Destroy all Humans! (2020) Review

Destroy All Humans is a remake of the 2005 Cult Classic of the same name developed by the now defunct Pandemic Studios, Development on the remake was taken over by Black Forest Games who made the Giana Sisters Series and the excellent Fade to Silence Survival game that was released in 2019. As a Huge Fan of the original game I was so hyped when I heard about the remaster so lets dive in and see if Annihilating the Human Race is as good as I remember or if its just the Rose Tinted spectacles of Nostalgia talking.

For those who never played the original game, Destroy All Humans starts with a late 40s early 50s missile launch at a Desert base testing range when during a launch a UFO appears and is struck by the missile causing it to explode and the UFO to crash and a heavily injured alien (Typical Grey) passes out in front of the military. The cutscene then cuts to a floating UFO in space and another alien called Pox, this time in a floating chair like device, wonders why he has suddenly lost contact with the first alien. An identical alien to the one who crashed wanders in called Cryptosporidium 137 or Crypto for short and you find out that the Aliens belong to a race called the Furons and that they clone themselves as a way of immortality but over time they are running out of Pure DNA that allows them to do this. Crypto's cloned brother Cryptosporidium 136 was sent to a planet that eons ago was seeded with Furon DNA to scout out the Planet Earth and atempt to collect the much needed DNA. So you and Pox head to earth to find out what went wrong and to make sure that the mission is a success.

Your first landing takes place on Turnipseed Farm a small farm in rural America that is typical from the 1950's B-movie genre. The level serves as a tutorial introducing you to both Crypto's abilities and the sense of humour that is prevalent throughout the game, as shown through your first encounter with Earth Life.

There are over 20 levels in the game with multiple objectives as well as optional objectives that award you with additional DNA, for example on the first level you have to drown a cow in a lake using your psychokinesis (PK) abilities and to kill the farmers wife with a chicken. The levels are spread out over 6 maps that range from Turnipseed Farm to Capitol City itself the seat of the president. There was one level that was cut from the original game which took place in Area 42 a top secret military base within the desert that had you using your powers to disguise yourself and kill 3 scientists. The optional objectives had you kill them in specific ways making the deaths look like accidents. This was one of my Favourite missions as it showed off the potential of Cryptos PK abilities.

Once you complete the first mission in an area you can re-enter the area in free roam. There are a few activities available in this mode and these unlock as you progress through the story. By completing these activities you unlock extra DNA. There are 5 types of activities in each area, Collectibles each area has a number of floating probes to collect.

Armageddon - This involves Crypto Causing as much Damage as possible to the area using your Saucer more DNA is earned by draining specific highlighted targets this is done by pressing the Y button whilst having the target suspended in your abducto-beam.

Abduction - This is a time based challenge and the abducto-beam moves around the map and you have to use your telekinesis to throw specific types of objects into said beam. I found this to be the most difficult of the challenges especially later on due to the lack of control when attempting to pick up a specific target amongst a group of other targets pick up and throw them into the beam accurately. Whilst avoiding enemy fire and a host of other hazards.

Race - The typical point to point race you have to follow a faulty Furon Probe which spits out DNA at various intervals and you have to collect it before it degrades. The sooner you collect it the more points towards the final target you receive.

Rampage - This is the on foot version of Armageddon and has you killing specific types of targets with more DNA awarded if done in a specific way for example Cows with either Explosives or Electricity.

Furon DNA is used as a currency to upgrade Crypto's Abilities, Weapons or Saucer increasing shields, damage, or giving weapons new abilities. For example turning your single shot disruptor into a triple shot machine gun of death. Each weapon has 6 upgrades split into two paths. There seems to be no reasoning in the order in which specific upgrades are unlocked with each story level completed unlocking a couple of upgrades. It would have been Nice if these Upgrades were somehow tied into the story.

Whilst I did have immense fun with Destroy all Humans the game feels dated in its controls and content and I feel that the asking price is on the high side due to a variety of factors of which the main one is that Microsoft themselves gave the original game away for Free as part of the Games for Gold Program back in June a Month or so Before the release. I believe this was done to drum up anticipation for the game but I cant help feel that it backfired as there isn't enough additional content or changes to warrant the price.