Who has fond memories of Destruction Derby on the original PlayStation? At the time, it was a pretty impressive showpiece for the console, allowing you to bust up vehicles in all manner of over-the-top races and events. Over two decades later, PS5 would surely be a great platform for showing off car damage and deformation, right? Would it be the right time to bring the old franchise back for more carnage?
As it so happens, this is something Sony's XDev team seriously considered. In a new interview with Eurogamer, XDev's John McLaughlin and Lucid Games' Colin Berry talk about the genesis of what would eventually become Destruction AllStars.
McLaughlin says there was a desire early on to emphasise damage in a racing/driving game. "We were like, we want to be there on PS5, so what could we do? And we looked at Destruction Derby and then we just started speaking about damage - where's all the damage gone in games?"
Wanting to create an arcadey experience that would showcase good vehicular damage, XDev turned to Lucid Games, which has a ton of veteran developers on staff who've worked on games like WipEout, MotorStorm, Project Gotham Racing, and more. Berry recalls early conversations β "what do you want to do with Destruction Derby?" β but it wasn't too long before some big ideas evolved the idea into a new IP.
McLaughlin says there were discussions about how trying to get around in Destruction Derby with a near-ruined car "was the worst part of the game", and the solution was to have cars be disposable and allow you to move around on-foot to keep you in the flow.
So, in the very early stages, there was talk of that classic PS1 series coming back. In the end, though, it sounds like AllStars will be a snappier, more immediate experience that still makes mincemeat of motors. There's loads more info in the interview, so give that a read if you're interested. Would you like to see Destruction Derby come back? Smash head first into the comments section below.
[source eurogamer.net]
Comments 29
Can't wait to try it out tomorrow!
Itβs more twisted metal and plus we already have wreckfest for destruction derby, I would really love to see another twisted metal or a remake/remaster of twisted metal 2 the best one!
I'm not too fond of destruction derby back then, I'm way into twisted metal, especially twiested metal 2. I'll try destruction allstars tomorrow
I liked Destruction Derby back on PS1, though I've got a feeling i never bought it, played a demo a lot, and maybe rented it from blockbuster.
I remember it being a bit of a one trick pony: once you'd got past the spectacle of cars getting wrecked there wasn't much game. I think DD2 had more 'proper' racing, but don't recall much beyond that.
One interesting nugget from the DAS interview is that the devs were pushing for it to be a PS+ title to reach the biggest audience, but that it took Sony a while to agree.
I'll definitely be playing when it comes out. PS+ games drop sometime tomorrow afternoon, right? Not available at midnight tonight?
To be honest I'd have preferred a Destruction Derby revival or indeed Twisted Metal, I'm not overly convinced by what I've seen of this yet. I'll still give it a go at some point
I remember Edge magaine making a big fuss of Destruction Derby in their previews. When I got my hands on it I found it a tad disappointing.
Got fairly high hopes for this though.
My fond memory and craving for DD has been satisfied by Wreckfest.
Now if only somebody would bring back Blur...
Would rather have had a complete remake of the destruction derby series instead of this fortnite with cars thing
I would have preferred them to bring back Destruction Derby.
Will the game be available at midnight?
It's really interesting to hear that XDev were discussing bringing back an older Sony franchise like Destruction Derby. I wonder if the rumours of them sniffing out developers for WipEout amongst others is true.
I just got Wreckfest a few weeks ago and if like me you are a Destruction Derby fan then you really need to grab Wreckfest, highly recommended.
It is as close as you can get in all but name.
This on the other hand doesn't really interest me.
I will have a look one day.
Destruction Derby was cool and all but how about a new Jet Moto
Does anyone remember Destruction Derby Arenas on the PS2? It was the last official entry in the Destruction Derby series and the first PS2 game I ever played online.
Now that we know Destruction AllStars was originally going to be a Destruction Derby reboot, it looks like a spiritual successor to Destruction Derby Arenas. That game also had cartoony visuals and characters, arenas with traps and obstacles, and online multiplayer-focused gameplay.
Downloading the game now!
Though destruction all stars look fun, That's kind of unfortunate for me because destruction derby is my favorite racing game of all time. I still play destruction derby till this day, the sequels weren't the same. I would welcome any type of remaster or remake of the original destruction deny
@Voltan where are you from?
I honestly been looking forward to play this game with my friends but that PS5 is no where to be seen!
Oh well, can't wait to be able to play it once I get one.
Wow, that's extremely disappointing news β would have loved a DD reboot. There still is nothing like the original on PS1 β I STILL play it today now and again (and I very rarely replay games of any nature, other than old arcade games).
Wreckfest was boring as all get-out, and we need a better option.
@Brasilkilla I'm totally with you!
@AFCC Poland.
I did tutorials for all modes and tried a little online Carnado but couldn't find all 16 players. I guess it should get better tomorrow, it was 2am after all.
There also seemed to be some problem with cosmetics, I earned a couple icons for my banner and could select them while they were new, but after I went back to customization again, there was only default and items to unlock for points.
Anyways - so far the game looks pretty cool and runs amazingly smooth.
@Voltan Thanks for your feedback. How is the single player content?
@doctommaso Sorry, I only tried the "practice" section so far - there's a tutorial for each of the 4 modes, you basically get a quick description of the mode's rules and play a match against bots. Each one has a trophy for winning it.
The game definitely puts online multiplayer first.
@Voltan I see. Thanks!
I really enjoyed destruction derby raw..that game was awesome and i bought flatout in a sale on the psn sale and played it for a couple of hours before the frame rate gave me a headache from hell...destruction all stars looks like it could be a good laugh..
@Senu World Tour blowing up mills in Holland, blowing up the Eiffel Tower, bouncing people of skyscrapers with bombs, Blacktooth and the fantastic enemies it should have been a slamdunk revival without all the nonsense they put in the last one. π’
@Flaming_Kaiser yes definitely the last twisted metal was a million miles away from the great franchise it once was π₯²
@doctommaso yea man DD on ps1 was a classic. Awesome game so much fun to play no matter which mode you picked. It was also a perfect party game trying to beat each other's score on the time survival arena and the points free for all. Love it!!! Such a classic. Every time I hear the commentator saying GOOO , and " it's the first race of the season " brings back great childhood memories
@Brasilkilla @Senu
I never understood why they always try too invent the wheel two times. With a way smaller budget you can bring old classics too these generations that are solid games already.
Look at something like Dark Cloud upgrade the graphics a little bit of gameplay tweaks and its ready too go. Shadow of the Colossus is the perfect example of a remake done right upgraded graphics with gameplay tweaks nothing else needed.
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