AMBRISS: Build to Destroy, developed by German studio Randwerk, is now appearing on the PlayStation 5, following its success on other platforms in 2023. This atmospheric physics destruction building game offers a unique twist on the puzzle genre, enticing you with the tantalizing prospect of building elaborate structures and then destroying them in spectacular fashion thanks to a great graphics and physics engine. You can read how much fun we had and why it might be a bit too fiddly on the console in our short test.
Childish destructive fun that doesn't let up
Set against a backdrop of digital-brutalist cityscapes, ABRISS invites you to live out your instinct for destruction while flexing your creative muscles at the same time. The gameplay is very simple: build structures from a variety of parts to destroy specific targets. Each level presents a new challenge that requires you to develop innovative solutions with an ever-changing selection of components, from engines and rotators to lasers to bombs and ultra-heavy cubes. The game's campaign mode extends across seven worlds, each comprising several carefully designed stages. As the game progresses, you unlock new parts and encounter various environmental mechanisms that enrich the gameplay. Whether you meticulously plan every move or indulge in chaos as you experiment with different ideas, ABRISS offers a spectacle that is captivating from start to finish, a spectacle where even failure can be interesting and entertaining when it's easy looks so good.
One of the game's standout features is its complex destruction system, which seamlessly simulates physics and delivers stunning visual effects without sacrificing performance. Watching structures disintegrate into thousands of debris particles is a visually captivating experience, enhanced by the game's immersive audio design, inviting you to watch the destructive creations again and again. In addition to the campaign, ABRISS offers a sandbox and an endless mode in which you can let your creativity run wild and compete for high scores. The integrated photo mode allows you to capture and share your most exciting moments of destruction, adding a social dimension to the gaming experience. However, ABRISS is not without its small weaknesses. The controls on the console are often more than just cumbersome, especially when fine-tuning complicated designs, so the path from idea to execution is sometimes quite long. In addition, while the visual and auditory elements of the game are undeniably impressive, the whole thing stutters badly in quality mode, so you should really only play the game in performance mode.
Conclusion
ABRISS: build to destroy is an enormously beautiful looking puzzler full of destruction and particle effects. The large arsenal of building options leaves little to be desired when it comes to demolishing the levels and the campaign continues to add new features. Unfortunately, the controls on the console are far too imprecise and are still annoying in the final levels, even though every error can be corrected immediately.
Positive:
+ effective destruction
+ Freedom to experiment with your own solutions
+ very good learning curve
Negative:
– Console controls often inaccurate
– no story that would have helped motivate the campaign