We bounce the ball – a review of the game “DESTRUCTURE: Among Debris”

Ruthless ball smash in a post-apocalyptic world. Is DESTRUCTURE: Among Debris a worthy new incarnation of Breakout ?

 

Is there a style more associated with ruthless destruction than post-apocalypse? The fall of civilization and morality, the violence in the ashes of the world driven by the rule of survival, and the wide impunity directly beg for a series of explosions and crunch of makeshift cleavers touching each other in battle. Perhaps Team Instant Defeat studio came from a similar premise, placing their game mixing brick breaker with air hockey in this climate. Was it the right move?

You can’t break the wall with your head, but you can with a ball

DESTRUCTURE: Among Debris is a fairly simple game that refreshes the formula of the cult Breakoutfrom 1976. Our task is to bounce the ball so as to destroy all the chests and other items on the other side of the map. However, it is the details that make Team Instant Defeat’s game definitely different from the original. Not only do we bounce the destructive ball to the side instead of up, but we also do it with a round device, which makes the bouncing less unpredictable, like in the air hockey mentioned at the beginning. The elements we have to destroy are made of different materials, which require more or less hits to destroy. Among them there are also crates that send projectiles at us, exploding barrels that help in the destructive task a bit, or poles equipped with rubber fenders. With each burst of destruction, an alarm is raised, which causes a reaction in the form of a turret that will eagerly try to thwart our efforts. Of course, we must not forget that our projectile is also at risk, as a merciless shredder is constantly waiting for it behind our backs.

As you can see, the game is based on very simple assumptions, thanks to which you can quickly grasp its rules. However, this does not mean boring, unhurried bounce of the ball towards the obstacles. Each destroyed element throws out several charges of Blue Stuff, which we have to collect quickly if we want to earn money to buy upgrades available between missions. Add to this the dodging of turret projectiles and the fact that the harder we hit the ball, the more damage it deals, but it also definitely speeds up, and we get an extremely dynamic game, during which I experienced the feeling of overstimulation more than once. However, each break after completing the next board is enough to feel the need to start another battle.

The production does not look very impressive. Just by reading the description on Steam, we learn our task is to clean the world of garbage, debris and deadly turrets after a devastating, apocalyptic event. However, this is not a disadvantage, this type of gameplay works perfectly without a story.

What a lovely apocalypse

Visual layer in DESTRUCTURE: Among Debrisit perfectly reflects the dirt and misery of the post-apocalyptic world. Menu items are pieces of sheet metal hanging on chains, the ground on which we fight is barren, cracked earth, and our goal is old chests, containers, pipes and lots of rusty garbage, which is also scattered everywhere after each broken element. Maybe everything is gray and gray, but the whole thing is quite legible, we can easily distinguish the valuable Blue Stuff from deadly bullets, and the problems with collecting one while skipping the other and reflecting the bullet are only due to our insufficient reflexes and perceptiveness. The exception is the last elements to be destroyed, which can merge with the rubble falling after the demolition, but when we destroy the last turret, everything falls apart over time.

The audio may not be ecstasy to the ear here, but it is quite correct. The machine-like, slightly western sound corresponds appropriately with the climate of a dirty and hostile apocalypse, setting the right pace during the destruction, and giving moments of respite between missions. Similarly, all kinds of sounds – the crunch of chains when expanding the menu, the booming gunshots of the turrets or the rumble of the sheet metal being bent when hitting a rusty container are believable, fully reflecting what is happening on the monitor screen.

DESTRUCTURE: Among Debris is a simple, dynamic, yet addictive game, creating the effect of “just one more mission”. Although at times I felt satiated, a short break was enough, just used to buy upgrades, to feel the desire to clear the next stage again. Is it worth the price? Considering that it is not particularly excessive (on steam it is less than PLN 46), absolutely! And if you are not encouraged by my rating, the creators have provided a free demo for volunteers.