Concept Destruction Review

Concept Destruction is like an old school destruction derby title, developed by Thinice Games and published by the ever famous for easy cheevo games Ratalaika Games, and it feels like they are trying to bring a different feel to the genre. We haven’t really had any good destruction derby games this generation, so I was very keen to see how this one fairs.

The aim of the game is to drive these miniature cars made of cardboard into each other and be the last man standing. You have 8 different arenas to choose from, but you only get a couple at the beginning, with more unlocked as you play through championship mode. The arena is on a table also built out of cardboard, with things like cardboard cut out trees, pencils, and rubbers as decoration. It’s set up well and not over the top.

In Championship you will go through each arena in an all against all destruction match. You have to score points by taking out other racers, but you also must be either the last man standing or be alive when the time runs out. The main aim is to keep smashing up the cardboard cars until they can’t move, by either targeting the wheels or the battery in the front of the car.

If you don’t move or hit another car, after a certain length of time it will disqualify you, so you always have to get stuck in. I found this to be annoying, as there are genuinely situations when you find yourself having not hit someone in a while – for instance, you’re down to the last two and can’t find the other car so it gives you a 10 second count down to hit someone and if you don’t, you have to start the match all over again. I feel like this rule shouldn’t be applied as it should be a tactic if you want to avoid people or struggling to find someone to hit.

If your car gets smashed up enough you will definitely notice a difference in handling. Trying to drive around fast to get away from someone when you only have 3 wheels is tough, but fun. The cars do crumble as they have no weight and bits fly off with sometimes with the smallest of touches, but what do you expect, they are made out of cardboard!

You can unlock more cars as you progress through the game which all have different stats, from speed to handling and weight. These different combinations give you a variety of drives. It’s a shame there aren’t more colour options as you really only have 2 different colours per car (the third being just plain cardboard colour).

In this mode, it seems the AI will do most of the work for you with other cars knocking themselves out, however, as long as you’re the last man standing you will be top of the leader board regardless of how many points you score. If you get destroyed it ends the game and you have to do the same level again. I would have preferred if it calculated a winner based on who was left or let the AI play the remainder of the match out so other AIs get points. Because that’s not the case, it is far too easy to win the championship as you’re always the last man standing or scoring high points.

Another frustrating thing about the gameplay is at times the damage can be very inconsistent. You never know if a big hit will completely destroy a car or barely dent it. It’s the same for when someone hits you, with your car sometimes flying and rolling over and sometimes not moving at all.

Apart from the Championship mode, There are other modes available which predominantly take the form of single ‘all-against-all’ events”. One mode that offers something different is Survival, where everyone is trying to take you out and they wont stop until you’re destroyed. It’s all about your how long can you survive for.

Another mode worth a mention is Tourism, a very casual mode where you are invincible and cars just drive around the track and don’t smash into each other. Perhaps a way to get the know the levels or make some of the level based achievements easier to obtain? These achievements require you to do certain things like drive through goal posts or leave the arena, which may take slightly longer to do in Championship mode. For the achievement hunters out there, I can say you can get the full 1000g very easily in about an hour or two.

There is also local 2 player split-screen mode and a quick tutorial mode called School, which is an added bonus. It’s a shame there is no online play though. I feel they’re missing a trick here as it would be fun to play online with others, plus you wouldn’t need to cap it at 2 people – you could have 15 players online causing carnage!

The graphics are quirky and it has a great art style which fits the mood and feel of the game. They have got it spot on and I have nothing against it. It’s colourful, bright and pleasing, and I was very impressed with the work they have put in for a small title. It also has a hard-hitting soundtrack that fits well.

Conclusion

Concept Destruction is a simple, well-executed idea and that is fun for all ages. It’s basically Destruction Derby but at a budget level. It’s easy to pick up and play, and even with the limited game modes you will still have a good time.

This game was reviewed based on Xbox One review code, using an Xbox One console. All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. Game provided by publisher.