Destruction All-Stars

[Neon Ignition]

So, for many this may be their first 2021 release and it's opening the year up on the perk of being 'free'. Sony's new game made the move to PS+ and is all the better for it. With four modes of play and around a dozen or so characters so far on offer, it's arena based car combat aiming to rack up scores within the time limit.



I honestly can't imagine how this is going back to being a paid title in April. It's a very blatantly half baked game that most probably should never have made it out of the pitching room which sounds brutal but given this was supposed to be a full priced next-gen title until the eleventh hour it's shocking how shallow and lacking in content it is. Not just that, but what content is there is so generic. Each arena is almost interchangeable with the next, they're all so similar as are the characters and their abilities. You definitely can pass an hour or two at a time pleasantly playing it but it's almost solely on the basis that it's because you didn't pay £70 for the honour. It's a timely reminder of how PS+, Gold and Game Pass can be amazing value but they should no longer and never more be allowed to carry a game to a higher score and review than it deserves. It's all too easy to be generous to the game but switching back to cold clarity of objectivity for a second, after a few hours play, this screams to me 4/10.

[hudson]

I didn't know it was going back to a paid title! RIP.

Wouldn't it be better being a FTP title with micro transactions? Eeeuuurgh, what am I saaaying?

[teddymeow]

I've played about 5 hours so far and am rather enjoying myself.

It looks really nice and runs well - nice and smooth with great characters.

Some of the modes are better than others and I find the lack of music in matches really weird and makes it feel a little soulless.

The biggest annoyance is that the single player content is lacking and what is there is hidden behind paywalls of increasing price.

It's headphone on, brain off entertainment but whether it lasts longer than a few weeks remains to be seen. The Dev has said they'll be adding content regularly but pricing is going to be key or this could end up being like DriveClub PS+ where you buy bits and pieces u til the servers are switched off and then you're stuck.

[Lebowski]

I couldn't manage more than an hour or two before i uninstalled it, there is no progression and no reason to carry on paying bar collecting skins which as I'm not 11 is a bit meh from a game-play standpoint. All the arenas are essentially the same as are all the characters. Your cars all feel like there made of cardboard and require just a couple of hits before you will be jumping out and running for another.

What this feels like is a side-mode of a bigger game, its like someone took the balloon popping multiplayer mode from Mario kart and said yeah this will do, we don't need actual racing or levels or any of that stuff. Who signed off on this at Sony they cant of tested this before release or maybe they did and that's why it got thrown over to PS+ where they can quietly sweep it under the carpet and not have the embarrassment of it flopping.

Whoever thought this was ever worth £70 was obviously off there tits on smack or something, its not even got the content of a budget Indy title like Rocket league.

[wakka]

I tried this and thought it was pretty boring to be honest. It doesn't play very well and aesthetically it feels like a mishmash of things that have worked elsewhere, brought together in a rather uninspiring way. The high point is probably the character designs. They look great on the character select menu, too. But it just isn't much fun at all, and very samey.