It's like The Incredible Hulk, only not as good
One truly good thing about Transformers is the destructible scenery. Smash a building and it'll go through several believable stages of wreckage, and if a fire breaks out it can spread between structures. Plus, you can uproot objects and use them for weapons, like trees or lampposts. But there's not much oomph to it all - it doesn't really feel that thrilling.
Our first Decepticon mission, for instance, involved us decimating an army base. But it was less exhilarating, more a monotonous tick-list - building destroyed, building destroyed, building destroyed...
The Incredible Hulk achieved a sense of destruction by connecting us to a recognisable environment, using it again and again. But the Transformers levels are run-of-the-mill, unremarkable. When they crumble, you're impressed, but the destruction feels insignificant.
Of course, in Hulk we were the only giant. But in Transformers you're surrounded by robots often bigger or of similar size to yourself. Combat certainly feels better than when we last saw the game, but with only a single attack button to relentlessly mash, battles are lightweight and disposable.
5 years after Avengers, 2 years after its last layoffs, and who knows how long before Perfect Dark and Tomb Raider return, Crystal Dynamics announces another round of layoffs
Getting Assassin's Creed Shadows on PS5 and Xbox Series X was all about adding "dynamism" to the open world, but the devs seem most proud about the trees
