Is Destruction AllStars worth playing? Now that game is out. It is a competitive game with vehicular combat. At first glance, Destruction AllStars seems like a combination of Fortnite, Rocket League, and Overwatch. There is also a feeling of classic games such as the Destruction Derby series. Some of the concepts are new but the core gameplay is vehicular combat. Vehicles act as any other game with generic driving mechanics. Slamming into the vehicle will help players earn points and can result in knocking opponents. There are sixteen characters in the game and they are usable right from the start. Destruction AllStars also offers four different game modes making it a little more diverse.
The game is free for PS Plus members as part of the February PS Plus games. The game was originally going to be a $70 game which seems kind of obscured. Just one look at the game is enough for you to know that it’s not worth that much. Destruction AllStars seems more like a free-to-play game that acts like a pay-to-play game.
There isn’t enough content in the game to keep players engaged for long. It is a live service game but it functions as a casual game. Destruction AllStars is not that type of game that you can keep on playing for months. The game has a temporary burst and after playing it for a couple of hours, it just becomes generic. There isn’t much to do in the game due to the lack of content and incentive. Some of the content is locked behind a paywall like a free-to-play game. It is a game that seems more like a free-to-play game making you wonder Is Destruction AllStars worth playing? Let’s find out.
A Classic Reminder with New Twist
Destruction AllStars share similarities with some of the classic vehicular combat games. The first game that comes to mind is the Destruction Derby series. The core concept of vehicles slamming into vehicles is similar to Destruction Derby. Classic racing games such as Metropolis Street Racer also have an influence on it. For good reason because Lucid game is not new to car games. The studio is new but the people working in the studio have vast experience in racing games. Lucid games were founded by the employees of Bizarre Creations who are the developers of Project Gotham Racing, Metropolis Street Racer, and The Club. You can see the influence of these games on Destruction AllStars.
Exiting vehicles in the middle of combat is a new concept to vehicular combat games. In Destruction AllStars, players can exit their vehicles in the middle of a match. They can steal vehicles from other participants or they can destroy their vehicles. There is also a choice of taking vehicles that are not in the use of any players. As long as you survive there is always a chance of coming back. On foot, players are more vulnerable but at the same time, they are more agile. Taking down the vehicles of enemies on foot is harder than doing so through vehicles. The classic concepts of the game meet the new concepts making you wonder Is Destruction AllStars worth playing? Well, there is more.
Driving Vehicles in Destruction AllStars
Vehicular combat is the central focus of the game so the core gameplay revolves around driving cars. The driving mechanics are straightforward, which includes acceleration, deceleration, turning, break, and handbrakes mechanics. However, there are some extra mechanics in driving that are helpful during vehicular combat. These charge attacks do more damage and these attack acts as abilities so you have to fill them. Hand brake can also result in side slams so it’s not just for hard turns. You can leave your vehicle and land on the vehicle of another player. Doing so can also help you take down their car or highjack it. The game gives you the means to fight back as long as you survive.
The trick to survival is constant movements. If you stop then the other cars would slam you because it gives them an opening. Constant movement will make it hard for the opponents to hit you. Whether you are outside the car or inside the car constant movement is important. Outside the car, your character is squishier but more agile as well. The point is that game only offers vehicular combat through racing and does not offer anything else. Is Destruction AllStars worth playing for its driving mechanics? Well, there is more.
In and Outside the Vehicles
There are 16 characters in the game each has its abilities. Characters have distinct identities in their looks, movements, personalities, and abilities. Their driving mechanics are the same and they even have the same motion mechanics. However, the aesthetics of movements for these characters is different even though their basic movements are the same. Some characters walk cheerfully, some clumsily, etc. Their movements reflect their personality. These characters are reminiscences of hero shooters such as Overwatch. Is Destruction Allstars worth playing? to you for its combat.
Getting out of the car is something new to vehicular combat games and it makes it different. Ironically this functionality can take away the fun of the game. Destruction AllStars is the type of game where it is fun as long as you stay in the vehicle. If you willingly get out of the car to have an advantage over other players in the game then it makes it interesting. However, if you are forced out of the car due to the mechanics of a game mode then it can get frustrating.
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Characters and Abilities
Characters have hero abilities called Breakers, both on foot and in vehicles. These are the abilities that make each character unique in combat. Abilities can really make a difference and they can even lead to victories. Once the meter for hero ability is full then, you can call for hero vehicle. In a hero vehicle, your ability will activate giving you a huge advantage over other players. Characters can only use their Breakers in vehicles when they are in their hero vehicles. Hero vehicles cannot be stolen by other players making them more powerful.
Abilities are similar both inside and outside the vehicles. Lupita is a character that leaves fire trails when her breaker is active and any car crossing trail will take damage. When she is outside the vehicle, the ability would remain the same. However, the fire trail on foot is smaller and does less damage. On foot, Lupita’s ability is less effective but all of the characters get the ability to double jump and move faster when Breaker is active, giving them more mobility. Is Destruction Allstars worth playing for their characters and abilities? There is more.
Game Modes
There are 4 game modes in the game at the time of this writing. Two of these modes are free for all which includes Mayhem and Grindfall. The remaining two modes are Carnado and Stockpile which pits two teams of eight players against each other. Is Destruction Allstars worth playing? For any of its game modes let’s find out.
Mayhem
It is a time-based straightforward mode. In the free for all match, 16 players will hit each other to cause as much damage as possible. The more you hit the more points you earn. Based on how hard you hit opponents you can earn points. Wrecking opponent’s vehicles, takeovers, K.O, hitting opponents that is on foot and Hard hits can result in points. The player with the most points before the time runs out is the winner. Mayhem is the most amazing part of the game because it’s all about vehicular combat. You don’t have to get out of the car unless you need to. You can win the game just by wrecking vehicles. Mayhem mode fully utilizes the vehicular combat of the game.
Grindfall
In the Grindfall mode areas of the floor will slowly disappear. If you hit someone and they fall off the ledge then they will die. Whether they are on foot or in the car if they fall into one of the empty spaces then they will lose a life. Once all the lives are used then the characters will be eliminated from the game. Causing damage to opponents can earn you additional lives. Players can lose life even if they fall off the ledge by a mistake. Grindfall is more about survival than smashing vehicles. The constant dread of keeping yourself from falling off the ledge reduces the chance of vehicular combat drastically. It’s not a fun mode if you prefer vehicular combat.
Carnado
In Carnado mode, two teams of four players have to accumulate as much point as possible. In the Carnado mode players smash into each other cars in a tornado in the center of the arena. When the vehicles slam they drop gears. The number of gear drop depends on the strength of hits. Wrecking and knocking out vehicles will earn you additional gear. You can only bank points in lump sums of 1, 15, 30, up to 80. This mode is also a good one because it prioritizes vehicular combat. However, the fact that you have to clash in a tornado can make it less interesting than Mayhem mode.
Stockpile
Stockpile mode also revolves around the accumulation of points. When cars smash into each other they accumulate points like other modes. However, gears in this mode only drop once the vehicle is completely destroyed. To collect and deposit these gear pieces, players have to get out of the vehicle. You have to collect them and then deposit them in one of the three banks. In this entire process, you have to be on foot making it less interesting. As I mentioned earlier that the game is fun as long as you stay in the car. In Stockpile mode, you are forced to get out of the car.
Art Style is Good
Destruction AllStars has a good art style that is something in between reality and cartoonish design. Making it a good-looking game was not the aim of developers. It runs at 60 FPS 4K on the PlayStation 5 and there isn’t enough focus on raytracing. There is ray tracing but it does not go crazy with it, unlike other games. Its art style depends on creating good effects, not good lighting. The effect that vehicle collisions and other actions create is quite good. The graphics and characters of it remind me a lot about Fortnite and Overwatch. Destruction AllStars fully support hepatic feedback and adaptive triggers making it more immersive. The artistic style and the way characters are perceived are impressive. Is Destruction Allstars worth playing for its art style?
Game As A Service
Destruction AllStars is an online game and it acts as a live service game. There isn’t a lot of content in the game even though it wants players to stay for as long as possible. A live service game wants players to stick with the game for as long as possible. Purchasable items in a live service game can earn more money for it than the cost of the base game. It is also the reason that some live service games are free to play. Such games have constant updates to keep the game fresh all the time.
The addition of new content keeps players interested in the game. Such games have enough content from the start to keep players on servers until they could release new content. That’s not the case for Destruction AllStars as it has barely enough content from the start. Is Destruction Allstars worth playing for you? Due to its game as service nature.
Four game modes are the only content in Destruction AllStars at launch. Even in these four game modes, there aren’t enough players playing the game. It is a PlayStation exclusive title and it is only available on the PS5. There aren’t many PlayStation around due to the scalpers so it is somewhat understandable. To think that this game was supposed to launch at 70$ seems kind of obscured. If it was not part of the February 2021 line up then the number of players would have been much less.
Destruction AllStars is Kind of Free
It is a vehicular combat game with no proper story mode and lacks decent cosmetics. The costumes that you get are just color variants of the original ones. There isn’t enough incentive for players to invest time in it. Destruction AllStars is the type of game that doesn’t require much time and interest. You can just jump into the game from time to time for short-burst vehicular combat. It not like other multiplayer games that would entice you to keep on coming for more. I don’t see myself invested in this game for long. Is Destruction Allstars worth playing for you? Due to the inclusion of Microtransactions.
Challenge series is a solo series in the game and it has stories. Each character has a back story and rival that is shown through these challenge series. The first series is free but you have to pay with premium currency for the rest to open. The only way to obtain this premium currency is through real money. Even though the reward for completing it is cosmetics only it still seems out of place since it has a story. If you want to experience the back story of characters then you have to pay with real money. In a sense, developers are locking story content behind a paywall. It only happens in free-to-play games and the currency is quite expensive which is absurd. In a sense, it is somewhat a pay-to-play game that is worse than a free-to-play game.
Verdict
Destruction AllStars presents a first good impression but after playing it for a couple of hours it starts to get boring. The vehicular combat of the game is interesting and feels like a renascence of the classic racing games. It has everything that old classic games offered with some more but the standard of games has risen since then. Destruction AllStars is a game as a service but at the same time, it doesn’t offer enough to keep players on servers for long. It has a rough start compared to other live service games. Even the mechanics of getting out of the car is not that enticing. Instead of focusing on vehicular combat, the game is focusing on both on-foot gameplay and in-vehicle gameplay. Such a tactic is making it master of none and leads to a casual experience.
I don’t expect players to keep in the game for long. The 4 game modes at launch do not offer a lot. Even cosmetics are generic and do not offer an inactive for players to grind for more. The single-player content is blocked behind a paywall making it no different than free-to-play games. If Developers can add something more to Destruction AllStars then it can be in a better state. However, I don’t see any such thing happening given the status and general aspects of the game. Is Destruction Allstars worth playing for you now that you know how the game is?
Is Destruction AllStars Your Type of Game?
Now let’s answer the question “Is Destruction AllStars worth playing?” If you are looking for a game with vehicular combat and something extra then Destruction AllStars might be the game for you. If you want to play a multiplayer vehicular game then this could be the game for you. In case you are looking for an online game to play for a long time then Destruction AllStars might not be the game for you. Destruction AllStars is also might not be the game for players who are expecting a great vehicular combat game. In short, Destruction AllStars is a game for players who are looking for a casual gameplay experience. The Destruction AllStars is available on PS Plus for free till April/05/2021.
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