Destruction AllStars - PS5 exclusive multiplayer review

Destruction AllStars - PS5 exclusive multiplayer review

After an unfortunate surprise postponement, which postponed the debut of AllStars Destruction since the launch of PlayStation 5, the work of Lucid games performed a powerful swerve, throwing himself headlong into the catalog of PlayStation Plus. All subscribers to the service Sony can currently redeem the exclusivity PS5 at no additional cost. Thanks to this maneuver, the title can obviously reach a large number of additional gamers, who would not have launched the idea of ​​buying the product at full price considering its genre of reference, but who in this way can easily enter the opera arenas. without problems.



The software house Lucid Games, after having accumulated experience on various racing games, including important projects such as Need for Speed Payback, has this time decided to experience a far but near world, which combines classic racing games with the spirit of MOBA, or more generally gods multiplayer online. We have already talked about this modern formula in our preview, analyzing the trailers and the details proposed before the debut. However, we finally managed to get our hands on the game, finding out if this was successful keep faith with the premises and to surprise us with his whimsical style and lots of crackling background ideas.

Destruction AllStars - PS5 exclusive multiplayer review

Junk and neon in the Destruction AllStars arenas

The impact with Destruction AllStars is less soft than we would have imagined for a title of this type. A production like this sparkles the idea of sporadic game, with gameplay that generally points to easy to learn, hard to master, thus leaving room for novices and veterans in the same arenas. The new Lucid Games title, however, is deeper than you might imagine, which becomes a point in favor after a few games, but can leave you a little confused at the beginning. Luckily, a well thought-out tutorial comes to the player's rescue, illustrating all the mechanics without going into too much detail of each, and thus providing a general framework for jumping into risk-conscious arenas.



And here is that by choosing one of the four present modes - all quite varied, even if not particularly exciting as regards the number of them -, you can finally fight with other players in the vehicles. It takes little to realize that the vehicles are the real protagonists of Destruction AllStars, despite the presence of a total of 16 characters. The actions that can be carried out outside the cars are less effective than the trailers suggest, and are mainly summarized in different ways to jump back into the saddle, continuing to run in bloody arenas that do not leave a moment of respite.

While not perfect for the long haul, as it is particularly striking for only a limited number of departures, the pace of this racing game is really tight and manages to entertain anyone who wants to immerse themselves in particularly bloody battles. Through a simple and intuitive driving system, which can however be explored as it should be, it is possible to whiz around the arena to damage the other players - whether or not they are aboard a vehicle - dodging them in the meantime. four-wheeled balls that come from every corner, and the attempts of those left on foot to appropriate or blow up the vehicle of the other players. Each of the modes allows you to try your hand at different challenges, which vary from remaining the last survivors to team fights, where it is necessary to collect some objects or score more points than the enemies.


Destruction AllStars - PS5 exclusive multiplayer review

Battlefields to be enriched

Although a fair amount of variety is offered by the present modalities, the same does not happen for the situations inside the arena. After all, the gameplay remains almost identical, and therefore you feel the lack of inventiveness in this regard, although it is obviously not excluded that the development team may add further innovations in the future to enrich the experience. Currently, however, the game doesn't seem to offer much room for any lasting post-launch support, given that this type of gameplay obviously imposes several limitations in the experience, and it is not possible to particularly range from the basic formula. This does not mean that there is some unexpressed potential, and that this formula can be improved and refined, especially if we consider that the game will be offered exclusively at full price starting in March.


The 16 characters present are all well characterized and with somewhat pleasant backgrounds - as well as with unique abilities sometimes slightly unbalanced - and their vehicles are essential in choosing the Star that you want to impersonate in the game. There aren't many arenas, and even if they are well made, they all look a bit alike, a detail that obviously gets less during the hectic games of the game. To complete the multiplayer mode are also added the offline challenges and the presence of hundreds of aesthetic collectibles, which make the personalization of the profile and virtual avatars truly amazing.

The challenges are multiplayer trials that rotate at a fixed rate, and almost all must be purchased separately with real currency. These allow you to unlock unique collectibles, obviously not necessary to play in multiplayer. Each of the runners features dozens of potential customizations, from gestures to clothing, while also thinking about improving their avatar to stand out from the crowd when reaching the top spot. Each account level provides a total of 1000 game coins, which can then be used to buy - almost - all the aforementioned cosmetics, while some are also blocked by the need to use real currency.


No handbrake 

Destruction AllStars presents a truly striking style, partly embracing the theme of Cyberpunk, however, reviewing it in many details. The neon-filled arenas and extravagant-looking protagonists entice you to press play again after every match, and they are certainly a very successful side of the experience. The fantastic design of the vehicles is highlighted by the arenas in which you are racing, with a necessary and surprising fluidity. The fact that the game is a PS5 exclusive is probably a "necessary evil" as playing for less than 60 FPS it would significantly reduce the quality of the experience. Fortunately, the said number of frames is granite in each of the situations tested, we didn't get to notice a single drop in FPS.


The controls are on their part rather intuitive and let you play without creating impediments whatsoever. The flagship of Destruction AllStars then lies in the audio, properly enhanced by the Tempest Engine of the new Sony platform, and from DualSense feature beautifully implemented. From hitting other vehicles to drifting, every single action unleashes the device's haptic feedback, as you go through a magnificent struggle to keep track of the triggers that paw to kick your fingers off as you accelerate. The controller itself makes arenas even more fun, and each of its functions is among other things specially customizable according to the player's preferences in the menu.

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