A giant disappointment.
Extinction is one of those games I wish was better. It has sound combat mechanics, interesting world traversal, and towering monsters to take down. On paper it sounds like Devil May Cry meets Shadow of the Colossus, and frankly that sounds awesome. In execution it relies too much on one mechanic while ignoring all the important little details that a good game doesn’t. Combine that with limited mission structure and Extinction is one of the more disappointing games I have played this year.
The story behind Extinction is a familiar one. Players assume the role of Avil, the last of an elite group of soldiers. The story is told through dialogue fed into the game by cartoon speaking heads. The idea is that Avil must save the world from invasion by the Ravenii. After each chapter the game does deliver an animated cut scene that does a decent job of giving some backstory, but it is all too familiar and highly predictable. Never once did I find myself caring what happens to anyone.
MSRP: $59.99
Platforms: XB1 (reviewed), PS4
Price I’d Pay: $29.99
This plays into the game because while there are over 30 missions to tackle, they all bleed into the same formula. Save humans, fight hordes of enemies, and take down massive giants. It…never…changes. Even the traversal seen in the trailers as being flashy and fun falls flat. Climbing walls is a chore and the camera fights me when trying to move from building to building. It should be more seamless and instead makes simple tasks that much more complicated.
Combat is simple and fast but also suffers from its own drawbacks. While there are advanced combos to perform, they actually deter me from using them. Taking down enemies is simple, but the idea is to rescue humans in the process. The more advanced combos instead push me and enemies away from the conflict, thus causing more humans to die and prolonging the process.
Taking down the larger enemies is a bit more involved. It starts simple enough with just slicing off limbs to slow them down, but it progresses into more interesting mechanics of having to destroy their armor. When it works it is glorious. The slow motion that triggers before taking off a piece is super satisfying. Sadly, it takes a special meter to perform the moves required to do that, and as you guessed it, that means going back to grinding crystals and lower enemies to do it.
It is a tedious process that drags down a game seemingly built for fast-paced and flashy combat. I found myself groaning whenever I had to charge up more energy just to do the best thing in the game. It pads out the combat and makes it more of a chore than a joy.
Visually the game looks good. Opting for more of a cartoon style aesthetic the action remains fast and fluid. The level design could use work though, as they often offered up repetitious environments. I love the scale though. The large enemies really tower over everything, and taking them down remains super satisfying.
Extinction is a game that feels like a novel idea that didn’t get fully fleshed out. I wanted to love it, but the repetition really drags it down. At a lower price or with a little more variety to the encounters this game could have been something special. As it stands though it is nigh impossible to recommend it.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
