Godzilla (2015) Review

I don't think Godzilla is here to save us…

When I think of Godzilla, I think of destruction. Entire cities are leveled as the titular monster battles other kaijus (monsters) in the films, and it generates adrenaline and excitement. The Godzilla video game for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 includes the destruction… but none of the excitement. It manages to make huge monstrosities fighting each other dull, all in a spare package that doesn't offer much beyond the main game mode.

The tutorial in Godzilla takes just a few moments to complete, because there's just not a lot to the game. Godzilla can do a light attack, a strong attack, a charge attack, and breathe fire when the appropriate meter is full. That's about it. Mash a few buttons, destroy some buildings, rinse and repeat. Along the way players can hit the right analog stick to record video of Godzilla and collect data, but that's the only attempt at variation. It grows tedious in minutes, not hours, and players must repeat the process multiple times over the course of each stage.

The main game mode, God of Destruction, follows Godzilla as he moves throughout the city and destroys generators. The level select screen is presented as a bracket, and paths branch based on difficulty. It seems to be an arbitrary denotation though, as I found some of the “hard” levels to be even easier than ones with the “easy” label. No matter the difficulty, it all boils down to Godzilla destroying generators. The only wrinkle comes in the form of other kaijus, which often show up and prevent level completion.

Watching a monster like King Ghidorah or Gabara show up in the middle of a level provides a special thrill, but the actual battles only cause frustration. Walking around as Godzilla in what seems like slow motion contributes to the boredom of the game, so adding another slow-moving monster to the mix only hinders the experience. That's not  even the worst part: If an enemy kaiju chains together a particular combo, there's no way to avoid it. Godzilla doesn't tout any special defensive moves, so players just have to sit there and take it. I've had entire fights in which I couldn't retaliate against the enemy kaiju because they relentlessly attacked me. All my progress in the level would be gone in the blink of an eye, and I'd have to do it all over again. There were more than a few audible groans on my part.

The kaiju fights might be the worst part about Godzilla, which is a sad fact considering most fans expect the opposite. The game even includes an entire mode in which players fight against kaiju after kaiju with no context whatsoever. There's also an Evolution mode and online multiplayer battles, both of which offer momentary diversions and little else.

Godzilla insists that players continually complete the God of Destruction mode in an effort to collect more data, unlock more monsters, and reach the final levels which are initially locked. There's a certain novelty to playing as other monsters as you unlock them, but the process takes far too long (unlike the actual mode, which lasts for an hour at the most). It's hard to keep playing God of Destruction when there aren't constant rewards to distract from the monotonous gameplay.

The worst part about my experience with Godzilla is the fact that it didn't provide laughs or enjoyment because of its poor quality. Instead, I just sat there bored for much of the time as I endlessly destroyed cities and fought other monsters in terribly unbalanced fights. On top of all that, the game costs $60 despite its lack of meaningful content. Much like the innocent civilians in the films, prospective buyers should flee in terror.