Disintegration

The FPS and RTS hybrid suffers from a stereotype, excessive simplification of most gameplay elements and a chaotically told clichéd story. [Issue#304]

It’s astonishing to see just how far off the mark Disintegration is in terms of how it looks and plays. An astonishment made painfully evident across both of its equally-unflattering, technically-flawed game modes devoid of any quirk, personality or lasting impression. Impressions that are of anything but the feeling of eliciting a smoke-screen so as to mask the game’s evident lack of ingenuity or creative endeavor. It’s more astonishing that, in a vacuum, the design philosophy underpinning its gameplay mechanics feel oddly “complete.” That the conceptual attempt to mix a decade-old mentality on “cinematic” shooter campaigns with some occasional strategy are on show. Showing us that yes, this concept appeals to neither camp — the shooter fan and detractor alike. But it’s the utter lack of care with its narrative, world, progression and above all set-pieces that stings most. Whittled down to the lowest common denominator in such a way you can’t help but feel this is a game ten years too late. One can only hope V1 Interactive can move on and lay claim to greater things in the near future, because Disintegration is a shockingly empty attempt at standing out.

So much of Disintegration is just puzzling. It manages to eke out a space in a hybrid genre but never manages to capitalize on this newfound territory. It offers squad upgrades and control over their movement as a group but fails to let you select who to take with you on a mission or give you control over individual units. You’re given a flying hovercraft but you’re constantly butting up against invisible walls and fences one inch higher than you can fly. It’s unfortunate when a game is bad and broken, but it’s a damn shame when a game is forgettable. Disintegration does not feel up to scratch for a game releasing in 2020.