NOTE: It was recently confirmed that Destruction AllStars has been delayed, and will now launch in February 2021. It will also be free to all PlayStation Plus subscribers for the first two months after launch.
This feature was written prior to this announcement.
Car combat and arcade, action-oriented racers have become a rare breed, so any time new game in the genre looks good enough to catch your attention, it’s hard not to take notice. Lucid Games and Sony’s upcoming Destruction All-Stars might not be the biggest first party launch title for the PS5 this Holiday, what with the likes of Demon’s Souls and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales releasing right alongside it, but there’s no shortage of people who’re excited to see how it will turn out. So as we approach its imminent launch, in this feature, we’re going to go over some of the most crucial details you should know about Destruction AllStars.
COMBAT
Car combat is going to be the name of the game in Destruction AllStars. Each match will see heroes in unique cars taking each other down through rams and well-timed slams or the usage of weapons. Interestingly enough, the action will continue if your car gets destroyed or you find yourself without a vehicle, and you’ll find yourself on foot as you look for a new vehicle.
VEHICLES
So what exactly can we expect from the vehicles we’ll be driving in Destruction AllStars? Well, there’s nearly 30 unique vehicles in the game. As each match begins, several basic vehicles will be scattered throughout the map, though though it’s worth noting that each character in the roster will also have their own signature vehicle with special abilities.
HERO VEHICLES
Some of the examples Sony have revealed for the aforementioned signature hero vehicles give an interesting idea of what we can expect from them. For instance, The Undisputed (which belongs to the character Ultimo Barricado) can activate a large shield. Tw!nlkeR1ot’s vehicle, Mr. Sparkles, can enter Rampage mode, allowing you to hit harder with your attacks. Genesis’ Callisto can use boosters, which can not only help with speed, but allow you to slam enemies much harder. Then there’s Hana’s Sabre, which can slice opponents in half with a large blade.
ABILTIIES
It won’t just be the vehicles and their abilities that will turn the tide of battle in Destruction AllStars. As we’ve mentioned, characters seem to play just as much of a role in the game as their vehicles, and each character having their own movement options and unique abilities to help them behind the wheel, as well as when they’re on foot. Using character abilities and vehicle abilities in conjunction is likely going to be crucial to success in Destruction AllStars.
HERO ABILITIES
As with hero vehicles, details on some hero abilities have also been revealed. Ultimo Barricado, true to his name, can become invulnerable to all incoming enemy attacks. There’s Lupita, who can spew a trail of fire to deal damage to her foes. There’s Shyft, who can temporarily go invisible, and perhaps even leverage that to steal an enemy’s vehicle. Then there’s Boxtop, who can spawn a parcel that will not only provide your teammates with buffs, but also deal explosive damage to your enemies.
ROSTER
So, it’s become clearer that Destruction AllStars isn’t just a car combat game- it’s also throwing some rather interesting hero multiplayer elements in there, which could potentially make for a nice concoction. And how many of these characters exactly are there going to be in the game? At launch, Destruction AllStars will have a roster of 16 playable characters. Lucid Games and Sony have given an interesting taste of what they’re going to be like, but here’s hoping more details on them arrive soon.
“CINEMATIC RIVALRIES”
It seems like Destruction AllStars will be leaning heavily into its heroes, not only for gameplay purposes, but also for storytelling and cinematic purposes. Background and story details on these characters haven’t been revealed yet, but the developers have said that many characters will have “cinematic rivalries” that will explore the motivations of these AllStars.
ARENAS
We’ve spoken about the combat, we’ve spoken about the abilities, we’ve spoken about the characters- but just as important in a multiplayer game, if not more so, is the maps and how they’re designed. That is something the the developers of Destruction AllStars have specifically spoken about as well. Apparently, the game’s arenas have been designed with both, car combat and on-foot gameplay on mind. In an update about the game on the PlayStation blog, Lucid Games said the arenas have been “designed to harness mobility and destructive action.” Vehicles will have the freedom and room to speed around and cause mayhem, while on-foot characters can “seek temporary safety in suspended platforms above” and use their parkour skills to “jump, climb, grab and vault, they can collect items and lure opponents into hard hitting traps.”
MULTIPLAYER
Clearly, Destruction AllStars is going to be a multiplayer game first and foremost. Matches will be 16-play affairs, there will be quick play options, as well as limited-time special events. The game’s official webpage on the PlayStation site mentions Matchday games and Persistent Rivals, and while Lucid Games have yet to explicitly talk about those two things in details, we’re curious to see what they will offer. Rank-based matches will also earn you XP, which means there’s going to be a proper progression system as well.
SINGLE PLAYER
Though Destruction AllStars will put much of its focus on the multiplayer side of things, the game will have a single player offering for you to dive into as well, if you wish to. The single player campaign will see you completing through a series of over 50 events, playable as multiple heroes, and take you across five arenas.
DUALSENSE
Like most (if not all) games releasing for the PS5 this Holiday, Destruction AllStars – which, in fact, is one of few actual PS5 exclusives coming out in November – will be leveraging the DualSense’s unique features as well. Adaptive triggers and haptic feedback will both be used to give players more nuanced and varied feedback for different vehicles, the impcts you will feel during combat, the weapons you will use, and more.
OTHER ENHANCEMENTS
Other than the DualSense, there are two other leaps over current-gen hardware that the PS5 has been trumpeting loudly- its super-fast SSD and its 3D audio engine. Destruction AllStars, like pretty much every other Sony first party launch title, will use both these things to its advantage. 3D audio should be interesting when you’re in the midst of chaotic matches in arenas full of crowds, while the SSD promises to minimize the game’s loading times.
COSMETICS
Given Destruction AllStars’ multiplayer-driven and hero-driven nature, it isn’t surprising that the game will also allow you to mix things up with cosmetic options. As with a few other things, not too many details have been revealed about this thus far, but we can probably expect cosmetic options to be featured for characters as well as vehicles. Meanwhile, the game’s aforementioned webpage also mentions that you’ll be unlocking emotes, banners, new skins, and more while playing the single player campaign, so there’s that.
POST-LAUNCH
Destruction AllStars is a game that’s rife for post-launch support, and developers Lucid Games seem to have every intention of doing just that. It’s been promised that after launch, Destruction AllStars will continue to receive a stream of new modes, new features, and more. Post-launch roadmaps will be shared soon (and regularly after that, hopefully), and all of this DLC will be coming to the game for free.
PRICE
Sony have become one of several companies to adopt $70 as their new standard price for games, and Destruction AllStars will launch with that price as well. Something that Sony haven’t yet spoken much (or at all) about is monetization. With its cosmetic in-game options, there’s plenty of questions about how these will be unlocked, especially with all post-launch DLC being free, so here’s hoping those in-game monetization details come soon.