New gameplay for the 2020 remake of Destroy All Humans! has surfaced during the Twitch livestream of Alienware’s E3 panel. Someone has kindly recorded it in high quality and uploaded it to YouTube. In this article I’ll list facts stated by the developers during the interview and offer my own thoughts and critical analyses of the footage. We’ll begin with facts straight from the horse’s mouth! Keep in mind all gameplay is pre-alpha and is still in very early development. The devs are listening to constructive criticism and the game is still a year away!



A few things you might notice immediately from the video is that the audio is about 15 seconds out of sync. The framerate also appears just a bit choppy in some places.




Facts and Answers Learned During the Developer Interview



Built from scratch remake in Unreal Engine 4

All the cutscenes are being totally revamped and are 100% motion captured in the studio.

Dev team is over 60 people as of this time of writing.

No co-op or multiplayer of any kind. The remake will stay faithful to what the original game was and will try to recapture the experience of playing Destroy All Humans! for the very first time.

There will be one new mission added into the game that was cut from the original game, the ‘Lost Mission of Area 42.’ The devs have a rough outline of what the cut mission was about and were able to use that to recreate it in the game.

Several improvements have been made to the moment-to-moment gameplay.

More objects are PKable and PK can be used at the same time as the jetpack and your gun!

All areas are open world sandboxes just like the original. There are 6 in total, Turnipseed Farm, Rockwell, Santa Modesta, Area 42, Union Town and Capital City. Each is itself unique and distinct, ranging from a rural farm in Georgia to Washington DC.

Coming to PC, PS4 and Xbox One. A Switch release is undetermined at this time as the game is visually demanding and they need to see if it would even work on Switch.

Each sandbox is roughly the same size as their counterparts in the original, but they will be more densely packed and areas that were previously baren will have new things to explore and do.

The game will not be exclusive to any one service on the PC and will be available from both Steam AND the Epic Game Store.

They’re trying to stay within the vision of the original, but they’re looking at features from the sequels that added quality of life improvements and will be transplanting those into the remake. For example, the transmogrify ability from the second game will make its debut in the remake.

The game will not be full price, but the final price is still to be decided.

Black Forest Games are looking into doing a Collector’s Edition. Plans to announce the Collector’s Edition will be revealed ‘soon.’

Concentration has been completely removed. It was tied to all psychic abilities and thus drained really quickly, making the abilities useless most of the time. HoloBob is now on a timer.

Crypto is far more agile now with his dash ability and improved jetpack.

Thoughts and Screenshot Analyses



Thoughts



Overall I really liked what I saw. The game is gorgeous and it’s clear Black Forest Games are working hard to faithfully recreate a beloved classic while at the same time updating the gameplay for modern audiences. The attention to detail is admirable and to be applauded. That said I do have a few concerns I’ll air out when going over screenshots.


Screenshot Analyses




The menu for the demo, obviously not final. That said I do hope it’s the Mothership orbiting the Earth again, only perhaps with some more details and things to make it interesting. For example the saucer zipping by, one of earth’s satellites floating past, the mothership firing lasers down at Earth and other such things.


The title card for Destination Earth, the very first mission of the game. I actually prefer this new one, it’s got a great mix of colors, it perfectly details the most memorable objectives of the mission and helps to set the tone. My only criticism is I think Harold and Martha Turnipseed need to be in the background there somewhere.


The Blue Moon Drive-In Cinema billboard. It says ‘Plan 42 From Outer Space’ instead of ‘Planet 9 from Outer Space’ as Black Forest Games unfortunately couldn’t get the rights for it or ‘Teenage Zombies from Outer Space.’ Not the biggest loss though, considering what all we gain instead!




An example of expanded cutscene detail. Crypto steps in a cow pie after landing on Turnipseed farm. Note the splatter on his boots and the muck dripping from his sole.


As detailed here, characters are much more expressive in cutscenes now. Fully mocapped, they now have much more detailed facial animations and articulate and gesture abundantly. Body language is a thing in the remake!


Here we see Crypto utilizing his new dash ability to reach the mission objective. Dash and Jetpack can be used simultaneously for increased speed and mobility.


Here we see an example of the new Focus Lock mechanic, as well as the turtorial for Cortex Scan. Note that Cortex Scan is now mapped to Y instead of A on the Xbox Controller.


Hi fidelity cow dung, we have truly made it DAH! fans! On a more serious note, notice how the cows have different designs now instead of just being a generic paint dairy cow. Crypto also reacts to the cow expelling its bowels, note his body language.


I like the new HUD, as well as the fact objectives are clearly and distinctly displayed right above the minimap. I do still wish the minimap had details like roads and landmarks/buildings though. PK is now mapped to a single button; Right Bumper. Holding it down lifts the target and release throws.



I like it being assigned to a single button as it was in Path of the Furon, though on RB I feel it may be difficult to use PK and your gun simultaneously and would rather the PK button trade places with the weapon select button on LB.


The physics look hilarious as ever. The official website describes PK as if a Jedi was in a world with the physics of Goat Simulator, it looks great! The blue PK aura seems to turn red after some time, though I’m not sure what that indicates, if anything. Perhaps it turns red to indicate the most powerful throw, or releasing when blue drops the target but releasing when red throws it?

I’m not actually a fan of the PK aura effect as I find it to be distracting and it takes up too much space. Perhaps it could be reduced to a slight shimmer surrounding the target, as shown here in this Path of the Furon cutscene:


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...So... This is Harold Turnipseed. Yeah so I’m mostly fine with the NPC designs we’ve seen, but certain ones make me evacuate my bowels. Case in point, Harold Turnipseed’s design straddles the line between cartoonish and realistic to the point it encompasses the entire uncanny valley. That overbite looks like it could shear a steel beam, his beady little eyes creep me the heck out and the yellow sleeveless plaid polo BUUURNS MY RETINAS JUST TO PICTURE IT! I much, much prefered the white one in the original as it was conservative (much like Harold probably is) and it blended well with the denim overalls.



Though perhaps the point is to make him look disturbing as hell to the point we feel no remorse when we kill him with fire. Like a really big, redneck spider.




If you want to see what a real farmer looks like BFG, let me show you a picture of my dad sometime. Actually, is it possible you guys could use my dad as the model for Harold? It’d be super cool to have me or someone related to me in the remake of the first game in my all-time favorite series! Just sayin’!




Right trigger is still the fire button. The Zap-O-Matic’s batter percentage is now an acual numerical percentage to let you know exactly how much energy you have with it. I prefered the bar aesthetically, but the numerical percentage is more accessible and easier to read so it’s a welcome change.

LB is the weapon select button. It’s unknown whether we’ll have a weapon wheel like the other games, but I imagine tapping it will switch between weapons. The D-Pad would be a great alternative for weapon selection unless it’s already in use.




Weapons can be used while flying with the jetpack as in the original. Enemy health bars are now displayed over their heads instead of the top right of the screen, freeing up the HUD.

On a side note, notice the Pox dialogue box. I’d like these to have an animated model of HoloPox similar to the second game so it’s like a two-way video communicator.


The brain extraction power is now mapped to X instead of B. I also really appreciate the tip to mash the button to make extract go faster, something not many people knew with the original. Focus Lock can also be seen targeting the axe in the stump, suggesting we may be able to pick it up with PK and throw it at the humans! Axe murderer scary movie staring Crypto the Woodsman anyone?


Here we see Harold’s brain glowing green. In the original game green brains signified that they were worth 25 DNA.


As the color suggests it is indeed worth 25 DNA, and was oddly worth that much despite the fact Harold was dead. Though something that concerns me is every brain in the demo is green and worth 25 DNA. In the original, civilians dropped blue brains worth 10 DNA alive or dead, but stronger enemies gave more DNA if you extracted their brain while they were alive. Green brains were worth 25, gold brains were worth 50, bronze brains were worth 100, red-orange brains were worth 150 and red brains yielded a whopping 200! I hope this is true for the remake’s final release.


Martha Turnipseed’s face looks completely fine here, compared to Harold. She reminds me of a female Eustace Bagge in some ways. “STUPID ALIEN! YOU MADE ME LOOK BAD! OOOGA BOOOGA BOOOGA!”


The cinematography in the remake is amazing, ten times better than in the original. Whoever is responsible for it needs a pay raise! Martha staring ahead as Crypto stands over her husband’s fresh headless corpse, it’s almost chilling despite the fact this looks like it could be a Nickelodeon cartoon!


This cheeky little shit-eating grin right here got a good laugh out of me and is a great way to showcase Crypto’s personality early on without any dialogue in that specific moment. 10/10 scene here, love the camerawork, seriously give the people behind it a pay raise!


Focus Lock is activated by holding the left trigger, similar to the Crackdown games. Crypto also showcases the ability for PK to be used on so many more objects in the remake, such as this loo se tire. It turns out to be surpr isingly effective too!


Crypto using PK to throw a farmhand into another, killing them both. Killing two bird brains with each other, now that’s what I call combat efficiency!


The pathway to the grain silo and barn now has a quaint little rock wall along it. Can we blow it up? PK’d objects thrown at enemies now break more realistically and satisfyingly. Focus Locked targets can be switched with the right stick, much like any other third person shooter.


Crypto seamlessly uses brain extract on a living farmer. I really like the new psy power effects, as well as the fact Crypto’s cranium glows along with them!


All I really wanted to point out here is that the cop looks great! No uncanny valley or anything.


The deputy here looks great too, and for the first time every we see a person of color in the first Destroy All Humans! Always glad to see devs include more ethnicly diverse NPCs. Would love it if you sneak a gay couple in somewhere too BFG, and make them bi-racial women just so the Nazis squirm! Also the lighting in this shot is just absolutely superb!


Our first real look at the jetpack in action. Not too much has changed, the fuel bar appears to be the same. But thankfully its maneuverability has been drastically improved. I also noticed the female NPC that usually spawns by the well doesn’t seem to be there. She may only spawn in free roam.


I like the new mission success screen! Small, quick and to-the-point, not huge and in your face like the original. If I had to find one thing to complain about with the HUD it’d be that I’m not really too fond of the current color, though that’s just a very minor personal nitpick with me.


The demo d rops Crypto in free roam within the crop circle field just beyond the grain silo. By holding B Crypto can glide, or ‘skate’ around for faster movement. Holopox can be seen in a few places and can be approached for tutorials. There’s a new NPC model in the background. The new sandbox challenge indicator can be seen as well. I’d prefer if we could approach HoloPox for challeges personally, but either way I’m glad they’re giving Pox more of a presence in the world.


A closer look at the challenge indicator. There are three tears for the challenge, each with a bonus for successful completion. The main objective and time limit are clearly displayed along with the overall rewards. I’m so glad BFG are improving the challenges. The ones in the original were grindy and ultimately tedious and uninteresting.


Suspicious humans have the classic question mark over their head as they come to investigate. NPCs clearly have more aesthetic diversity. The challenge has two bonus objectives that reward you for having fun with PK. I also liked what I saw of the spawn rate here, I must have seen around thirty farmers on screen at one point. Lots more humans to destroy!


Crypto using brain extract while gliding, showing that psy abilities can be used while using the jetpack, something that was only ever in Path of the Furon. I am very happy for this change!


Crypto then uses the Zap-O-Matic to light a bale of hay on fire, then picks it up with PK and hurls it into a farmer’s face. This detail is awesome and has me very excited for any other opportunities like this in the game!


Conclusion



What can I say you guys, it’s my baby, my favorite franchise ever. It’s back and it looks awesome, even in pre alpha! I do have my concerns here or there, but overall I’m very happy with what I see so far and I am so excited for this.


Keep up the good work Black Forest Games, I have the utmost faith in you that you can pull this off and bring Destroy All Humans! back onto the world stage. The upsurge in popularity for this remake has astonished all of us, and on behalf of all us DAH! fans I thank you deeply from the bottom of my heart. This means the world, nay, the cosmos to me. I never thought this series would come back, but here it is, and it’s so gosh darn beautiful! Thank you so very much for this!

I’d like to thank my good friend Nukawin (who I met through Pandemic Studios’ forums) and Curvette from the official discord server for helping me take the stills.




As more details come to light, I’ll be sure to cover all of it if and when I can, and offer as much constructive feedback as humanly possible to make this remake the best, definitive Deatroy All Humans! experience. Happy probing everyone!

