Review: Destroy All Humans! 2 - Reprobed | Close Encounters of the 2000s Kind

THQ Nordic is on a proper walk down the memory lane as far as the gaming classics from late '90s and all of 2000s go and the best part is they've stayed true to the spirit of those video games, resulting in countless happy gamer faces all over the world.

Unlike the Saints Row reboot, which proved to be an exception to the rule, Destroy All Humans! 2 - Reprobed is a beautiful celebration of a video game series that kicked off almost two decades ago.

Granted, DAH!2 had the advantage of being a remake and not completely new game but just like Rockstar showcased with the GTA Trilogy, these can go downhill quickly so this wasn't a guaranteed success for THQ. That said, since it faithfully recreated the original sequel, this game is bound to be well-received by the fans.

The story of your friendly neighbourhood body snatcher

Black Forest Games did their best to remain true to the original game and from what I could experience thus far - they really did. Just like the opening image suggests, Destroy All Humans! 2 experience is largely the same, with minimal corrections.

Thankfully, this is true in the storytelling part as well, as Reprobed retains the unapologetically 2000s feeling by satirising all aspects of modern society instead of just piling up on a single target.

As such, the story remains as it was 16 years ago, with pretty much everyone being voiced by their original actors. The devs used archive footage and they merely remastered it, instead of trying to reinvent the well-known and beloved characters.

DAH!2 - Reprobed is still the satiric over-the-top story that we played all those years back and the devs didn't pull any punches. Such an approach further improves the feeling of revisiting a part of the history and imprints the sensations into the player as if they happened yesterday, not just under two decades ago.

Additionally, one might find it odd that there are no cryptocurrency jokes or references in a game that has a protagonist named Crypto but keep in mind that most voice-acting work was pulled from the archives and no new lines were recorded with him.

Graphics - Crypto never looked better

One of the best things that can happen when you want to enjoy a video game from the past is when it is just the way you remember it. Unfortunately, this is usually not the case because we tend to remember games looking better than they did.

In this scenario, making the game look the way you remember it is easily the best feat a studio can accomplish. With Reprobed, the devs hit the nail on the head as the game was properly brought up for the modern technology, with an art style that is timeless and will likely be great for decades down the road.

One complaint that original fans might have is the different design of some characters who had an appearance change instead of just getting higher quality models. The characters still blend into the tone of the game very well and their new appearance doesn't take away from the experience so I wouldn't call it a negative but experiencing a video game is subjective after all and I'm certain there will be a player or two who will find themselves disgruntled.

THQ Nordic

Freak, for example, looks much different than he did before

Gameplay - Slightly changed, still true to the original

Much like the graphics, gameplay remains the same for the most part. A few set pieces were moved around and others were changed but the alterations are subtle enough not to disturb the faithfulness of the recreation.

For example, the Dislocator weapon works differently but the behaviour is still on-brand. In the original, the weapon would allow you to lift people or objects and decide when to throw them on the ground but in Reprobed, it throws them all over the place, resulting in hilarious physics-based mayhem. On the other hand, Crypto can telekinetically throw things around so you don't actually lose that gameplay aspect either.

The new dislocator is much more powerful than the one in the original game, which is a welcome change for the weapon that was barely used. Fully upgrading also leads to some wonderful destruction you wouldn't have access to otherwise.

Speaking of upgrades, this was changed a bit as well. Furon cells that were scattered all over the world are now awarded based on your mission performance. Therefore, completing optional objectives will make sure you get all the Furontech you need instead of having to waddle all over the place in hopes of running into a glowy green object.

Instead of hunting for tiny objects of focus, the open world part of the game introduces side quests and other activities instead. Ironically, this action comedy game without ambition to be groundbreaking made an open world that feels livelier than most of the new games that actually attempt it these days.

Unfortunately, some stretches of the game can sometimes be a drag and this negative is most pronounced in the flying saucer. Having to move objects one too many times rubbed me wrong but the gameplay mechanics of the vessel were actually improved, compared to the original.

Conclusion

Black Forest Games set out to modernise the experience of playing Destroy All Humans! 2 while remaining true to the original and they have absolutely succeeded in that goal.

Having dumb fun was never more exhilarating than seeing Crypto bounce KGB agents around or sounding like himself while snatching the body of a "hippie chick". 

DAH! 2 - Reprobed is undoubtedly a game worth revisiting for the old-time fans while the new players still have a lot to enjoy, as long as they are fine with social commentary from two decades back instead of the contemporary one.