I’ve been a huge fan of the Destruction of All Mankind series since it debuted nearly two decades ago. Crude and goofy humor paired with disruptive gameplay and futuristic weapons and gear makes for great entertainment and has done so throughout the mid-to-late 2000s, with a remake of the original coming in 2020 Then start doing it again. The first remake proved that developer Black Forest Games has an engine that can really deliver a very beautiful video game, but it wasn’t until the second remake, Destroy All Humans 2 – Reprobed, that I was very excited about what it could deliver. That’s because this remastered sequel is just a current-gen game, which means it’s been designed with the PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox series in mind. I’ve been immersed in the adventures of Cryptosporidium-138 for the past few weeks, and while there’s clearly a lot to love here, it’s hard not to feel like this is a series stuck in time.
But before I get into what I mean, let’s talk about the positives and what makes this remake so great. At the forefront, as I just pointed out, are graphics and visuals. While there are some clunky facial animations, Black Forest Games has created a very detailed and beautiful game, and it’s one of the best looking games I’ve seen in this new era of video games. Of course, this is partly due to the fact that Destroy All Humans 2 – Reprobed is not an open-world game like Horizon Forbidden West, but a series of mini open-world levels that you can travel to and wreak havoc . But the havoc part is important, because you can see that by moving away from PS4 and Xbox One, the developers have been able to really accelerate the havoc in this game to the point of cruising in your spaceship and using death rays to burn people and people Flora, and reducing buildings to rubble, is one step further than what was available in the first remake. This is a very welcome improvement and just improves the overall gaming experience.
Also, since the game doesn’t need to generate and operate each of the five levels at the same time, the smaller open-world type levels allow Reprobed to really make every location feel alive, with the hustle and bustle of the crowds, the copious amounts of traffic, and the hordes of soldiers, KGB agents, cops and other factions who want to stop your destructive efforts. Whether you’re traveling near the Golden Gate Bridge in the US, traveling through the historic London cityscape, or even fighting Kaiju in Japan, each location feels immaculate, full of charm and detail – at least on the surface.
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I say this because this is where my problems with Reprobed started to take effect. While the premise of the remastered game was to maintain the integrity of the original, the remastered game is from 2006, which means it has a lot of very outdated game mechanics and systems. Whether it’s an open-world location, propped up with dreary collectibles, or basic and often repetitive quests, most of the quests simply require you to escort a human while they’re knocking, throwing, burning, and anal-probing attacks on humans. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a very interesting thing, but starting with a modern game and then coming to a game like this (which is overshadowed by a visual aesthetic that makes you think it’s brand new) is a very jarring Situation, it does get a little tiresome as the story progresses because it never really does anything to surprise your gameplay elements.
That being said, by sticking so closely to the original, you do get a game as unfiltered as it was in the mid-2000s. Crypto as a character is as rough as they come, and the tone of the game is very similar, with humor, jokes and puns that are ripe for cancellation in a whole new game.
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It should also be said at this point that I had a few different bug issues while playing the game. Some are inconsequential, such as a strange buildup of traffic that causes more than 20 cars to gather at an intersection, and even a strange audio error that prevents him from hearing Crypto speak while driving the flying saucer. Other times, the bugs got worse, including hard crashes, but the worst was during the final boss fight throughout the game, where I found myself unable to remove the anti-Furonity armor and therefore couldn’t damage the opponent in any way. It was… frustrating to say the least.
So, all in all, Destroy All Humans 2 – Reprobed is a bit of a mixed bag for me. On the one hand, I love how simple, direct and silly the gameplay is, where you can focus on tearing apart the world and terrorizing the humans who live in it. On the other hand, it’s hard to get past the core gaming systems, which at times feel so outdated that it can become boring to play. Of course, these bugs don’t help, but Black Forest games will undoubtedly eliminate them soon. Essentially, is this fun? Yes. But other than that, as a pretty face, it doesn’t have much else.