Disintegration Preview: shoot first, ask questions later
Disintegration isn’t a game that I expected to enjoy. That must sound silly to some. You may be sitting there and thinking, ‘well, why bother even giving the technical beta a go, then?’ And you know something? That’s fair. Why write about a Disintegration preview if I was sure I wasn’t going to like it?
The answer is rather simple: why not give it a go? And I’m glad I did because I didn’t just find myself liking it. I found myself loving it.
So, if you just want the low-down of whether I liked the game or not, then here it is: yes, and I want more of it. For those who want to know more on why that is, read on.
Disintegration, a game from Private Division and V1 Interactive, is a game about how humankind has been forced to near-extinction thanks to climate extremes, food shortages, etc. To survive, humans have had to integrate with robotic bodies, starting a new ‘race’ called the Integrated.
The technical beta didn’t really touch upon any of these lore elements, and mostly focused on the multiplayer side of things. That was fine by me, I prefer to be pleasantly surprised, and the multiplayer itself has more than enough modes and customization to keep me interested.
I only played two of these modes out of the three presented in the beta. The first was trying to capture as many zones as I and the rest of my teammates could before the timer went out. We only had three zones to capture, A, B, and C, but it was a lot harder than it first sounded. You have a first-person perspective for one, which means that you’ll have to do your utmost to try and keep your eyes on the prize, all while making sure no other enemy squads are shooting at the flying vehicle you’re controlling. Get shot down, and you’re out of the battle for a while, which can make or break a game. It forces me to make smart decisions, something which I’m not very good at. But boy, do I try.
The next game mode I played is a little similar to the first, but instead of capturing zones, you’ll need to capture a node and bring it back to a set location. I found this a lot more exciting, as there were two different locations myself and my team could get the node from, meaning that often it was all about guessing which node would have the less defence and bolting over there. It was a combination of being sneaky and then putting the fear of god into your enemies. A potent mix that left me laughing wildly each time the enemy came around the corner to get a free rocket in the face.
The customization system for these flying vehicles are also pretty damn cool. Before you start the game, you’ll have to choose a certain squad to take control of. Some of them have high defence, others rely much more on their speed, while some just like to shoot things.
For my time with Disintegration, I decided to stick with a squad that looked as though they were extras from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. A bunch of knights, that aren’t all that fast, but make up for it by looking dope as hell. It’s a shame I couldn’t really see what I looked like in-game, but I assume everyone was quivering at my greatness.
Not everything about Disintegration was perfect, though. While the tutorial was incredibly thorough, the text was far too small and there was no real way of making it larger outside of scooting my butt forward. While it may seem like a small gripe, if I can’t game comfortably, then my perception of a game does take a hit.
The gameplay is mostly great, but combat can get a little repetitive throughout the two game modes. Sometimes it feels like you have to shoot first, then ask questions later, which is fine when you’re defending, but not so much if you’re trying to make a push and not knowing where to shoot next.
Still, I was pleasantly surprised by what Disintegration had on offer. It’s a game with potential, and if you’re interested in working as a team, flying around and shooting down enemies, then you should definitely keep it on your radar.
A PS4 code for the technical beta was provided to Gayming Magazine by Private Division.
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