Monday 22 February 2021

Destruction: All Stars: PS5 Review

Destruction: All Stars: PS5 Review

Developed by Lucid Games
Published by Sony Interactive
Available free as part of February's PlayStation Plus offering

Destruction All Stars feels very familiar.
Destruction: All Stars: PS5 Review

Solid but familiar - elements of Rocket League minus the giant football and goals mixed with Fortnite’s cartoony shooter sensibilities to create a destruction derby game that’s disposable fun, but offers some promise.

The game’s point of difference is this is a racing game where you get to leap out of the car you’re in at any point, run around the course, snag collectibles and hijack other cars.

It’s smooth for a third person game and there certainly feels like there’s a pace and a zip to the gameplay, but there are moments when you’re not entirely sure what the longevity of this game actually is.

Launching with a few modes, and a skill level that’s at the lower end, there’s easily enough to keep players engaged thanks to colourful graphics and an almost ADHD frenetic gameplay. From levels like Carnado where the aim is to rack up points and destroy your car as you bank them, to Mayhem where you try to survive, the game's not gone for a deep set of levels to begin with. (Although Carnado is the most playable of the four).
Destruction: All Stars: PS5 Review

Cars are spawned on the track and you race to them to pick them up and then it’s all just game on - it's simple enough premise.

In online player levels and arcade mode, it becomes a competition where you have to score the highest points when the day and basically survive: it’s nothing too challenging or taxing to anyone who has played these sort of games before.

Maybe that is some of the problem of Destruction All Stars.

It all feels a little too much like déjà vu and even with the new technology haptic feedback and adaptive controllers it doesn’t feel like there’s a brand-new USP in this game to keep it going forever - though accelerations and braking are all too common place in driving games, so there's not much to deviate from.
Destruction: All Stars: PS5 Review



Gameplay is certainly slick there is a feeling that’s really there’s no new use for the DualSense controller in this first PlayStation5 online battler, which is a PlayStation Plus game exclusive for now.

The only real downside when racing about the arena is the lack of ability to really look round and see what’s going on in any kind of mirror. Certainly for a game where are you are about to be smashed any second that seems like a crippling oversight from the gameplay developers and won’t help with any tactics to help you win.

Triggers adapt to make you feel like you’re pushing peddles and that’s really about it The controller  does rumble, there’s a bit of movement here and there but it just feels wildly under-developed for this game which is a real shame when you consider what the immersive work that’s been done with Astro's Playroom.

Ultimately Destruction: All Stars is perfectly fine addition to the new gaming console.

The fact that it’s free and available for PS plus is also a bonus and will hopefully entice as many in as did Fall Guys recently.

However it remains to be seen if this is a game that will develop through seasons of play or will grow as a franchise and online experience or suffer the fate of many where servers are empty, and matchmaking is patchy.

Destruction: All Stars is disposable enough fun for now - but as a signal of intent for the PlayStation 5 console, fine shouldn't really be just enough.

A review key for Destruction: All Stars was provided by PlayStation New Zealand. 

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