I’ve been a huge fan of the Destroy All Humans series since it premiered nearly two decades ago. Its gritty and absurd humor along with its destructive gameplay and futuristic weapons and gear make it very entertaining, and it did so in the mid-2000s and did so again when the remake of the original was released in 2020. That first remake showed that developer Black Forest Games’ engine could result in a very good video game, but it was only this second remake, Destroy All Humans 2 – Reprobed, that got me excited about what it had to offer. This is because this revamped sequel is a current-gen exclusive, meaning it’s designed to run on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series. I’ve been immersed in the adventures of Cryptosporidium-138 for the past few weeks, and while there’s a lot to love, it’s hard not to feel like the series has aged.
Before I explain what I mean by that, let’s talk about the positive aspects that make this remake so brilliant. In the first place, as I already mentioned, the graphic and visual part. While there is some clunky facial animation, Black Forest Games has created an incredibly detailed and beautiful game that’s among the best looking titles I’ve tried in this new era of gaming. That’s partly because Destroy All Humans 2 – Reprobed isn’t an open-world game like Horizon Forbidden West, for example, but is split into several smaller open-world levels that you can travel between and sow chaos. This bit of chaos is important because it shows that by leaving PS4 and Xbox One behind, the developers were able to continue to push the in-game destruction to the point where they travel the world in your ship and your Incinerating people and flora and reducing buildings to rubble is a step beyond what was available in the first remake. It’s a welcome improvement and improves the overall gaming experience.
Because the game doesn’t have to create and run each level at the same time, these small open worlds allow Reprobed to bring each location to life with massive crowds, heavy traffic, soldiers, KGB agents, cops, and more factions that will try to destroy your destructive curb intentions. Whether you’re at the Golden Gate Bridge in the United States, strolling through historic London, or brawling with a kaiju in Japan, each location is impeccably designed and full of charisma and detail, at least on the surface.
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I say this because this is where my issues with Reprobed come up. Although the premise of remaking games is to preserve the integrity of the original, the original title this remake is from dates back to 2006, implying a lot of outdated dynamics and systems. For example, we have locations with boring collectibles, simple and repetitive missions that mostly force you to simply escort a person while shooting, throwing, burning and using your anal probe to attack people. Don’t get me wrong, this is all a lot of fun, but the transition from playing modern titles to this one (which is masked in a visual style that makes you think it’s brand new) gets a bit bumpy and a bit boring as you progress of the story as there is never anything that surprises you in the game dynamics.
However, staying true to the original, the game remains completely unfiltered as it was in the mid-2000s. Crypto’s character is vulgar as hell, and the game’s tone is very similar, with humor, jokes, and pranks today would be omitted if it would be a completely new title.
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At this point I have to mention that I had a few bugs during my game. Some had no serious consequences, such as B. strange traffic jams that caused more than twenty cars to converge at the same intersection, or strange noise bugs that made it impossible to hear Crypto while piloting his flying saucer. Other times were more serious, including times when the game crashed, but the worst was the game’s final boss fight, as I couldn’t take off my Anti-Furonity armor and therefore couldn’t damage the enemy. It was…frustrating to say the least.
So, Destroy All Humans 2 – Reprobed gave me mixed feelings. On the one hand, I love how simple, direct, and insane the gameplay is, which allows you to focus on turning the world upside down and terrorizing the people who live in it. On the other hand, its incredibly outdated systems are sometimes so difficult to overcome that it becomes boring to play. Of course the bugs don’t help either, but I’m sure that Black Forest Games will fix the problem soon. In short, is it fun? Yes, but beyond that and a pretty face there’s not much.
