next remake will be even better and longer? I wish the game was a little longer, though. 

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The brief game experience that ended with a battle with the super boss was truly so explosive that I couldn't describe how much fun I had.

As a fan of the original, I've sat down destroying all of humanity and basking in the cool improvements, and I can also see people who haven't played the 2005 release not quite 'getting it'. the real beauty of Destroy All Humans! this. 

For those in the same boat as me, that's exactly what the game should be: a real improvement on the original game and shows that Crypto still has a lot of traction with players like me. Hopefully Destroy All Humans! could pave the way for a whole new adventure one day not too far away.

Kareem Winters

Update 05 January 2022