14 DAY TRIAL // 
Many think that the only catastrophe that is still missing from 2020 is contact with a hostile alien race. Those people are certainly not gamers, otherwise, they would have known that it already happened 15 years ago. And as history tends to repeat itself, Destroy All Humans! just got a remaster meant to show us that an alien invasion can fun, at least from the perspective of the grey little spacemen.
There is undeniable fun in games that put you in the shoes of creatures trying to kill every human on the planet. Maybe this is why the original Destroy All Humans! became a fan favorite even though the game is far from being a masterpiece. The studio that developed the first game is no longer around, but because nostalgia can be good for business, THQ Nordic tasked Black Forest Games to revive Crypto and once again take control of planet Earth.
And because nostalgia also tends to cloud our actual memories we have to remind players of all ages that even in 2005 Destroy All Humans! was a game with dusted gameplay mechanics, which managed to grab the headlines thanks to its crude humor and the mindless fun it offered. Although the remake adheres to the current visual standards, the developers proved to be too shy to try to modernize any other part of the game. Yes, we have a few new skills and reimagined menus, but basically, the game is the same and did not age exactly well.
You will adorn the space suite of Crypto who is sent by an evil alien mastermind to the Earth to harness the Furon DNA latent in the human genome to save the alien race from extinction. The story and the dialogues are just as crazy, such as the explanation of how could have the aliens got mixed up in our gene pool. Destroy All Humans! presents us with a vision of ‘50s America made up entirely by stereotypes taken to the extreme.
Politicians are corrupt, all farmers are hillbillies and the only human more stupid than law enforcement is the military, but even they get trumped by beauty pageant winners. But do not worry the aliens are not smarter either and the result is a comedy that best reminds us of The Three Stooges.
The dialogues and the mission objectives are over the top, and the result is a mindlessly fun atmosphere of a comedy that is so bad that it becomes utterly enjoyable. Not everyone will like this kind of raw humor, but the developers managed to keep intact the atmosphere of the game which is its biggest selling point. I dare to say that the updated visuals actually enhance the comic effect of the game, the updated textures, and character models emphasizing, even more, the stereotypes.
Unfortunately beyond this point the remake of Destroy All Humans! suffers from the same outdated gameplay as the original did. The system which allows you to “borrow” the guise of humans so you can blend in and avoid mass hysteria is a bit clunky and repetitive. You will not feel the satisfaction of managing to outwit the dim earthlings, many times instead you will feel the mission objectives, especially the bonus ones as a chore. This lack of polish and afterthought is present in all the game mechanics which serve rather as an excuse to put on stage hilarious jokes, instead of building cohesive gameplay.
The same can be said about the combat system which has an arcade feel to it, thanks to the auto-aim feature. The combat is literally a no brainer in the game, although we have to admit in some moments the havoc you wreak on the game world is quite spectacular. Although in many situations you can destroy almost everything you come across, the combat lacks depth and variety. Your arsenal is limited to a few weapons, and even the upgrade system does not improve things.
Despite these shortcomings, the gameplay is not bad, just somewhat dull. Destroy All Humans! is mindless fun, at least in the beginning. The lack of variety and depth affect the end game, but fortunately, the game comes to an end before becoming boring. If you want to focus on the main story alone you will not need more than 6 hours to conquer Earth. There are some extra activities, like the challenges unlocked after successfully completing a level, in the game but again they feel more like a chore and a not-fun way to extend the total length.
Choosing Unreal Engine 4 to build the remake proved to be a fortunate one, the developers doing a good job. Keeping the art style of the original game the visuals have been rebuilt from the ground up and the result can be spectacular. There is not everything without a fault, you can still find the occasional blurry textures or low polygon objects, but overall the game looks really good. Unfortunately, they also kept the level structure which reminds us of the PS2 era when technical possibilities have been severely limited compared to the current generation of consoles.
The Good
- The raw politically unfair humour
- The mission cut from the original was reinstated
- Mindless fun
The Bad
- Occasional issues with the audio balance
- Obsolete gameplay and level structure
- Sharp spikes in the level of difficulty
Conclusion
Despite these issues, Destroy All Humans! keeps its charm and unique appeal. If you can overlook the obsolete mechanics and level design, the adventures of Crypto are actually fun. Thanks to the budget-friendly price tag, the game can be recommended to those who finished games like Maneater and are looking to a new dose of mayhem.
