Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered Review: Big, Dumb, Faithful Fun

I have a soft spot for the 2002 original. It was the game you put on at a sleepover, handed someone a controller, and ten minutes later a building was on fire and nobody remembered the rules. Twenty-four years later Atari and the original developer Pipeworks have rebuilt Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee in Unreal Engine 5, and the first thing I can tell you is that they did not mess with the feel. Which is both the best and the worst thing about it.

What it is

An arena brawler. You pick one of twelve kaiju - Heisei Godzilla, Godzilla 2000, King Ghidorah, Mecha-King Ghidorah, Kiryu, Showa Mechagodzilla, Destoroyah, Orga, Gigan, Megalon, Anguirus and Rodan - and you stomp through a city trying to flatten the other monster before it flattens you. Buildings are weapons, tanks are an annoyance, and the military eventually drops something nasty on everyone. It launched on November 3, 2026 for PS5, Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox Series X|S and Steam at 29.99 dollars, which translates to roughly 30 euros on Steam here, with physical editions only on the PlayStation and Nintendo side.

How it plays

Slowly, deliberately, and with a lot of weight - exactly like 2002. Pipeworks talks about near-total mechanical fidelity and I believe them: grabs, throws, the beam attacks, the way Anguirus rolls into you - the timing is all still in my hands. The new layer is on top: rebuilt graphics that finally make the cities look like something worth destroying, haptics on PS5, and, for the first time, online multiplayer with matchmaking. Character unlocks now run on in-game currency instead of forcing you through the campaign with specific monsters, which is a sensible change.

The highs

Four people on a couch is still where this game lives. Nothing else on the market does the exact thing it does: lumbering giants, the screen shaking, a skyscraper coming down on your opponent's head because you kicked it. The remaster looks genuinely good for a 30-euro title, loads fast, and the Switch 2 version makes it a perfect "one more round" handheld game. Online works and was mostly stable in my sessions, though the lobbies will not stay full for long.

The lows

It is 2002 under the paint. Movement is clunky, hit detection is generous in the wrong moments, and after a weekend you have seen every mode. Twelve monsters is a thin roster when the original PS2 cousin Save the Earth already had more, and the fact that Hedorah's stage hazard was cut rather than expanded says a lot about the ambition here. The currency unlocks are a fine idea but grind-y in practice. If you come in expecting a modern fighting game, you will be done in two evenings.

Who it is for

Godzilla fans, people who had the GameCube disc, and anyone who needs a loud party game for the holidays. Not for anyone looking for depth, ranked ladders or a long campaign.

Verdict

A remaster that does exactly what it promised and not an inch more. Fun, faithful, pretty - and shallow. At full price I would want a friend or two to share it with; on the first sale it is an easy recommendation.

Score: 7/10

Image: Toho Company Ltd. / Public domain, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Godzilla_(1954).jpg