Demolition Inc HD

Genre: Arcade / Puzzle

Players: 1

.

Review:

Demolition Inc, originally released in 2011 on PC, ported to PlayStation 3 in 2013, and then released on Nintendo Switch a decade later in 2023, is a game that blends Arcade and Puzzle elements with players taking the role of an alien flying a UFO and dropping hazards onto the ground to create as much destruction as possible.

The premise holds a lot of potential, and right from the start you can absolutely get a feeling of sadistic glee as you set up accidents to cause cars to skid out of control and make skyscrapers topple. As you progress through the game, you gain access to an increasing number of delightful hazards to use, starting with oil slicks and sticky goo to cause cars to speed forward uncontrollably or lose control in a spin that sends them careening in a circle, but soon graduating to exploding cows, earthquakes, and even the ability to remote control cars to drive them into the path that leads to the most destruction.

At the same time, this game does require players to approach it as a puzzle too – how can you cause the most destruction in the least amount of time using the fewest number of abilities. This limitation challenges players to get creative and efficient in their use of these destructive capabilities, ensuring that players don’t just fall back on one or two abilities they like the most.

Unfortunately, it is also these Puzzle elements that lead to the most frustration here. Access to later levels is gated by gaining stars in earlier levels, requiring players to be fast and efficient, but if players aren’t sure the best way to do this, it could leave them stuck and unable to proceed. Even worse, constantly being tied to efficiency really stamps down on the great feeling of destructive chaos this game evokes, which puts a damper on its best qualities. I should note that the game does have a “Rampage Mode” where players can let loose in the game’s levels with fewer restrictions, but these levels only become accessible after beating the same levels in the campaign mode.

Then there’s the presentation, which really shows this game’s age. It doesn’t look *terrible*, and in some places the 3D visuals even have some nice details, but overall this game definitely doesn’t look as impressive as one would hope to find in a game that’s all about big explosions and environmental destruction. These visuals are backed by an odd rock soundtrack that I suppose emphasizes the alien’s blue collar construction worker role, but doesn’t seem to quite fit the game otherwise.

I absolutely adore parts of Demolition Inc, but I feel like this is a game that is constantly tripping over itself in its pursuit of fun. I think that with a good balance, this mix of Arcade and Puzzle elements could have been fantastic, but Demolition Inc never quite finds that balance. As a result, this is a game that surrounds moments of pure delight with moments of frustration and tedium. It’s not terrible, but it absolutely feels like it could have been so, so much better.

tl;dr – Demolition Inc blends Arcade and Puzzle elements, with players flying a UFO and dropping hazards to create as much destruction as possible. Unfortunately, the game’s rigid goals and focus on its more limited Puzzle elements really makes it hard to enjoy the delightful destruction that is this game’s best quality. This game still has some great chaotic fun, but it forces you to work to get to it.

Grade: C+

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