Destroy All Humans! 2 - Reprobed is a game that isn’t afraid to be itself. I can’t think of any other game (other than its predecessor, that is) that opens with a warning to players that its content “may be shocking to the modern human brain”, and honestly? It probably warrants that message.
In case you were unfamiliar, the plot follows the exploits of Cryptosporidium, AKA Crypto, a Furon alien invader with a contempt for humans and a lot of attitude. The game takes place in the 1960s, and sees Crypto seek revenge on the KGB for destroying his mothership. It soon becomes apparent, however, that greater forces are at play, and he must team up with the defected KGB agent, Natalya, to complete his mission.
Take a look at the gameplay trailer for Destroy All Humans! 2 - Reprobed right here.
The story takes place over a multitude of missions, set in five different locations. From the United States’ groovy Bay City, to Albion (AKA ‘Not London’), and the Tokyo-inspired Takoshima, you can explore all the nooks and crannies of these areas as you please, either between or during missions. They’re also home to a number of different collectibles, for anyone dedicated enough to sniff out, but other than these, there’s not really a great incentive to explore much - I didn’t encounter any interactive elements to mess around with (other than some gongs in Takoshima), so they mostly serve more as backdrops for the real action.
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Onto the main stuff then, and the missions are pretty great. Each one has a number of main objectives, as well as bonus side objectives - completing these will reward you with more materials to upgrade Crypto’s weapons and abilities. And, as far as premises go, the missions are nice and varied - from escorting characters to safety (and destroying everything in your path) to eviscerating government buildings, there’s plenty of stuff to do across the 12-hour campaign.
It’s worth noting though that what we have here is a very faithful remake: if you’ve played the original game you’ve already seen it all, aside from a few minor changes like the ability to change the exterior of your saucer. But the story, voice acting, and dialogue remains totally the same, which, as existing fans of the series will know, means that it’s full of witty dialogue, off-the-cuff remarks, and a fair amount of slightly questionable jokes, which will probably land a lot better with some people than they will others - hence that warning at the start of the game. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think most players would be outright offended by the dialogue; but in my opinion, Crypto’s attempts to flirt with Natalya are, for the most part, cringey at best, and begin to wear thin fast. Certain lines warrant an eye-roll, others are so forced that they feel slightly uncomfortable.
Reprobed certainly gives the 2006 title a lovely fresh coat of paint, though - much like 2020’s remake of the first game in the series, the visuals here are worlds apart (excuse the pun) from the original Xbox and PS2 release. I mean, sure, they’re not on the same level as the likes of Horizon Forbidden West or The Last of Us Part I, but this is a cartoon-style alien adventure we’re talking about. The different locations are particularly pleasing to look at, and the various eccentric characters are bursting with personality thanks to their updated models.
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Generally speaking, the gameplay is good fun too - Crypto has a huge arsenal of weapons to unlock, from the basic Zap-O-Matic, which, you guessed it, electrocutes foes, to the deadly Disintegrator Ray, which burns enemies to a crisp, and even the Meteor Strike, which does exactly what it says on the tin. Oh, and the Anal Probe, because of course that exists. Regardless of your weapon of choice - which you can switch between with ease - mowing down your opponents (and innocent bystanders) is incredibly satisfying.
The reason I say “generally speaking” though comes down to one unfortunate, big issue. Or rather, many issues. Something which really lets Destroy All Humans! 2 - Reprobed down is the amount of bugs and glitches plaguing both its visuals and gameplay. In Bay City, cars have a habit of sinking down into the road, while others continue to drive over them. Meanwhile, in the final location (which I’m avoiding naming for the sake of spoilers), I noticed trucks rising into the air and then crashing back down again, in a perpetual loop. I also experienced a crash around two hours into the game (although this only happened once), as well as two separate instances where I had to quit and restart due to being softlocked from progressing through a mission - once, because the command to land the saucer and continue with the game just wasn’t working, and another because the door of a building I had to enter had re-locked itself after I died, with no way to unlock it again. Serves me right for getting too cocky with the amount of enemies I was trying to take on at once, I guess.
This isn’t to mention other, less severe, but still annoying issues, such as cameras not always being focused on characters’ faces during cutscenes (a number of them had me staring at Natalya’s torso while she spoke, and another later in the game was just zoomed in on Crypto’s forehead), and a bizarre static-like visual disturbance present across the screen during some of the missions in Takoshima. Oh, and the constant pop-in plaguing the backgrounds of cutscenes - it seemed that almost every time the camera switched to another character talking, the floor around them would have to load in again.
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The frequency of issues occurring was just too regular to brush off and ignore - especially since some of these directly interfered with the gameplay. I constantly felt as though I was waiting for the next problem to occur - random things glitched out so often that, sometimes, I was left questioning whether some of the more clunky gameplay elements were actually working as intended. Hopefully, the devs will be able to iron out these problems before long, but at the time of writing these bugs are still present in the game, and are too invasive to the overall experience to dismiss.
All in all, Destroy All Humans! 2 - Reprobed is sure to be a nostalgic blast from the past for any fans of the original game and series, although given its buggy state, it might be worth waiting to see if a patch can add some much-needed fixes before you dive in - it’s not currently the love letter it aims to be.
Pros: A colourful cast of characters, improved visuals, fun weapons to blast enemies
Cons: So many bugs, a questionable (and cringey) sense of humour
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For fans of: Destroy All Humans! (obviously), SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom, launching meteors at buildings
6/10: Good
Destroy All Humans! 2 - Reprobed releases on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 (version tested) on August 30th. Code for review was supplied by the publisher. Find a complete guide to GAMINGbible's review scores here.
Featured Image Credit: THQ NordicTopics: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, PC