Destroy All Humans!
The cult-classic returns! Terrorize the people of 1950s Earth in the role of the evil alien Crypto-137. Harvest DNA and bring down the US government in the remake of the legendary alien invasion action adventure. Annihilate puny humans using an assortment of alien weaponry and psychic abilities. Reduce their cities to rubble with your flying Saucer! One giant step on mankind! Experience the evil side of a 50s alien invasion story (Re)Discover why this game is considered one of the funniest ever created Faithfully rebuilt from scratch in new galactic glory Enjoy Crypto's unique weaponry like the Anal Probe Gun Pose as pathetic humans to infiltrate their fragile democracy Use psychokinesis to send enemies flying or bombard them with random objects Freely traverse explorable cities from 50s America using your jetpack Obliterate humanity's primitive architecture with your flying saucer Includes the restored, much-rumored, never before seen: Lost Mission of Area 42!
Steam User 59
Best remake of all time
Steam User 46
I cannot add anything more than all the other comments have added.
This is a wacky/silly shooter game from the 200X's. The dialogue is funny at times, plot is contrived, and the game play is serviceable. I rarely grew bored while playing this game outside of challenges which are *mostly* fun not counting random difficulty spikes. The remake aspect is mostly visual and judging by the bonus concept art you unlock you can tell this wasn't a shameless cash grab but a genuine attempt to recreate the original's glory.
I was able to get 100% achievements and collect everything in the game besides probes and while I enjoyed my time I most likely will not play it again for at least another few years.
The sad truth of the matter is that in terms of game-play the game is a product of its time, being outclassed by most games that have been released this last half decade. This game is fun but not worth the $30 unless you played the original and only experience joy through the sweet hit of nostalgia it can bring. Get it on sale for 66% off if you want a time-killer that is fun if not a bit forgettable.
Steam User 54
Always blame the communists
Steam User 33
The Title Says It All
SUMMARY
While I admit that I was reluctant to purchase Destroy All Humans because on the surface level it seemed as though it was just a remake which was rushed out of production for people to run and buy, however I was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable this game is. Sure the stage challenges may get repetitive and some of the gameplay monotonous at times, but the story and the humor of the dialogue was enough to keep me pushing forward.
The setting is world domination of course, what else do aliens want? The further you go, the more abilities and power you unlock, plus you'll uncover a lot of artwork along the way. Pay attention to your surroundings and you may just find several little things that will give you a chuckle.
The gameplay is not all that difficult, it's easy enough for a child to play it without frustration, however if you are trying to get a perfect in every challenge, there are a few parts that can be daunting to most. It's fun to explore and switch from being in your ship to just roaming around reading the peoples minds or if you don't like what their thinking, you can simply extract their minds for a little extra DNA.
The thing that I thought was the funniest moment in the game is when I found out that you can make a cow dance. Don't finish the game without ever doing this, it was one of the funniest things I've seen in a while.
BREAKDOWN
CONTENT: 9/10
There's enough content to keep you busy. Between the challenges, the missions, and finding the drones, there's a lot to do. I'd had like to see some different challenges on each stage however, because they can get monotonous after a while. Switching this up to different tasks would have flowed a little better imo, but it still works.
ANIMATIONS: 10/10
The animations are good for this type of game. It is not a realistic setting, so don't expect realistic animations, but rather a cartoon like game. So that being said, the animations were right on part for the course.
GRAPHICS/ARTWORK/ILLUSTRATIONS: 10/10
Probably the best part of the game if I do say so myself. The artwork is amazing and the attention to detail didn't pass this team up. The Illustrations that you unlock along the way are unsurpassed. The graphics, for this type of game, are among the best in the industry. The team really knocked it out of the park with their artwork, good job!
GAMEPLAY: 9/10
Although the gameplay is very engaging, the downfall is in the repetitive tasks on each level. Although these are secondary objectives, you pretty much have to do them in order to unlock upgrades for your character (Crypto) and for your ship. It would have been nice to see a variation. Other than that, the gameplay was very fun, and very engaging. Some of the secondary objectives on the missions seemed a little difficult, but with work, you can get them done as well.
CONTROLS: 10/10
The controls are pretty straightforward. The only thing I had trouble with was getting ammunition for my ship. I'm sure this was explained on how to do and I could of just looked it up, but it was something that wasn't apparent on how to do by simply looking at the functions. It's not that big of a deal though, because in most cases I had plenty of ammo in the secondary weapons to use whenever I wanted, however more would have been nice. (how do you do that again?) It's not a flaw in the controls itself though, as they worked very well.
RELIABILITY: 9/10
The game ran flawlessly all up until the president was about to get out to do his speech after the escort. I'm not sure what happened, but the game crashed. it was the only crash I experienced throughout the game. So for this reason, 1 point is deducted from reliability.
USER INTERFACE: 8/10
After playing for a while, you start to build up your abilities and the icons at the bottom of the screen can get a little confusing. You'll get the hang of it, however with a little more thought into the UI, these functions would have been much more apparent and not a cause for confusion. Color coding each function a different color would have helped, or some other way to tell them apart.
MUSIC AND SOUNDS: 10/10
The music and sounds were pretty good, I can't complain. The voices were probably my favorite part of the sounds because you never knew what someone was going to say next. A good job was done all around on the music and sounds of the game.
ORIGINALITY/STORY: 10/10
Although this is a remake, it shouldn't be taken out of context of how original the story is. Of course there's the whole Aliens taking over the world for domination backdrop, but the story in and of itself was enough to keep me going and find out whats next. It was a very good single player campaign.
COMMUNITY VIBE: 10/10
The community seems to really like the game, regardless of any flaws that it may have and I think for good reason. I never did play the original so I can't relate to those who have played it, but this remake was very fun to play. How many games do you get to be an Alien taking over the United States of America? All in all, I can tell the community really enjoys Destroy All Humans, whether it be from nostalgia or because it's a great game to play.
TOTAL SCORE: 95/100
CONCLUSION
Destroy All Humans is a very fun game to play. The artwork, cut scenes, and gameplay all added up to a pleasant experience all around. Though there are some things that could of been better, the UI and some of the repeating challenges, it was not unbearable to look past them. The story was well worth it, and I think there's a hidden message behind it (you'll have to determine that for yourself though) but I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the game. The most enjoyable thing though, at least to me however, was the small bits of comical artwork and dialogue throughout the experience. If you have the chance, pick up this Game You Absolutely Must Have and partake in some alien world domination for yourself.
Thank you for your time, and if you want to check out some more Games You Absolutely Must Have, have a look at our Steam Curator group here:
Cheers :)
Steam User 27
I wish there was a Meh option besides thumbs up and thumbs down.
It's got pretty funny slapstick humor with it's 1950s setting and the period stereotypes. Gameplay wise, it's pretty much running a short missions that open themselves up to return to and try to finish a few challenges if you're a completionist. It got boring pretty quickly. I wanted to really like this game but it didn't do it for me.
I'm giving this a thumbs up because it's not a bad game. There are no bugs or anything game breaking. It just didn't do it for me. It might for you though....I recommend getting this on sale.
Steam User 19
I Do Not Come in Peace!
Destroy All Humans (2020) is a from-the-ground-up remake of the PS2-era cult classic of the same name. This is a relatively ‘safe’ remake, meaning the developers have changed as little as possible from the original, though cut content has been added where appropriate. While its age may show with its simplicity and certain design choices, this third-person alien chaos simulator still manages to be a ton of fun, helped by its light-hearted tone, a great variety of destructive tools, and its quality over quantity approach to content.
The Wicked Don’t Need To Rest
Breaking from the tradition of most save-the-world-type experiences we see today where you play as the saviour of Earth, Destroy All Humans places you in the shoes of Crypto-137, an alien seeking revenge on the inhabitants of Earth for capturing his brother. Think John Wick except the guy they just annoyed has zero sympathy for the entire race that wronged him. This simple goal gives your chaos a purpose, and even though this sounds like a setup for an alien invasion film you’ve seen before, it feels surprisingly unique as a video game since there are not too many linear experiences where you play as the undisputed bad guy.
The writing is surprisingly funny, portraying Crypto as a spiteful force to be reckoned with, and conversely presenting the humans as incredibly gullible creatures who believe communism is responsible for Crypto’s existence. Further context is delivered through a series of mostly enjoyable, short and sweet cutscenes that occur within and between some of the levels. However, the transitions to these certainly show this game’s age, as they sometimes occurred without warning after you’ve reached an objective, which I found to break the momentum of the experience, especially as the narrative mostly takes a backseat here.
Alien Carnage Simulator
Combat is split into two modes: on-foot playing as Crypto, and in the air flying a UFO. You’ll be on the ground most of the time, using Crypto’s array of weapons and telekinetic abilities to achieve the goal set out by the game’s title. You can chain shock multiple humans using a lightning gun, disintegrate them with a jacked-up ray gun, and fire incredibly volatile projectiles which can be thrown to create devastating explosions. Crypto can also throw any living organism and object in the environment, and both this and his weapons can be used almost simultaneously for maximum effect. There’s not much variety here, but what is on offer creates a very fun and gratifying power fantasy, helped by satisfying audio feedback from the weapons, and the hilarious reactions of your victims. Crypto can also move about by jetpacking, and can perform an endless skating manoeuvre which is equal parts a useful, fun, and unique method of traversing each environment. All of the above and your UFO can be upgraded by collecting currency from completing missions and killing humans by affecting them with an ability which primes their brains to be consumed.
UFO combat is similarly basic but still plenty of fun. You’ve got your standard destruction beam, a powerful sonic boom attack, and the ability to drop mini-nukes onto the world below. The enemies, combat vehicles, and surface-to-air missiles that stand in your way don’t pose much of a threat until later on, so it is pretty easy most of the time, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Not every game has to be super challenging to be fun, and Destroy All Humans smartly recognized that disrupting its power fantasy by weakening your destructive capabilities would have been a poor move.
The Earth Takeover Campaign
The campaign takes place across 23 missions which are launched from a mothership-themed menu. These are split between six open environments, all of which have a simple but distinct theme ranging from a farm to a classified alien research facility, and the objectives you have to complete are typically focused on a small part of one of these areas. After finishing your first mission in each zone, you are able to freely roam that world to complete some exclusive activities, or simply destroy as much of the area as you’d like to. There’s good variety here; you’re not just causing carnage throughout all of them, as you’ll sometimes be required to kidnap a target stealthily or infiltrate a guarded facility to gain some important information for Crypto’s quest.
You’ll make use of the ‘holobob’ ability in a few of these assignments; this allows you to take on the appearance of any human on the map and walk around without raising suspicion. Whilst this does slow the game down significantly, I liked the change of pace that these offered most of the time. However, tedium set in during a couple of missions where the holobob ability was required whilst following a slow-walking human, as these don’t give you much to do while waiting. I also found it a bit frustrating that completing an objective’s requirements would sometimes cause the mission to instantly end, even during the middle of chaotic battles for no good reason. This could have been fixed by asking you to exfiltrate the area by reaching your UFO, and the small size of the maps means this wouldn’t have become repetitive for me.
There are four types of hub-area activities, each focusing on a particular element of the game, and reward you with one to three stars based on your performance. Races require the fully upgraded SKATE ability and ask you to follow a probe to collect dropped resources from it as quickly as possible. Armageddon activities give you more opportunities to be rewarded for destroying the environment with your UFO. Both of these follow an identical format per hub-world, but remain consistently enjoyable as a result of their low quantity. Abduction activities require you to pick up a particular category of object and throw them into the tractor beam, ranging from humans to household objects, and Rampages ask you to kill lots of organisms as fast as possible, ranging from civilians to special agents, and even cows in one instance. These are all really simple, but absolutely feel worth checking out after you finish the campaign if you’re looking for more to do.
Completion and Performance
It took me around seven hours to complete the campaign, completing all of the bonus objectives per mission along the way, and an additional two hours to clear up the remaining achievements. There are a series of collectable probes hidden throughout each of the maps, but obtaining all of these is not required to collect the achievements, only rewarding a bit of upgrade currency and some concept art for seeking them out. This made completing the game incredibly pleasant, as there were no annoying or repetitive activities that stood in the way of completion, and so the 100% experience is highly recommended.
Performance-wise, the game ran at a buttery-smooth 60fps on high settings on my main machine (GTX 1660Ti, Ryzen 7 3700X, 16GB RAM). The ultra settings did not increase visual fidelity to the point where the performance decrease was justified for me.
Verdict
While I never played the original Destroy All Humans, I can easily see why it developed a cult-following as there are not too many mindless experiences that have quite the same setup as this game does. I’d highly recommend it if you’re looking for a straightforward third-person action experience that focuses on gameplay, and provides you with the freedom to endlessly level entire towns and their inhabitants without requiring much effort.
9/10
Click here to see what my review scores mean!
Follow Summit Reviews to see more high-quality reviews regularly!
Steam User 22
Maxed this on Xbox and there are a lot of welcomed changes but there are some unwelcomed ones too. First off, the insta-death from touching water from the original game has been addressed here, you now get a chance to get out of the water before you die, thank you! Secondly, I love the jetpack changes, it's more versatile which I love. The cut content from the very original because of the space problem back in the days of PS2 like the missing 'independence day' like death Ray from the underside of your UFO is welcomed and the missing mission that had to be cut too. Healing your saucer by using humans and vehicles for their health is a great idea they took from the OG Destroy all Humans 2 idea of 'transmogging' if I'm not mistaken. Now, to the unwelcomed things I didn't like starting with the style of the graphics. Although back in the day there were limitations on the graphics, they still tried their best to resemble realism with their towns, people and vehicles but with this remaster they've gone down a more silly and goofy look to match the story and goofy gameplay but I'm just not a fan of it. Some line's and conversations along with animations aren't quite in line with how they were presented in the original and it's a little off putting and weird. Moving back to the visuals, the blood from the cows has been removed and the brains from humans that you collect are now glowing with green radiation or something which I don't like as well as the DNA points you get being the same amount whether the humans are dead or alive when you remove the brain which in the original, the brain was worth more when the victim was alive and halved when they're dead. I'm also not a fan of the telekinesis, it was done a lot better back in the day and it was fun throwing people up in the air to watch them fall to their death and hear the bones crack. I might have missed some things or forgotten some things, good and bad but they're just a few. Anyway, I love the work THQ has done here and keeping the original voice lines front he original and used them here is an absolute brilliant move by them, thank you so much for that. I highly recommend this game if you played the old one and to new players, you'd probably fall in love with this version. A definite ne 8 out of 10 for me!