ABRISS - build to destroy

Review

On the main menu screen, you’ll find Campaign and Sandbox game modes. I played campaign, which is played out over five worlds, with each world having seven levels. There is an intro to play before entering world one; this is the Tutorial which takes you over the game's basics.

On each level you will have a certain number of parts in which to build a structure to help you get through the current level. To complete the level, you must use your newly formed structure to destroy the red targets in other structures found on the level. The levels begin easy enough, you have to use some heavy blocks piled upon one another in such a way that they will topple, hitting and destroying the red targets.

The targets will become harder as you progress, but you’ll unlock some new stuff with each new level which will help you complete the current level. Your target could be up close, surrounding you or off in the distance and may even be hidden behind other obstacles. So, you’ll have to decide what to construct and there will be some trial and error before you are successful.

As well as heavy blocks, you’ll be able to use such things as rockets to propel your creation forward, or have multiple rockets so that you can change directions. You do this by turning the rockets on and off, and with any luck, they will then go in the direction you want them too.  This isn’t always as easy as you might think. Hinges can be used to make chains, and when paired with rotators you can take out buildings surrounding your position. Bombs can be used to create explosions; fire them to your goal by building a trebuchet. These are just a few of the parts you'll be able to use as you progress through the game.

Sometimes you may have to have two bites of the cherry in order to destroy your objective. Use the environment to your benefit and do whatever it takes in order to destroy your targets. If you fail, then you can restart at your last build point and tweak your build to hopefully improve it, or you can restart the level and rebuild from scratch. The red targets are found within varying structures and the more damage you can do to these structures, the better percentage score you’ll gain upon completing the level.

In the options you’ll find settings for: General - Language English, German, French, Chinese, Korean, Polish, Russian, Japanese, Indonesian, Turkish and Spanish (Spain and Latin America) and Image Export Folder. Accessibility – Colour Blindness Friendly Signal Colours and Disable Screen shake. Audio - Master, Music and Effects Volume Sliders.

Controls: Invert Rotation, Invert Scroll, Rotation Sensitivity, Zoom Sensitivity, Free Cam Settings Forward/Sideways Sensitivity, Rotation Sensitivity, Up/Down Sensitivity. Graphics - Resolution, Anti-Aliasing Mode, V-Sync, FSP Cap, Performance Profile and Deactivate Boids.

There is also a Sandbox mode where you can try out all the parts you haven’t yet unlocked. There is a Photo Mode where you can freeze or slow down time and take screenshots of your destruction, apply filters and export your screenshots in 4K. You can also create your own GIF from the destruction you cause.

Abriss is a fun game (anytime you get to smash and blow things up is always fun). It can get challenging but that’s a good thing, as it gets you using your head as you try to figure out what to do, especially if you want to one hundred percent each level.

The game does have achievements (although on the store page it doesn’t say so) but there is a small problem with them. Normally when you unlock an achievement, its unlocked straight away and time stamped. However, when you unlock achievements on Abriss, they aren’t unlocked right away but when you exit the game. This isn’t really a problem (an unlocked achievement is an unlocked achievement after all); the problem is that all achievements are time stamped at the same time even though you unlocked them at different times.

This makes it look as though you have used something to unlock your achievements and could be frowned upon by some folks even though you have unlocked them legitimately. Having the achievements unlock as you unlock them in-game would be a much better way of doing this rather than when exiting the game.

The game is in Early Access currently so there could be some hiccups here and there but so far, I haven’t had any problems with the game.

Review written by Piston Smashed™ for Zeepond.com

ABRISS - build to destroy Steam Store Page