The Relic: First Guardian
The Relic: First Guardian
Game
Game2024
Instruments of Destruction
Developer Radiangames
Instruments of Destruction is a 2024 simulation video game developed and published by Radiangames for Windows. Ports for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S were released on October 23, 2025. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
181 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy, Mastodon) · newest Oct 30, 2026 · last updated Nov 4, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
83
LovedLoved
129 positive · 27 negative
95% range 76–88%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 129 | 27 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 6 | 0 | 16 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
1,087 of 1,183 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
82% recommend · 131 yes, 28 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 159 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (1,436 of 1,575 positive).
Players praise the satisfying destruction physics and visuals. [1][2][3] Some reviewers find the campaign fun but note repetitive objectives. [4][5][6] Several players complain about frustrating controls and building interface. [1][7][8]
Liked
Representative posts
- [6]
When you have "destruction" in the title of your game you would think it would be designed around destroying things. But this game starts like that with some limitations like don't destroy certain building which is a good little loop and then the bonus mission adds some other modifiers to challenge you a bit more. Then the game suddenly turns into time trials and moving boxes from A to B. Some of them are secondary …
- [4]
This is a fun, crazy, and chaotic game of demolition (and as I found out, engineering) The campaign is suitably long (great value) and while some missions have repetitive objectives, there is still a ton of vehicle and level variety to maintain its fun experience. I don't know how many vehicles and weapon combos there are in the campaign, but the dev found a ton of fun and enjoyable ways to blow pixels walls into …
- [7]
Buy it for the campaign, which is pure joy. It's filled with creative challenges and a massive collection of brilliant machines to pilot. I absolutely recommend buying the game purely for the delight the campaign brings. Build & Destroy mode is a horrible, frustrating mess though, with a very poorly designed interface, unintuitive controls, and frequently inconsistent behaviour in how player inputs are mapped to …
- [3]
The absolute best destruction sim hands down(sorry RF guerrilla), gorgeous graphics and extreme physics. *Warning* this game can bend both your gpu and cpu, the graphics are somewhere between cartoonish and realism, you can however customize them to your style. the UI needs a little learning but it provides with lots of options. Has a really good campaign with good enough VO. even more possiblities with workshop and …
- [1]
Pros: It's BLAST CORPS, but without the nuke to worry about. Destroying buildings is very satisfying. Hearing glass shatter, as you wreck a building never gets old. The graphics are nice, with debris flying everywhere. Tons of missions to accomplish. Though I haven't tried it yet, you can create your own vehicles. There's a sandbox mode, though I haven't tried that yet either (I've been trying to 3 star each …
Summarised from 34 of the 184 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 12, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
82% of the 159 Steam reviewers we collected recommend Instruments of Destruction. The complaint that keeps coming up: frustrating vehicle controls. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
NME said the "destruction system is both spectacular and wonderfully intricate" but had mixed comparisons to Besiege. Eurogamer said the vehicle editor is easy and fun to use and the game surpasses being merely a imitator of Besiege. GameStar noted the destruction physics as superior to that of Besiege. They also noted the "unexpectedly cool soundtrack". They later included the game on a list of best physics games on Steam. After playing the early access version, TJ Denzer of Shacknews said his time with the game "has been an absolute blast". PC Gamer described the destruction tech as beautiful and the game itself as a joy to play.
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 181 · most liked firstWhen you have "destruction" in the title of your game you would think it would be designed around destroying things. But this game starts like that with some limitations like don't destroy certain building which is a good little loop and then the bonus mission adds some other modifiers to challenge you a bit more. Then the game suddenly turns into time trials and moving boxes from A to B. Some of them are secondary objectives when it comes to time but it's still an annoying mechanic for some…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It annoys me that I must leave a negative review. I love the idea of this game, it runs flawlessly, and the guy who made it is basically the reason I love destroying ♥♥♥♥ so much (Red faction Guerrilla was amazing for that !). But I've been missled by old reviews. I thought I'd have to build my machines to tackle some objectives and challenges. Basically, Trailmakers, but instead of collecting things I'd have to destroy things. Boy was I wrong. It's an either / or situation : either you have…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The trailers made me think this is a Besiege-like creative "figure out how to do X by building some crazy-@ss mechanical abomination" type of game. Turns out it's not. Instead, you're forced to use pre-made vehicles for each mission for some inexplicable reason. I've read some other reviews and the dev's replies, and yeah, it appears that you indeed can build your vehicles — but only as an afterthought in some kind of a "sandbox" mode? Don't really get it. I was genuinely confused by the lack…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am keeping it because I got it on sale, but this is not what I thought it was. I assumed it was like alot of other games where you have to build a machine to pass a level. But the campaign is just you driving pre-built machines to do the same thing over and over. You can build your own machines in sandbox, but there is no objective when building your own machines. Kind of a let down
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game is okayish. The music and visuals are great, and the destruction feels very satisfying. But anything that requires any sort of precision is impossible (outside of avoiding ruins) The level where you have to throw crates towards a marker has to be skipped because it's extremely reliant on if the physics want to work. And the last level on the 3rd chapter (the 6 minute timer one) also has to be skipped as it requires you to punch a car across a small body of water (This is impossible…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Went to write this exact point, but will give credit to another PCMR elite... "Too much clunkiness and awkwardness with vehicle controls, a terrible camera system, and a terrible physics system makes actually playing this game a frustrating chore instead of FUN." Bingo, game could be wonderful, but it feels like you're trying to fight the controls AND camera as part of the game, refunded!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great game but it as a block limit of 2500
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Enjoyed it a lot. Brought back fond (and not-so-fond) memories of Blast Corps and Red Faction: Guerrilla.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game is not finished. Broken levels and gameplay mechanics everywhere. Dev has admitted to stretching himself way too thin on other projects/console ports. Game should still be listed as early access, since you cannot complete it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I still have my Blast Corps N64 cart, with many fond memories. The vehicles were distinct, each served specific roles and purposes, and were visually appealing. This game didn't just try to reinvent the wheels on all of those vehicles, it tried to reinvent the lugnuts, tires, rims, and valve caps, but it didn't pull it off and ends up with a pile of non-standard parts glued together instead of fitting into place. Too much clunkiness and awkwardness with vehicle controls, a terrible camera…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →More big moves in the office 🦺 Adding to our catalogue with an explosive, impressive, cathartic game from a brilliant solo dev (and NOT a bunch of friends). Smash into Instruments of Destruction 💥
positive · AI labelView post →This is a fun, crazy, and chaotic game of demolition (and as I found out, engineering) The campaign is suitably long (great value) and while some missions have repetitive objectives, there is still a ton of vehicle and level variety to maintain its fun experience. I don't know how many vehicles and weapon combos there are in the campaign, but the dev found a ton of fun and enjoyable ways to blow pixels walls into much smaller pixel walls! Some of the missions are quite easy to run through,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There's something satisfying about building a machine and watching it tear buildings apart exactly as planned. The physics are excellent, and experimenting with different designs is where the game really shines. It could use more variety in objectives over time, but it's an enjoyable sandbox that's easy to come back to.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm going to show my age, have you played n64 Blast Corps? This scratches the nostalgic itch I've had for a while.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's pretty satisfying, but the story is very bland.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pros: It's BLAST CORPS, but without the nuke to worry about. Destroying buildings is very satisfying. Hearing glass shatter, as you wreck a building never gets old. The graphics are nice, with debris flying everywhere. Tons of missions to accomplish. Though I haven't tried it yet, you can create your own vehicles. There's a sandbox mode, though I haven't tried that yet either (I've been trying to 3 star each mission). Cons: Controlling some of the vehicles can be very frustrating. I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →cant place anything. the "sandbox" mode is not a sandbox mode
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A new game from the dev behind Speed Demons 2 and Instruments of Destruction!
neutral · AI labelView post →First off this game's core idea is amazing. Complete freedom to build chaos machines. The things that killed it for me are as follows: The build controls are horrendous. Worst setup in any building game I have played to date. Part rotation is a nightmare. The keybinds in the setting do not give you any good info about the shortcut keys to make anything easier. The part settings menu and its options are also terrible. Cluttered with poor descriptions for most of the advanced parts.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun, but very demanding on the specs. Won't run reliably on Steam Deck. Refunded. :/ sorry!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →fun to destroy buildings but difficult to make instruments.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun destruction game. The main campaign is about prebuilt vehicles (~8 hours to 100%), but there is a separate, smaller campaign (~5 hours to 100%) where you can build your own stuff, and you also can use any vehicle in any level once you beat it with 3 stars, including ability to edit any of the campaign prebuilt vehicles, and Steam Workshop support. Music is great, destruction is good, there's even a story and voice acting. There also is a level editor in Sandbox mode. Camera and controls…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →We officially beat Barony as a group today! It was, spicy, but even with relatively bad RNG drops we managed a W :D Very fun game, I highly recommend it. Probably be doing more of it once they second part of the Instruments of Destruction stuff drops uwu
neutral · AI labelView post →i can tell this is a good game, i just cant figure anything out bc im lowk stupid
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I got this game through a little "Buy X Steam games" gamble and this was definately a suprise, thinking this was a mashup idea of a few games I was soon blown away by the visuals, music and the physics on this! wind, impact force, explosions, magnetic force and how the buildings fall apart is very detailed and satisfying. The weapons and creations that I went through on the campain were fun with how stable the physics engine was. Story line was a little eh but enjoyed playing as the final…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →dont play on steam deck it doesnt let you move your camera and also when i used a vehicle it instantly started driving even tho i didnt start driving
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Do you like to destroy? Do you like physics? Do you like to build? Do you like techno jams? THIS GAME IS INCREDIBLE. Added bonus: my son is learning structural integrity and physics from it!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i thought this game was really cool when i watched a video about it. i think the video was posted around the time of Instruments of Destruction's release. after watching a few more videos i asked my parents for the game and they got me the game. i would highly recommend a computer that can handle most video games. in this game you can play the campaign(story mode), create and upload custom vehicles as well as download other peoples vehicles, and even create and upload islands and missions! my…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Physics-based vehicle destruction game Instruments of Destruction is coming to PS5 + Xbox Series on March 27. (Read more: Gematsu)
neutral · AI labelView post →Way too clunky. I don't like the game and you do not need to share your thoughts on the matter.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not retro, but Instruments of Destruction is made by one of the Red Faction devs. Also check out Abriss. Both are machine building games with a focus on destruction. Instruments of Destruction does have a ton of prebuilt vehicles though if building isn’t your thing. The he campaign is also pretty easy to plow through to unlock the prebuilts.
neutral · AI labelView post →Buy it for the campaign, which is pure joy. It's filled with creative challenges and a massive collection of brilliant machines to pilot. I absolutely recommend buying the game purely for the delight the campaign brings. Build & Destroy mode is a horrible, frustrating mess though, with a very poorly designed interface, unintuitive controls, and frequently inconsistent behaviour in how player inputs are mapped to vehicle functions. I found it rage-inducing and quit in frustration.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Purchased at 40% discount. Had a decent amount of fun and a couple of laughs. Building was not user friendly and missions became repetitive. Will most likely repurchase at 60%-80% discount for when I feel like some quick destruction.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Used to play it, now its too laggy to do anything even on the lowest settings
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I LOVE sandbox games, tbh, but this? tis is absolute CINEMA, like-the PHYSICS, the LOGICS, ETC!!!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Michael Bay gives it his seal of approval!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The absolute best destruction sim hands down(sorry RF guerrilla), gorgeous graphics and extreme physics. *Warning* this game can bend both your gpu and cpu, the graphics are somewhere between cartoonish and realism, you can however customize them to your style. the UI needs a little learning but it provides with lots of options. Has a really good campaign with good enough VO. even more possiblities with workshop and tons of maps and creation even if you dont like creating stuff. *Note* turn of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game would be fun if it was finished and polished, and had some clear building tutorials. As far as I can tell, every mechanical piece and every weapon is activated or fired with the same button, and I can't find any way to assign different keys to specific mechanical parts or weapon triggers. Right now, I wasted 9 bucks on this because so far there is no way to change the input keys/buttons for specific equipment or weapons. Everything just activates with the same button all at once.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very resource-heavy, and unfortunately, not nearly as rewarding.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Most annoying tutorial system for building vehicles I have ever had the misfortune of playing through. If the voice telling you every single step wasn't enough to make you quit, the controls sure will. At least it's easy to skip the campaign story.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very fun and satisfying game. Sit down and blow stuff up!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is fun and entertaining but (SPOILERS) what isn’t mentioned is that in the later game your missions include destroying turrets/drones that are shooting at you and also a kraken that also can kill you. But if you’re fine with that(like me) i would buy it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →mainly been playing sandbox and i've been having fun. however, it was confusing how to play workshop maps. UI occasionally bugs out. if i want to adjust sliders, i have to back out to the main menu and adjust it there. workshop map search also gets bugged out and is layered on top of the map selection screen. basically, don't try to change any options or browse workshop maps unless you are at the main menu besides those issues, the destruction is VERY satisfying with some fantastic detail.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wish it was better optimized, but I'm a sucker for these physics-based vehicle builder games.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game really reminds me of Blast Corps on the N64 – it's a lot of fun!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →90s console vibes *peak*
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →🔴 We're live with Instruments of Destruction! And did we mention that it's currently 40% off in the Steam Summer Sale? 😉 store.steampowered.com/app/1428100/...
neutral · AI labelView post →Just a fun destruction game with great machines to play and build. Performance could be better but with the particle effects it's one of the few games at the moment that I understand the FPS I'm getting
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this is a game about building a crazy contraptions and the best part is that you can build in any way that you want there does not have to be a rhyme or reason to what to what your doing your just let lose and you can do what ever your hearts desire and after all that you get destroy buildings like a maniac or a worker on the job site that has no training or clue what there doing
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It good people who like building or destroying stuff.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you love Blast Corps take a look at Instruments of Destruction, it’s a great game. 👌
positive · AI labelView post →A fun quick arcade style game, catch it on sale and just have fun, no real depth or complications, just chaos and destruction
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Get told to destroy buildings. I take out building by the legs. watch building fall in on itself into a bunch of pieces. Fun physics game!! Picked it up off of Loaded for like $2. $2 well spent!!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Scratches the Blast Corps itch.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →more suitable for the "hell yeah" demographic.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Games based on physics and destructions is a peak of game industry!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is just too slow. I would hope that after the time I took a break from this game that it would run better, but it runs so slowly that it honestly makes me feel a little sick when playing.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →it's a game where you use instruments of destruction to destruct things
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Another good one is *Instruments of Destruction.* The dev was lead tech designer on Redfaction: Guerilla. It takes a similar approach to making structures have satisfying interior detail.
neutral · AI labelView post →Kaboom? Yes Rico, Kaboom...
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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