THQ Nordic just celebrated its 10th anniversary by announcing a long list of games, many of which are new installations in established franchises. One of those games is Destroy All Humans 2: Reprobed, a remake of the sequel to the original Destroy All Humans! game. Destroy All Humans 2: Reprobed is no surprise, considering the success of 2020's remake of Destroy All Humans!, which sold more than a million copies. It won't be long now before fans of the franchise take control of Crypto once again, setting off on a wacky, over-the-top sci-fi romp through the 1960s.
The first Destroy All Humans! remake opened a door for Reprobed, but one wonders what Reprobed could do for the franchise. THQ Nordic seems interested in reestablishing some momentum for the property, which could mean that it's gauging interest in a brand new Destroy All Humans! game. Considering the fact that it's been more than a decade since a totally new Destroy All Humans! game was made, a new installation is long overdue. Fans of the franchise have been asking for a return to form for some time, and Destroy All Humans 2: Reprobed might be the best sign of hope that Destroy All Humans! is here to stay.
Destroy All Humans' Potential Return
Destroy All Humans! fell dormant in a somewhat unsatisfactory way. In 2008, THQ published Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon, the fourth game in the series, which wasn't well received. Shortly after that, THQ declared bankruptcy and sold off many of its IPs, including Destroy All Humans!, meaning there wasn't much hope for the franchise to return to form and redeem itself. Everything changed when the former Nordic Games - now THQ Nordic, having acquired THQ - bought back the Destroy All Humans! IP and remade the first game. Suddenly, a long-lost franchise was back in the spotlight.
It's no surprise that THQ Nordic is interested in returning to the Destroy All Humans! series. In its prime, it was a heavy hitter for the original THQ and garnered a lot of fans, so THQ Nordic made a pretty cunning move by remaking the first game and capitalizing on nostalgia. THQ Nordic could show even more cleverness by making a sweeping attempt to redeem Destroy All Humans! from its disappointing final entry. It could remake Path of the Furon, making drastic changes in the progress to enhance the original game, or it could diverge into some new games. While both options are valid, the best way to reestablish Destroy All Humans! may be to send Crypto on a totally new adventure after Destroy All Humans 2: Reprobed.
Destroy All Humans Should Reach for the Sky
Destroy All Humans 2: Reprobed might be the perfect jumping-off point for a totally new game in the series. When the original Destroy All Humans! 2 released, it received praise for expanding on the original game, making the missions more engaging, and adding lots of fun new weapons for Crypto to wreak havoc with. Ideally, Reprobed will lean into that identity, doing everything it can to improve upon the Destroy All Humans! remake from 2020. Once the franchise has established a solid identity from those two games, THQ Nordic and developer Black Forest Games should feel comfortable trying totally new things with the Destroy All Humans! series.
There's certainly still room for Destroy All Humans! to grow. The franchise famously parodies mid-20th century American sci-fi, but it never shifted its focus further than the 1970s. It could be a ton of fun to have Crypto clash with aliens and secret organizations that spoof famous sci-fi stories from the 1980s and 1990s, as well as broader American culture from those decades. It's great to see THQ Nordic investing in Destroy All Humans!, but it shouldn't feel pressured to rehash everything that the series has already done. After Destroy All Humans 2: Reprobed, THQ Nordic should consider crafting a new adventure for Crypto.
Destroy All Humans 2: Reprobed is in development for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.