Review | Demolish & Build Classic (Tidbit-style)

We love all sorts of games. Sometimes it is hard to cover a game in our traditional review style that’s why we have tidbit-style reviews. These shorter reviews cover games that deserve attention too but simply don’t fit our good, mixed, and bad template. In addition, they get a monthly summary article to give them even more reader attention!

Demolish & Build Classic | 22%
Publisher: Ultimate Games
Developer: Demolish Games

Demolish & Build Classic allows you to tear down unwanted and obsolete structures and create buildings along the way. That being said, there aren’t many positives I can pull from the game as a whole. It struggles to hold any entertainment value, and plenty of factors make this so tiresome and barely bearable to play. I’ll start with the monstrosity which is the frame rate. Holy, there is no stability here whatsoever, and this makes the game incredibly unfun to play. This mixed with the poor-quality visuals, almost like the game has been made for PlayStation 2 or the equivalent, doesn’t make the game appealing from any sort of visual angle other than watching buildings crumble before you – that part is pretty satisfying. There is little to no story present other than your company starts in debt and you have to rise up the ranks by increasing your functionality with different vehicles and tools to take on more demanding contracts. That and you can buy some land and make it profitable to you.

The audio is also pretty dire. The vehicles always sound like they’re about to break down on you and the sound effects grated on my eardrums but I did enjoy listening to the radio stations as I worked through my hard labour and drove between destinations. To my surprise, there was a format for fast travel. Once you’ve discovered a point of interest, whether that be a store or building site, you can travel straight to them. I just had to remember you can only do this if you’re not in a vehicle. As for the gameplay, it isn’t innovative, as the machinery is not only underwhelming but somewhat difficult to use because of the poor controls. Nothing can be changed in the options apart from the volume which means you’re stuck with what you’re given. When on demolish or construction sites, you have to be mindful of any materials or hazardous objects in your environment otherwise you risk damaging your vehicle and the supplies, meaning you’ll more than likely incur a fee to make up for your reckless driving. I viewed this as a mini-game, trying my hardest to avoid anything with a caution sign above it to obtain as much profit as possible.

Not only do vehicles need repairing if you damage them, but you also need to purchase additional equipment for them and refuel them. This allows you to take on contracts that were previously unavailable and make more income. Yes, you have to spend a little but you’ll earn more so it’s beneficial in the long run. You can even hire staff to help maintain any properties you acquire along the way but this will once again cost you. The achievements list is pretty straightforward and after playing the game for just under 9 hours, I managed to walk away with the completion and my questionable experience. In conclusion Demolish & Build Classic, developed by Demolish Games and published by Ultimate Games, was a simulation experience that I believe should have stuck to just the demolish side of the story and lacked in almost every department. It had the right idea but failed to deliver, making my time playing feel wasted and pretty lacklustre – and that’s putting it politely.