Destruction AllStars

Destruction AllStars is a futuristic car game, which resembles the classic Destruction Derby as well as newer games such as Rocket League or OnRush. The player takes on the role of a participant of extreme sports competitions, in which instead of racing with other drivers you fight with them in arenas and aim to destroy the vehicles they drive. Game was developed by Lucid Games, a studio with such titles as Switchblade and Geometry Wars 3 in its portfolio.

Game mechanics

In Destruction AllStars we take on the role of one of sixteen stars of a brutal motor sport. The available characters differ not only in appearance, but also in skills and unique vehicles. The game also offers the possibility to modify the appearance of the heroes thanks to cosmetic items, which can be obtained as rewards or bought with special credits.

We always start the action in Destruction AllStars moving on our own, but we can do much more by driving one of the dozens of available vehicles. We can choose between standard machines, which appear in the arena, and the option to summon a special vehicle for a given hero. Machines differ in performance, maneuverability and durability. In the moment of destroying the driven car we can die or survive and set off to find another vehicle. There is also an option to jump to another car and throw the driver out of it in order to get behind the wheel yourself - it's based on a simple mini-game.

Fights take place on large arenas, where we regularly clash with our rivals and try to complete objectives set by the match - these may include collecting points or finding objects. Special abilities activated by characters and their vehicles can have a significant influence on the course of a match. By activating a unique ability we can e.g. dazzle enemies, set other vehicles on fire, ram enemy machines with greater force or launch powerful area attacks. The key to success is to activate abilities at the most appropriate moments in the game.

Multiplayer

In Destruction AllStars we can play solo or with up to 15 other players (matchmaking by default). Among the single player modes is primarily a story campaign/career. Each chapter of the campaign focuses on one selected hero and requires completing challenges with different objectives. Single player also allows you to practice controlling the available characters and join battles with bots on three difficulty levels.

Matches in Destruction AllStars are divided into four main categories. In Chaos mode, we fight for points, which are awarded primarily for destroying other vehicles and eliminating other players. In Zone mode, the winner is the last player alive in the arena, which slowly collapses over the match. Team Shrotnado mode involves collecting sprockets and delivering them to the tornado for the team to score points. In Team Harvest mode, you also collect sprockets, though these are used to take and maintain control of banks in the arena.

Technical aspects

Destruction AllStars features eye-catching 3D graphics thanks to the processing power of the PlayStation 5. The game also takes advantage of a number of the console's distinctive features, such as the DualSense pad's haptic functions (including triggers that work with noticeable resistance) and Tempest 3D Audio.