Disintegration Reviews

Disintegration could have been a lot worse than an “alright” campaign and a decent multiplayer mode. Given V1 Interactive tried something novel and tried to blend genres and it could have been a directionless mess. What we got, however, was a neat idea with a lot of potential to be something greater, with an execution good enough to prove the concept works. The multiplayer is much better than the campaign, if only because it’s not bogged down with the same design choices as a single-player mode. In saying that, it’s still worth checking out for what could very well end up being the first emergence of a great new genre.

Disintegration poses interesting questions about how we will define the human experience in a recognisable future. It's not going to answer those questions, sadly, but the gameplay is so creatively rewarding and satisfying. Plus, cool robots.

Overall my time in Disintegration was a fun one, however it just left something to be desired in terms of shooting, or the RTS mechanics, I really hope that if there is a sequel to this game that they drastically improve the shooting mechanics. Multiplayer is fun and I can’t wait to spend more time with it.

Verdict: Verily, Disintegration offers new ideas and explores a subgenre mix of both FPS and RTS that is both intriguing in action but poor in delivery. With the lack of customization and a neglected multiplayer mode, the replay value is almost non-existent. I played through the campaign once, and I was done with the repeated gameplay before the credits rolled. Going back to a mission for a lovely revisit isn’t in my agenda, and I can only hope that the developers come up with noteworthy downloadable content to keep Disintegration afloat. Unfortunately, it seems like the game is dying out quickly. Not enough people are playing it, and its lack of a fun factor might be the cause for that. If you want a sci-fi narrative that asks some thought-provoking questions, the campaign might be something that several players will find appealing. Anything beyond that, though, players will find a plain endgame and nothing to help them determine if they should play more of Disintegration. Perhaps V1 Interactive’s next title will be an improved experience if they happen to develop a project in the near future. But for now, Disintegration both hits and misses the mark of introducing a hybrid genre with a new universe for players to get invested in and explore throughout.

Some good points for effort but in the end, it's an unpolished mix of a shooter and strategy that doesn't do either of those two well.

Fun fact: Halo began life as a real-time strategy before shifting gears into the iconic FPS it is today.

Disintegration is set in a timeline that looks eerily similar to ours right now. Economic collapse, diseases spreading, and devastating storms are just some of the problems we face right now. In the world of Disintegration, these events led to some very questionable choices for humanity.

There’s a reason true hybrid games are rare. Taking two entirely separate things and smashing them together, while not allowing either to overpower the other is not easily done. Most games that try end up either a mess of ideas or simply a standard genre game with a twist. I originally assumed Disintegration would be the latter. An FPS/RTS is a solid concept, but their audiences and mainstream appeal are too divergent. Given it was coming from a co-creator of Halo, I naturally assumed it wo...

Disintegration is the latest effort by the Halo co-creator Marcus Lehto and his new development team V1 Interactive. They set out with a lofty goal of trying to create an entirely new genre of game, like a souls-like of sorts (Disintegration-like? We’ll work on it). This ambitious mash-up of real-time-strategy and first-person-shooter is full of charm and impressive visuals. Unfortunately,  the ideas just feel… hollow. Let me explain.

Full disclosure: I’m not an RTS guy. I’ve tried to be in the past, but controlling more than one character effectively just doesn’t gel with me. This is worth mentioning because, despite my experience with the genre before, Disintegration manages to blend fantastic first-person shooting with intuitive real-time-strategy elements to create a title that’s easily the biggest surprise of 2020 so far.

Connecting the line between real-time strategy (RTS) and first-person shooter (FPS), Disintegration attempts an exciting mix of genres. From the co-creator behind Halo and Myth: The Fallen Lords, Marcus Lehto and his new studio V1 Interactive launch a possibly long-running sci-fi universe for fans to dive into. This interesting meld may have all the bells and whistles of an epic saga, but does it stand on its own as a fun game?

If the idea of a first-person shooter where you fly around while commanding a small army appeals to you then here's a game to play.

Halo was first conceived as a real-time strategy game, but it evolved into a first-person shooter over the course of development. I've often wondered what might have happened if Bungie had stuck to those strategy roots. Developer V1 Interactive – which is helmed by one of Halo's co-creators – has given us a window into a possible alternate reality with Disintegration, a sci-fi shooter that blends first-person combat with real-time strategy. But, if Disintegration is any indication of what might have been, then I’m glad the original Halo switched genres in development.

I’m not really one to talk about performance, but when I do you know it’s bad. I started playing the game on PC and experienced near-constant crashing. Each mission would suffer a crash at least half a dozen times before I could finish it, and the worst part is that when you start the game back up you’re not tossed at your last saved checkpoint: you have to start the entire mission over again. Crashes seemed to always occur around certain points of a mission, but not always, and the cause (from the troubleshooting guide supplied with the review) seemed to stem from the fact that I’m running on an i5 processor. I was left with the vague “expected to be fixed before launch”, which isn’t comforting considering it’s the most common type of processor. The PS4 version, while not crashing, didn’t feel as smooth to play. The game is clearly better on a mouse/keyboard and when the action picks up it starts to hitch; not to a severe degree, but noticeable enough to where if the PC version is fixed I’ll likely move back over there.

Disintegration is a game of, and about, duality. It manages to feel like a throwback while it's fresh genre melding brings it straight into the present. It's an occasionally lifeless, mechanically sound construct, but everything about it has heart. It's a double A game, the likes of which we don't often see anymore, and it's one of the most unique and consistently enjoyable sci-fi shooters of recent years.

Disintegration is a different and fun game when it comes to mashing two genres together. While the story may be mediocre, it’s characters keep you invested to see the mission through. It’s a shame that load-outs are handed to you and do not promote build diversity, but the gameplay is still a blast

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.

INVERSE VIDEO GAME REVIEW ETHOS: When it comes to video games, Inverse values a few qualities that other sites may not. For instance, we care about hours over money. Many new AAA games have similar costs, which is why we value the experience of playing more than price comparisons. We don’t value grinding and fetch quests as much as games that make the most out of every level. We also care about the in-game narrative more than most. If the world of a video game is rich enough to foster sociological theories about its government and character backstories, it’s a game we won’t be able to stop thinking about, no matter its price or popularity. We won’t punch down. We won’t evaluate an indie game in the same way we will evaluate a AAA game that’s produced by a team of thousands. We review games based on what’s available in our consoles at the time. For instance, we won’t hold it against a video game if its online mode isn’t perfect at launch. And finally, we have very little tolerance for junk science. (Magic is always OK.)

There is some human heart in this robot story, but also some human frustration

Disintegration smashes first-person-shooting and real-time tactics together to create a wild, crazy thrill ride of a strategy game with a few rough edges.

Disintegration comes from the co-creator of Halo, but don't let that lead you to think this is a typical FPS. It's a satisfying but flawed genre-bender that usually capitalizes on its risks.

The developer showing off the game was quick to point out that this is both a small team and an alpha build. They are very proud of the current state of the game and rightly so, it could be part of an Unreal Engine demo reel. This game looks like its been polished by industry veterans who have been making, pitching and selling games to the public and investors for years and know how to stretch limited budgets and resources. Disintegration’s world and story are fascinating and the gameplay has potential to be a fast paced decision based strategy game. I just hope Private Division doesn’t try to sell something else because if they do it will feel like you're constantly fighting with what this game wants to be, and that’s something really different to anything else out there.