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Destroy All Humans! review

July 28, 2020

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Destroy All Humans

Originally released back in 2005, Destroy All Humans! is an action-adventure game designed as a parody of the Cold War-era alien invasion films. The series went on to produce three additional games before the closure of THQ, the game’s publisher, in December of 2012.

Moreover, it appeared that Destroy All Humans! and many other THQ franchises would be nothing but a distant memory. Several months later, THQ Nordic was formed. The publisher purchased many of THQ’s IPs, including Destroy All Humans! Now, eight years later, Destroy All Humans! has been remade for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Stadia. Included are a handful of smart but important updates and new content.

Destroy All Humans! Details

Platform: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC and Stadia
Reviewed on: PlayStation 4 Pro
Developer: Black Forest Games
Publisher: THQ Nordic
Genre: Action-adventure
Modes: Single-player
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

The invasion of Earth has begun!

Destroy All Humans! takes place in a post-war America in the late 1950’s. The game is set across several different areas all over the United States including a farm, Area 42, Washington DC, a city, and a suburban town. The story is a what if scenario, where Aliens invade Earth.

You play as Crypto-137, a member of the Furon extraterrestrial race. Initially your goal is to find what happened to your cloned predecessor Crypto-136, who was shot down and captured by the US military. As a result, after discovering what happened to him, Orthopox-13, Crypto’s superior orders an all out invasion.

The story is filled with a ton of tongue and cheek jokes and makes references to 1950’s pop culture and ideology of the time. Consequently, some may find jokes contained in the game to be offensive. These jokes are generally based around gender, sexual orientation and disabilities.

Destroy All Humans

Annihilate puny humans with an assortment of alien weaponry and psychic abilities

The mission structure of Destroy All Humans! has remained the same: collect human DNA, discover some sort of information about the US military, and then lay waste to the area via your UFO. Once your mission is complete, you can return to collected bonus items and completed side missions.

Crypto comes equipped with several devastating weapons, my favourite being the Zap-O-Matic. Your weapons and ship are upgradeable throughout the game via Orthopox-13 on the mothership in exchange for human DNA. You can even use Crypto’s psychic abilities to pick up and make projectiles out of humans, rocks, and animals.

Destroy All Humans

Crypto’s combat abilities have been enhanced over the original. Correspondingly, he is now more powerful and versatile than he used to be. His jet pack abilities have been enhanced so that it catapults you into the air and onto the rooftops much easier. Crypto can now glide at a much faster speed and shoot at enemies while in mid-air. Finally, his dash ability is much more powerful which allows him to get out of sticky situations a whole lot easier.

Some missions require you to go in undetected. This is where your Holobob comes to good use. The Holobob allows you to take on the appearance of humans in order to properly blend in. However, to keep your appearance up, you’re required to read the minds of other humans as you pass by. Overall, Destroy All Humans! gameplay is never really overly complex and its simple nature makes it fun for all types of gamers.

Destroy All Humans

A shiny new coat of paint

The most notable upgrade that Destroy All Humans! has undergone are its graphics. The game has been completely recreated using Unreal Engine 4. Compared to the 2005 original, the game’s visuals are night and day. While each of the game’s levels have their own unique look and feel, nothing really stands out in particular. On the other hand, NPCs look generic and there is very little variety.

All of the game’s original voice acting has been left intact. Crypto’s voice is a cheesy knock off of Jack Nicholson and overall done pretty well. As with the visuals, NPCs use recycled dialogue that at times can get annoying.

Destroy All Humans

Destroy All Humans! is remarkably faithful to the original game

Destroy All Humans! is a faithful remake of the 2005 original. Black Forest Games have added modern gameplay enhancements and an extra mission that was never included in the original. The game never really takes itself seriously and its relatively simple gameplay allows for hours of enjoyment. Hence, fans of the series will fill right at home with the game and appreciate the modernized controls and massively updated graphics.

The story line is reminiscent of the 50’s and 60’s alien invasion movie plots. And, contains all of the original quirky dialogue along with pop culture references from the 2005 original. Undoubtedly, if you are looking for a laid back game without a complex story and easy to pick up controls, Destroy All Humans! fits the bill.

+ Value priced
+ Enhanced gameplay and additional content
+ Massively updated visuals
+ Fun to play with very little effort needed to enjoy gameplay

– Substantial difficulty increase in the last few levels of the game
– Tasteless jokes that some may find offensive