Built from the ground up and lovingly preserving everything fans loved about the original, THQ Nordic’s remake of Destroy All Humans! was nothing short of a delightful throwback to the sixth generation of consoles’ propensity for silly games meant to do nothing else but make players smile. Following the success of the first remake, it would only make sense for Black Forest Games to bring Destroy All Humans! 2 to modern audiences, it being the more robust sequel featuring even wackier scenarios, more locations, and a whole host of new ways to terrorize humanity in cartoonish fashion.
Throughout a brief gameplay demo in two early levels, Destroy All Humans 2! Reprobed demonstrates that it's already shaping up to be another excellent remaster of the cult classic game while staying true to everything fans love about the original. Much like the original sequel to Destroy All Humans!, Black Forest Games' second offering adds more weapons, expands the scope of the series, is as juvenile as ever, and might be another can't-miss entry for fans of the original.
In classic Destroy All Humans! fashion, the story hits the ground running with vulgar satire and crude jokes that never stop poking fun at the absurdities of 20th Century America. The first level in this gameplay demo took place in a fictionalized version of San Francisco during the late 1960s, complete with cult leaders and a not-so-healthy dose of questionable psychedelic substances. Crypto is back to wreak havoc on the citizens of Earth, this time with a new calling as the Furon that will continue the prosperity of his alien race. Accompanying Crypto is a cast of ludicrous characters, goofy in nature and cartoon-like in villainy, who all make Crypto’s wanton destruction of Earth feel almost warranted.
Interesting storylines and nuanced characters have never been the focus of Destroy All Humans!, and that may be one of the series' greatest strengths in a time when thought-provoking games inundate player libraries. It can be a refreshing change of pace. Destroy All Humans! 2 is unabashedly direct in its message to the player. The story is only a vehicle to put Crypto in absurd predicaments, and the rest is all about how the player can cause its sandbox environments to descend into bedlam. Routine fourth wall breaks and increasingly nonsensical scenarios, such as chasing down a villainous hippie known as Coyote Bongwater, only serve to place Crypto in the best possible position to pop human brains out of heads and cause general chaos with little remorse.
And chaos is indeed at the forefront of this Destroy All Humans! 2 demo, featuring a handful of sci-fi guns from the treasure trove of retro-futuristic new weapons in the sequel to ensure those bothersome KGB agents stay down. In the first hour of the game alone, Crypto does everything from zapping waves of KGB agents to a crisp to inciting “Free Love” parties on the Golden Gate Bridge before destroying the entirety of Alcatraz Island from the seat of a UFO. Meanwhile, in the 60s-era representation of London, Crypto shoots both mutants and MI6 agents alike with the help of a very low-brow, probe-based weapon that truly emphasizes the foul-mouthed humor that permeates all corners of the game.
Destroy All Humans! 2 routinely demonstrates that it's all about letting players do whatever they want and have a cathartic good time in its chaotic playgrounds. That said, this is still a sixth-generation game at its core and appears to preserve the blemishes of the era. Issues like awkward camera placement in cramped indoor environments and mechanically simple boss fights still find their way into the remake of this decade-plus-old game.
Notably, Destroy All Humans! 2 is skipping last-generation consoles, and this brief preview did manage to showcase why its jump to next-gen hardware is warranted. Lighting techniques displayed throughout Bay City and Albion are more sophisticated, featuring striking bounce lighting across surfaces and rich volumetric fog that fills landscapes during night scenes.
This preview demo also gave a taste of the newly revamped destruction physics, which looked impressive, as Crypto became a one-alien wrecking crew throughout Bay City and Albion, basking in the glory of particle physics. Almost every building in the game is fully destructible, leaving each level a cityscape of ash and dust at its conclusion. It feels like Destroy All Humans! 2 Reprobed is fully realizing the sense of scale and destruction that the original games lacked due to hardware limitations which is a terrific step in the right direction for what remakes should set out to accomplish in this day and age.
Where Destroy All Humans! 2 struggles the most is at the technical level. Multiple issues, including jarring pop-in, NPCs spawning and despawning at random intervals, oddly mixed audio levels, and characters facing the wrong way during cutscenes, were present throughout the demo. Additionally, instances of frame stutters and hitching detracted from an overall solid first impression of the game. However, this preview build does not represent the final product, and Black Forest Games should be able to alleviate these issues before the game’s full release in August.
Destroy All Humans! 2: Reprobed is right around the corner and feels like another wonderful throwback to a bygone era of games. Its satire is thick, its characters are ridiculous, and the game looks better than ever. While still feeling a little dated in its gameplay and mechanics, nothing appears to be stopping Destroy All Humans! 2: Reprobed from reigniting the great memories of engaging in some good, not-so-clean fun.
Destroy All Humans! 2: Reprobed launches August 30 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
