Dysmantle from 10tons is a post-apocalyptic survival game in which you seem to be the only human still alive. Learn more in our Dysmantle review!
Dysmantle from 10tons is a post-apocalyptic survival game in which you seem to be the only human still alive. Even though you were properly prepared for things to go terribly wrong, having a stocked supply room in your shelter can only last you for so long. With nothing left, you’re forced to go out into the world to explore and scavenge to try and find what you need not only to feed yourself but to survive against the monsters that now plague this new world. Your main goal will be to escape from the island in one piece, but you’ll also get some additional sidequests to complete as you progress through the story. The first sidequest you will get will be for you to upgrade your crowbar so that you can break through some obstacles.
There are many things for you to collect. There are valuable materials to scavenge, which can be used for a variety of purposes. You can also unlock medals, some of which are also related to the trophies that the game has to offer – more on the Dysmantle trophies in a bit. There are also skills to unlock, which can end up being the difference between life and death. You can also collect keys that will allow you to explore new areas. You can review your total progress by checking the collection tab, which will show you your progress percentage for medals, the main quest, sidequests, and for locating the many points of interest in Dysmantle.
You’ll move your character with the left analog stick, running by pressing and holding down the Circle button as you move the camera around with the right analog stick. You can dodge attacks with the Circle button when in combat. To maximize the potential of your attacks, lock onto your target by pressing in on the right analog stick and using the Square button to swing your crowbar – or pressing and holding down the Square button to charge up a more powerful attack. If you have a long-range weapon, you can lock onto a target and then attack with the R2 button to attack. You can press up on the D-Pad to check your inventory, switch between tools by pressing left and right, and dropping materials by pressing down. To review our map, press the DualSense’s Touchpad. If you need to use something, press the X button. If you have a special item, it will be mapped to the Triangle button.
When in a camp, you can upgrade your gear… as long as you have the required materials for it! You could, for example, upgrade your backpack so that it has more material slots and more space for each material slot. The first upgrade will cost you ten pieces of plant matter and four pieces of scrap fabric. You might also want to consider improving the crowbar you start with. Upgrade it by using two pieces of scrap metal and two pieces of scrap wood, and you can increase its base damage from 8 to 12.
Later on, you’ll also gain the option of inventing recipes and crafting new weapons, clothing, items, and more. You can find new recipes around the island, as well as gain access to them as you level up by gaining enough experience points. Inventing and Crafting is split into four major categories: outfits, tools, supplies, and miscellaneous. You can craft yourself some throwing knives to attack enemies from a safer distance or invent a cooking pot you can use to cook! There will even be the option of crafting amber pills, which are to be used as a last resort since they will, well, allow you to have a painless death. Once you use them, you’ll die and will be returned to the home shelter campfire.
You will gain experience not only from completing sidequests but also from collecting materials, as well as storing them safely to be used at another time. There are also experience points to be gained by attacking and defeating the many monsters you’ll encounter – as well as the bosses you’ll have to battle. You’ll run into several ex-human scrappers who you can take on when found o their own, but that can end up proving to be deadly when in groups. Bosses will need you to pay attention to their movement and attack patterns so that you can use your tools and skills to defeat them. When you’ve collected enough experience points to level up, your character will gain access to new recipes, as long as they’re connected to another node.
To boost your odds of survival, you should definitely cook some delicious dishes that can grant you permanent upgrades to some of your stats. Cook a yummy tomato soup by using your cooking pot and three tomatoes, and your max hit points will increase by five. What can happen if you find some carrots or if you manage to find some juicy meat? There are many possibilities in this new world! Oh, and don’t forget to make good use of the link towers you find so that you can add more information to your map, as well as activate special contraptions to make your life a bit easier.
The game has a full trophy list with a Platinum trophy to add to your collection, and it won’t be an easy road to travel. The game is a Cross-Buy title, so you’ll get both the PS4 and PS5 versions of the game, with each one having its own trophy list. You’ll have to fill eight material slots with the same type of material, fully fill up ten material slots, invent 60 recipes, discover and activate all link towers, grow and harvest 10 plants, defeat 100 monsters of any type, feed animals 10 types, dig up all buried treasure on the island, listen to 50 different radio broadcasts, upgrade seven tools to the maximum level, and complete all sidequest, to name some examples.
You can customize your experience by going into the options menu and changing the UI scale, adjusting the camera distance, activating or deactivating the bloom filter, film grain, vignette, and depth of field, or by selecting from the different accessibility options. These include showing emojis, determining for how long text will be shown, activating a color blind mode, reducing blinking effects, or reducing trypophobia triggers.
Dysmantle is an entertaining post-apocalyptic survival experience in which every breath you take, and every move you make must be planned, or else you’ll end up dead, thanks to the nature of the ex-human monsters that lurk around every corner. You’ll have to scavenge to find as many resources as possible as you level up and upgrade your tools, level up and unlock new recipes, and craft new items that can help you escape from the island. Dysmantle is out on PlayStation as a Cross-Buy title, so you’ll get both the PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation 5 versions of the game for a $19.99 asking price.
Disclaimer
This Dysmantle review is based on a PlayStation 5 copy provided by 10tons.
