If you browse to the Big Red Barrel review scale, the entry to describe a one-barrel review says that a game scoring this should probably be avoided by all but die hard fans of the genre and subject matter. Unfortunately, Monster Truck Destruction cannot even clear this minor hurdle – neither fans of monster trucks nor fans of destruction (there is a rather large cross-section in that particular Venn diagram) will find anything enjoyable here.
• Developer: ODD Games
• Publisher: Merge Games
• Reviewed on: PC
• Also Available On: Mac, iOS, Android
• Release Date: Available Now
Monster Truck Destruction started out life as a mobile title and this fact is widely apparent even when you launch up the PC version of the game. The production values here are low – really low. ODD Games appear to have ported the title over to a new platform without making much of an attempt to adapt their game to it. Besides the abilities to change your resolution and control keys, there is little else to see here.
Playing Monster Truck Destruction just feels wrong. The vehicles themselves feel weightless but control like combine harvesters at the same time. This feat is matched only by insubstantial arenas you are asked to enjoy. The environments are populated with hollow caravans and billboards that fall apart in precisely the same way every time. The crowd is made up of poorly textured, cardboard cut-out characters who would feel out-of-date in a last-gen FIFA crowd.
Even if they did not have the time or budget to increase the game’s graphical fidelity, neglecting to add controller support has to be a capital crime in game development. Instead, you are restricted to mapping the WASD keys to control your truck and the space bar to perform jumps. My wired 360 controller lay limp and helpless at my side while I struggled to complete some of the most monotonous races and challenges I have ever endured.
The game has over 30 trucks to choose from, each of them as boring as the next. The garage allows for customising your vehicle, removing any differences between them anyway – besides the cosmetic ones. There are quite a few arenas too, though they all sort of blend together in my mind. The various gameplay tasks in the Championship section of the game include drag racing and pulling off stunts – however, the lack of any kind of multiplayer is as baffling as the non-existent controller support. There is nothing to bring you back into the game when you turn it off for the first time.
With an RRP of £14.99/$19.95/€19.95, I simply cannot recommend this game to anyone, not even the most avid monster truck fanatic. There is nothing redeemable here – the lacklustre production value, the inept control scheme (singular) and the lack of gameplay modes hobble this game’s chances of ever finding an audience. Avoid it like an oncoming monster truck!
