Mini Review: Concept Destruction - Destruction Derby with Cardboard Cars

Concept Destruction’s name tells you much of what you need to know about this pen-and-paper PlayStation 4 racer. It’s a combat game inspired by PS1’s legendary Destruction Derby, and it’s effectively a proof of concept. In many ways this feels like half a game, as you smash your way through Drawn to Death-esque arenas, crumpling cardboard and ejecting batteries.

The physics are fairly fun: your car will get squashed and become almost impossible to steer as events limp to their conclusion. You earn credits based on how much damage you inflict, and this is totted up across multiple stages in the game’s main Championship mode. Based on the amount of points you accrue, you’ll unlock different vehicles with unique handling models.

Managing your boost and knowing when to put your foot down becomes a key component to success, but there are moments where you’ll be dinged from the back and taken out entirely, which can be frustrating. You can tweak the settings to alter the difficulty, and there’s local multiplayer to keep you engaged. But this is a novelty at best, and once you’ve squashed a few cardboard cars, you won’t be coming back.