Teardown

With immense scope for creativity and an admirable approach to customising the experience, Teardown smashes it. You can break this in all the right ways. [Issue#36, p.78]

I had a blast with Teardown as it really got its hooks in me with its clever combo of destruction and strategic missions. Great stuff!

Net of some rough edges in terms of gameplay, the absence of co-op and a sometimes repetitive campaign, Teardown is surprising. Every single scenario is like a huge playground where the user is free to do whatever he likes, and not only in the Sandbox mode but also to finish the story missions. If we then consider that the production is available from day one in the PlayStation Plus Extra/Premium subscription (and is compatible with streaming in the PS5 cloud) we can only advise you to try to demolish some buildings made of voxels at least once.

Teardown on the PS5 is a great adaptation of the mayhem filled sandbox simulator that fans loved on the PC. It plays well, performs great, and while there are a few minor issues like the cumbersome user interface, Teardown is a great time nevertheless.

A joyous, challenging and chaotic first person sandbox of destruction, that also requires tactical thought and planning, with a huge amount of extra content and fan-made add-ons.

Blowing stuff up is fun, and Teardown gets that. Its varied voxel environments combine with nuanced physics and deformation systems to make levelling buildings, eviscerating vehicles, and orchestrating massive explosions a thrill. An inconsistent campaign and lack of multiplayer don't keep it from setting a new standard for video game destruction.

Teardown is a truly fascinating project: as challenging and clever to play, as it is technically and graphically superb. The only limitations are hidden in a campaign that deserves a more elaborate structure, and in the tasks that could be much more varied than those currently included.

Obviously, it ultimately comes down to how much you want a game that gives you insane levels of power but that also puts checks on it. You’re the creative type who appreciates that balance, there’s plenty to like in Teardown. If you just want to go smashy-smashy, you can do that here, too, but the end result may be more frustrating than you’re expecting.

When played just for fun, Teardown is an excellent destruction experience, with your imagination being the limit to create the most varied situations. Unfortunately, part of this is limited by a repetitive campaign mode that can become frustrating on many occasions.