It’s good to destroy things with big, colorful explosions. Sometimes it’s even fun. So when we hear about ABRISS, a new addition to the ever-crowding world of “destruction simulators,” we start dreaming of fireballs and colorful constructions.
Developed by Randwerk and published by Astragon Entertainment, DEMOLITION seems to be in line with Besiege and other replacements: we mentioned a “destruction simulator” earlier, but it’s actually a series of puzzles, puzzles, through construction of death machines must be solved complex, sometimes simple, but effective.
Instead of making crazy medieval siege machines, AMBRISS instead uses lasers, futuristic metal alloys, and other explosive munitions from the future. The player also ends up in a future that seems a little post-apocalyptic or at least dystopian.
In this universe that seems to be populated exclusively by machines and large red balls with shimmering colors that resemble artificial brains that need to be torn to pieces, we have both a relatively large playing field and the feeling that certain rules must be strictly respected to have to.
And it’s not just about unlocking new items as we progress, as long as our kill rate is high enough – it’s not just about blowing up the famous reddish balls, but also, if possible, all the buildings and other structures, in which they are housed – but this idea of limitation seems to be at the heart of the gaming experience.
In fact, from the first minutes, from the first levels, we are fighting directly against the game surface. Ah, you want to rotate the level to better see what you’re doing? Good luck: The game has two types of cameras, one more “free” than the other, but neither seems to meet the demand.
But the worst aspect is undoubtedly this unpredictability when it comes to placing blocks to build your machines of destruction. The interface is designed so strangely that the very idea of ”gluing” pieces together seems like heresy. And when we start pawing impatiently due to the frustration caused by the unwelcoming interface, we’re offered a clue… which actually provides the complete solution to the current level.
Combine this with a black screen that you can’t escape by wanting to go back to the map with all the levels, and we will undoubtedly say that ABRISS still needs “love” despite its version 1.0 released in early September.
Promising, visually gorgeous, joyfully violent – AMBRISS is a game that unfortunately shoots itself in the foot by spoiling the user experience with a boring and frustrating interface. Let’s still stick with Besiege.
SHELTER
Developer: Randwerk
Editor: Astragon Entertainment
Platform: Windows (tested on Steam)
Game interface is offered in French