Need to know
What is it? A detailed voxel destruction engine framed by heist puzzles and sandbox carnage.
Expect to pay: £18.49/$19.99
Developer: Tuxedo Labs
Publisher: Tuxedo Labs
Reviewed on: Nvidia RTX 2070, 16GB RAM, AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Multiplayer? No
Link: Official site (opens in new tab)
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It would be so, so easy to write off Teardown as just a tech demo. A simple framework of maps, tools and missions built to show off developer Dennis Gustaffson’s incredible voxel destruction technology. But over its 18-month stretch in early access, Teardown has proven itself not only a stunning display of technical prowess, but also a bloody good little heist ’em up and the most creative sandbox platform since Garry’s Mod (opens in new tab).
Teardown is, first and foremost, all about that destruction. It’s a game of wooden shacks, concrete walls, metal catwalks and plaster corridors—all of which respond appropriately to being wailed on with a sledgehammer. Despite its blocky appearance, Teardown’s worlds break in wonderfully convincing ways. Metal pipes bend and snap when supports are removed, while plaster walls chip away to expose sturdier brickwork, kicking up clouds of dust as they crumble.
(Image credit: Tuxedo Labs)
Because those foundations really are incredible. Teardown isn’t just a tech demo—it’s a window into a world where game worlds only became more dynamic, more physical, more breakable. A world that saw Half-Life 2’s physics and Red Faction: Guerrilla’s destructible architecture and doubled down—instead of pursuing higher graphical fidelity and increasingly static worlds.
Teardown is a game that’s excited about its own technology, and wants to show you all the ways it can break stuff. It’s a quietly brilliant series of heist puzzles, a never-ending series of new worlds to break and new tools to break them with. But most of all, Teardown really is just a smashing great time.
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