MINI REVIEW // Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered

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If you battle me I will revile

Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee is a game I’ve wanted to play for over 20 years.

I’m not the biggest kaiju fanatic out there. I think the most recent film in the canon that I’ve seen is unfortunately the 1998 Matthew Broderick one. I’m not evaluating Remastered on the authenticity to its source material or on faithfulness to its GameCube origins. In my cultural vacuum though, I’ve had a jolly old time monster mashing the hours away across the last few days.

Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered pits creatures from the Toho monsterverse against one another in 1v1 battles amidst fully destructible environments. It’s not a whip-quick, smooth-as-butter, tightly balanced fighter. This isn’t something you’re gonna see broadcast at EVO. What DAMM does hilariously well though is translate the feeling of people in bulky rubber suits somewhat awkwardly bashing against one another. The games physics, animations, and hitboxes all make perfect sense when you realise that that’s what they were going for, and it’s all a big, silly joy to experience once you slip into that mindset.

There aren’t a whole tonne of modes, characters, or general gameplay options here. DAMM is a licensed product from a bygone era, so it’s hard to really expect as much. More than half of the monsters need to be unlocked by either completing multiple runs of the traditional fighting game ladder mode or completing a ‘research’ task, such as smashing around in Japanese city maps or brawling mecha-kaiju. On the standard mode though, there’s zero penalty for being defeated. You can simply have another crack whatever battle on the ladder bested you and then carry forth from there once you eventually conquer them. 

Progress on a ladder is character-specific also, and progress doesn’t reset for one monster when you go back and decide to start a fresh run with a different one. Monsters individually level up and increase their stats with play too, making the whole thing incrementally easier the more you play.

Reviewed on PC | Review copy supplied by publisher

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covergeek score lg
Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered is exactly the big, goofy joy that I’d hoped it would be. There’s not a tonne of depth to any of it, though each of the dozen kaiju it features manage to feel distinct enough. Its pick-up and play nature, general lack of penalty for failure, and small install footprint ensures that it will be a staple of my Steam Deck for quite some time.

Great

  • It looks and sounds fantastic, even with 24+ year old bones
  • Even when getting my butt kicked, I couldn’t help but smile
  • It’s just wonderful to see cult favourite licensed games such as this made available again

Not great

  • The price tag feels right at the ceiling of reasonable
  • I do really wish that Japanese audio were an option
  • I also really wish that they’d licensed Intergalactic by the Beastie Boys

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