Compared to previous generations, the PlayStation 5 launch lineup was fairly solid. It featured some high-quality cross-gen games like Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and was headlined by the exclusive, gorgeous Demon's Souls remake. Even so, the PS5 launch lineup was lacking true exclusive games, with one of the planned launch exclusives, Destruction AllStars, delayed at the last minute with promises to bring it to PlayStation Plus. And it's a good thing that happened because there would have likely been a lot of unhappy customers if they had paid $70 for such a content-deficient game.
Destruction AllStars is free to PS Plus subscribers for at least two months, but it's hard to see how the game can ever transition to a full-priced title as was originally intended. An online-focused vehicular combat game, Destruction AllStars gives players a measly four game modes to play online at launch, and only two of them can actually be played in a party with friends.
At launch, the Destruction AllStars online multiplayer modes include Mayhem, Gridfall, Carnado, and Stockpile. Mayhem is the standard game mode, where the only goal is to smash as many enemy cars as possible to rack up points. Gridfall is about knocking players in a pit, whereas Carnado has players collecting gears, which can then be deposited in a tornado in the middle of the arena. And finally, Stockpile is similar to Carnado in that players are collecting gears, except they have to leave their cars to collect them and there are three points on the map where they must be delivered.
Carnado and Stockpile scratch the same itch, and unfortunately, those are the only two modes that are available to play in a party with friends. Mayhem and Gridfall are solo-only modes, and while Gridfall's solo exclusivity is understandable, it's bizarre that there is no team version of Mayhem. It's a major oversight that hopefully, the developers will rectify in future updates as new content is added to the game.
Developer Lucid Games has already fixed a troubling Destruction AllStars voice chat issue, so the developer is clearly quick to address fan concerns. But besides quick fixes for technical problems, Lucid Games' support will likely also include new content updates. This should hopefully help with Destruction AllStars' lack of game modes, as well as its lack of arenas. Addressing these areas will go a long way in making Destruction AllStars a more worthwhile experience so that players have more to do while smashing cars into each other.
The main gameplay hook of Destruction AllStars is wrecking vehicles, and to its credit, this aspect of the game works great. Players zip around the arenas at top speed, carefully initiating thrusters to smash into opponents at the right time to maximize damage. While the game modes may all have slightly different objectives, they all boil down to driving around and crashing cars, and so it's good that this part of the game works well and is fun.
Destruction AllStars sets itself apart from other vehicular combat games through its roster of playable characters. Taking cues from hero shooter games like Overwatch, Destruction AllStars has 16 drivers, all with their own unique special abilities, vehicles, and distinct looks. The Destruction AllStars special vehicles can be a blast to drive around in, and the abilities associated with them add an extra layer of strategy to the game, as players have to determine the most opportune time to activate them. None of Destruction AllStars' playable characters are locked behind a paywall, so players can choose whoever appeals to them the most.
Some may wonder why a vehicular combat game has put so much effort into its characters, and the reason is due to Destruction AllStars' gimmick of letting players control their drivers outside of their cars. While outside of the cars, players can complete minor platforming challenges to collect gems and can also try to take over enemy players' vehicles. Running around the arena on foot can be good for some laughs, but it doesn't beat the fun that comes from destroying enemy cars with a character's special vehicle.
The Destruction AllStars characters are fun to play as, but players are unlikely to get attached to them in the way they may in similar games. Destruction AllStars doesn't really have lore for players to dive into, and so the characters' personalities fail to shine in any meaningful capacity. The result is a bunch of cool-looking playable characters with no fleshed-out personalities to help them stand out or leave any kind of lasting impression.
Destruction AllStars could have used its Challenge Series missions to expand on the characters, but from what we played, they merely showcase shallow character interactions through some admittedly gorgeous cut-scenes. The Challenge Series themselves are single-player missions that task players with completing unique objectives in exchange for cosmetic rewards, and while they are fairly repetitive, they sometimes have some interesting twists, like a mission that emulates Crazy Taxi, for example.
The Destruction AllStars Challenge Series represents one of the game's biggest missteps. Players have access to one Challenge Series for free, while they have to unlock the rest using microtransactions. The Challenge Series aren't all that compelling to begin with, but locking some of the game's only single-player content behind a paywall is a strange choice, especially when the rewards players unlock for completing them aren't worth it.
Destruction AllStars' microtransactions are primarily used to purchase the Challenge Series missions, but they can also be used to unlock some of the cosmetics. Hero shooter games like Overwatch make it a point to provide players with distinct skins that completely change the look of the heroes, which makes them much more interesting and fun to unlock. Destruction AllStars' skins are more like palette swaps, and so it's hard to imagine any players being tempted to purchase the microtransactions or dedicate themselves to completing the Challenge Series events.
Destruction AllStars has some skins that are purchased with the in-game currency as well, which players earn by leveling up. But with the Destruction AllStars cosmetics being so lackluster, leveling doesn't feel rewarding. And so Destruction AllStars' progression won't keep players engaged with the game. After players have had their fill of the available game modes, there's no reason to continue playing except to unlock the Destruction AllStars' platinum trophy.
Out of the gate, Destruction AllStars is shallow and struggles to give players a compelling reason to stick with it for the long-term. But like other live service games, it's possible that Destruction AllStars will improve as the developers address fan feedback and add more meaningful content to the game. The foundation is there for Destruction AllStars to eventually be great, with reliable performance, beautiful graphics, and fun core gameplay, but there's a long way to go if it ever wants to reach that point.
Destruction AllStars is out now, exclusively for PlayStation 5.