Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered hands-on — the comeback nobody saw coming

Atari and Pipeworks are bringing back Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee as a full remaster, and IGN got hands-on time with it at the Atari booth. The original game launched in 2002, and the remaster is being built by the same Pipeworks team that made it — which shows the moment you pick up a controller.

The biggest surprise is how much work has gone into the visuals. This isn't a resolution bump and a new box art — Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered runs on Unreal Engine 5, and the monsters and destructible city environments look genuinely impressive compared to the original. Each stage can also be played during the day or at night, which adds a layer of variety the original didn't have. On the gameplay side, the core feel is intact: big, weighty monsters that hit hard and get hit hard, with a roster that includes Ghidorah, Godzilla 2000, and — notably — the original MechaGodzilla rather than MechaGodzilla 2 from the 2002 release. Ghidorah plays like a versatile all-rounder, leaning on his three-neck reach, kicks, and a chargeable beam attack. Godzilla 2000 is more of a range-fighter built around his atomic breath, which deals massive damage and sends opponents flying across the stage. The matches IGN played were close and immediately fun, with the reviewer noting they picked the game back up after more than a decade away without any friction.

Destroy All Monsters Melee was a GameCube and Xbox cult favourite — the kind of arena brawler that a certain generation of Godzilla fans spent entire weekends with. Pipeworks developed several Godzilla games in that era, and having the original team return for the remaster rather than handing it to a different studio is a meaningful choice. Unreal Engine 5 is doing a lot of heavy lifting for modern monster-game visuals right now, and this looks like a strong fit for that engine.

No release date or platform list was confirmed during the preview, but the hands-on impression is strongly positive — the game feels like a faithful, visually overhauled version of the original rather than a reimagining. More details are expected as Atari continues to show the game off.