Destroy All Humans 2 – Reprobed [PlayStation 5] | REVIEW

Whilst I’d love to see a new release in the series, re-visiting the old Destroy All Humans titles in a re-made form has certainly been scratching the ‘destructive alien sandbox’ itch. Following on from the re-release of the original game in 2020, THQ Nordic are back again with Destroy All Humans 2 – Reprobed, giving gamers the chance to re-visit Crypto’s second adventure with some modern bells and whistles included for good measure.

Much like the previous game, it’s a fun experience that’s sure to please both series veterans and newcomers. However, it also has some of the same flaws that the previous game had, with a few technical hiccups and some repetitive mission design sometimes holding the gameplay back.

Check out some screenshots down below:

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Following on from the first game, the world now finds itself in the 1960s and Crypto is the President of the United States of America. Well… in a disguised form that is, with just about everyone oblivious to the fact that an alien invader is ruling the country. Unfortunately, the KGB DO know, so they decide to try and take him out. This leads to a destructive war between Crypto and the KBG that sees him trotting the globe, blowing up some buildings, and, of course, destroying some humans.

It’s a quirky and fun tale that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and whilst some of the writing can feel a little out of touch in 2022, it’s never too cringey that it’s hard to play through. I’ve always been a big fan of Crypto as a character so it’s good to see he’s just as ruthlessly lovable in Destroy All Humans 2 – Reprobed.

When it comes to the gameplay, Destroy All Humans 2 – Reprobed will be familiar to those who played the original game. This doesn’t try to shake up the formula too much, with players once again exploring an open environment, all whilst using all sorts of insane weaponry and bizarre alien powers to complete objectives. There are multiple missions to complete that bring with them additional optional objectives, whilst you’ll also come across collectibles when scavenging across the world.

Oh, and you can jump in your spaceship to cause spectacular destruction too, which is always a big plus in my eyes.

“Those who were keen on some of the original weapons won’t be disappointed, with favourites such as the Disintegrator Ray and the Anal Probe making a very welcome return. I mean, come on, you can’t be an alien WITHOUT an Anal Probe, right?”

Fortunately, Destroy All Humans 2 – Reprobed does introduce some fresh elements to ensure the gameplay never feels too samey for returning players. For one, there are a larger range of environments to cause chaos across this time around, with levels based around fictional recreations of San Francisco, London, and Tokyo, just to name a few. There are five environments in total and each offer something completely different from both a visual and gameplay perspective, so players certainly won’t tire of their surroundings by the time they reach the end of the game.

There are some new weapons to destroy some humas with too, including the Dislocator that launches disks at foes that blast them all over the place, the Burrow Beast that summons an alien worm from underground to attack enemies, or the Meteor Strike which… well… the clue is in the name. Those who were keen on some of the original weapons won’t be disappointed, with favourites such as the Disintegrator Ray and the Anal Probe making a very welcome return. I mean, come on, you can’t be an alien WITHOUT an Anal Probe, right?

Whilst it’s fun to use your new weapons and Crypto’s classic abilities such as Body Snatching or Psychokinesis, the game does run out of ideas when it comes to mission design. You’ll find yourself doing a lot of the same objectives over and over again (typically consisting of causing mayhem and killing enemies), with not much on offer to fully differentiate some missions. Additional optional objectives do spice things up a bit, but don’t stop the mission design from feeling a bit samey the more you play. Add to that some cumbersome controls when flying your spaceship and it’ll become clear that Destroy All Humans 2 – Reprobed does have some missteps that will remind you that the game originally came out back in 2006.

Check out some screenshots down below:

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Despite this, I still had plenty of fun playing. The silly and destructive antics of the general gameplay remain satisfying throughout, whilst the insane weaponry and powers ensure every showdown with foes can have unpredictable turns. Don’t get me wrong, it keeps things simple, but in doing so ensures players will have a lot of fun. And believe me, there’s plenty of satisfaction to be had when levelling buildings or blowing humans to smithereens.

It is worth noting that I suffered a few technical issues when playing though, not only with some physics and graphical glitches but also with a few crashes too. In fairness, there’s nothing really game-breaking and it only crashed to the home screen twice, but the smaller issues added up enough for it to feel like the game could’ve done with a bit more fixing just to iron bugs out. But hey, that’s what patches are for, and I can’t imagine it’ll take the team at Black Forest Games too long to fix some of these minor issues.

Developer: Black Forest Games
Publisher: THQ Nordic
Platform(s): PlayStation 5 (Reviewed), Xbox Series X|S, PC
Website: https://destroyallhumans2.thqnordic.com/