Watching a building crumble or at least have one of its walls blown open is among the most satisfying sights in gaming. But unfortunately, you usually only see it during scripted set pieces or cutscenes. There's nothing wrong with it happening in a scripted fashion, but it's even better when it occurs naturally while playing.

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It makes the environment feel more like a real place, as a shell propelled by a highly powered tank should be able to blow through the wall of a standard house. Admittedly, not all destructible environments in gaming are realistic, as in some games, buildings break too easily. Even then, though, it's enjoyable to watch them fall down. And in the following games, buildings might not always collapse, but they do take some visible damage.

Updated February 22, 2024, By Ben Jessey: Destructible buildings are a nice feature to see in a game. Yet, not many titles allow you to blow everything to pieces. We created this list to inform you of those that do. And now, we've updated the piece to add a few more.

14 The Finals

The Finals, construction site with giant duck in the background in Monaco
The Finals

Released
December 7, 2023
Developer(s)
Embark Studios
Genre(s)
Multiplayer , First-Person Shooter
Platform(s)
PS5 , Xbox Series X|S , PC

The Finals is a free-to-play multiplayer shooter. The concept is that you're competing on a game show. Yet, there are a lot more explosions and gunfire in this than in a traditional episode of The Price Is Right.

The explosions, in particular, are not just a threat to you; they're a threat to the entire map, as the buildings and parts of the environment get blown apart in the conflict. The bright and vibrant presentation at least makes all the destruction look pretty.

13 Earth Defense Force 5

EDF heroes battle mechanized insects in Earth Defense Force 2025.

Games don't get much wilder than Earth Defense Force 5. It's an arcade-like shooter where you and your squad are tasked with protecting the world from dangerous, oversized creatures. And this isn't a situation where you fight several big bosses in a row. These beasts come at you in full hordes, creating chaos and destruction.

In the levels where there is a city, you will see buildings crumble under their might. You can also damage them, but your enemies will likely do the most devastation. At the conclusion of a level, you can end up with almost entirely leveled cities.

12 Worms W.M.D

Worms WMD Screenshot Of Exploding Building

Destruction has long been a big part of the Worms series, as you've always been able to blow up large chunks of scenery. In W.M.D, the developers enhanced the destruction even more by adding large, breakable buildings. As with everything else in the game, there is no limit to how much you can demolish these structures.

They're pretty sturdy and serve as good temporary cover. But the key word is "temporary" because if you blast them enough, you can remove all of their pixels.

11 House Flipper

Smashing a wall with a sledgehammer in a house in House Flipper

As the title of the game suggests, House Flipper is about preparing properties in anticipation of selling them. So, naturally, you do plenty of cleaning and painting to make sure the place looks nice.

Sometimes, though, a mere paintbrush isn't going to be enough to spruce a place up. You occasionally need a sledgehammer. With the powerful tool, you can knock down unnecessary or ugly walls to improve the house you're fixing up. Therefore, this is a positive type of destruction.

10 Split Second

Split Second Screenshot Of Exploding Building During Race

Buildings aren't generally under threat in racing games. They may get a little scuffed if they're close to the track, but usually, it's the cars that get destroyed. However, pretty much nothing safe in Split Second.

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The game is an arcade-style racer where driving excitingly builds up your power play meter, which allows you to trigger certain events in a race. They vary from shortcuts being opened to planes falling out of the sky. In some of them, buildings explode or fall down. While gas stations are the most common victims, some bigger structures can fall, too.

9 Mercenaries 2: World In Flames

Mercenaries 2 World In Flames Screenshot Of Explosion

Mercenaries 2 isn't the most celebrated game in the action-adventure genre, but very few can match it when it comes to demolition. After all, blowing things up is what this game is all about and the main selling point of the title.

Pretty much everything in the game's open world is completely destructible, including buildings of all shapes and sizes. And the title provides you with various ways to cause destruction. For instance, you can use rocket launchers, helicopters, airstrikes, and more to blow up your targets.

8 Destroy All Humans!

The Saucer in Destroy All Humans is in the process of destroying a farm

In Destroy All Humans, you play as an alien who visits Earth to gather human DNA, which will help his own race. Destroying buildings doesn't directly assist with the endeavor, but the game lets you do it anyway.

No structure is safe in this open-world action adventure, as you can blow up everything from small barns to capital buildings. You do this by making use of your fancy spaceship, which boasts advanced weaponry. One of the weapons is an incredibly powerful laser that causes structures to quickly explode.

7 Rainbow Six Siege

Rainbow Six Siege Match

As a series, Rainbow Six hasn't always been known for its destructible environments. But blowing through walls, floors, and barricades is a huge part of Siege. After all, the game is a tactical multiplayer shooter, and it doesn't get much more strategic than getting around someone's defenses by blowing a hole in the ceiling above them.

There are plenty of chances to do it, too, as most maps include buildings of some sort. As such, you can't completely level one as it would ruin the game. But pretty much every round involves the destruction of some parts of a house or bank or whatever structure serves as the battleground.

6 XCOM Series

XCOM 2 Screenshot Of Hole In Roof

XCOM is a great sci-fi series that combines elements of both the RTS and turn-based tactics genres. You go into every mission with a squad, and you have to instruct them while they face off against alien forces. In several of the games, each of these encounters is tense-filled because of the inclusion of perma-death. So, you want to keep your squad in cover.

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However, the inclusion of destructible environments makes hiding difficult. The ability to destroy walls and ceilings isn't in every entry in the series, but it's always nice to see. And it often allows you to get a jump on the enemy.

5 Red Faction Series

Red Faction Guerilla Screenshot Of Explosion

Destructible environments are one of the staples of the Red Faction series. Over the years, though, the demolition has grown even more impressive, with the feature reaching its pinnacle in Red Faction: Guerrilla.

In this entry, every building and barricade is seemingly made out of paper as a vehicle can easily run through them. But if you don't fancy driving, you can use your sledgehammer or explosives to obliterate a structure. The games aren't all about destruction. They also provide tight shooting action and intriguing stories. Plus, they tend to take place in fascinating locations.

4 Minecraft

minecraft explosion smolder

Usually, destructible buildings are a fun feature, but in Minecraft, it tends to be more annoying than anything. This is because Minecraft is all about building things. So, you can spend significant time gathering resources and building houses just for an explosive to undo all your work.

The destruction can be caused by a roaming creeper or another dangerous mob. Alternatively, one of your so-called friends can do the damage with a block of TNT. Yet, if it isn't your structure getting brought down, the demolition can be pretty fun. You don't even need an explosive as you can use a flint and steel or a bucket of lava to burn a place down.

3 7 Days To Die

7 Days to Die Book Shop
7 Days to Die

Released
December 13, 2013
Developer(s)
The Fun Pimps
Genre(s)
Survival , Horror
Platform(s)
PC , PS4 , Xbox One

The goal in this horror game is to survive, and the main threat to your health is zombies. These undead beings can be dangerous during the day, but they're especially menacing at night. Thankfully, the game allows you to make buildings or hide in the ones already there. If you also craft some good defenses, you have a decent chance of surviving for a while.

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However, your bases aren't impenetrable. Zombies can break down doors and walls if they give them enough hits. So, in this case, the inclusion of destructible environments adds extra tension to proceedings as you're never truly safe.

2 Teardown

Teardown View From A Room With A Hole In The Wall
Teardown

Released
April 21, 2022
Developer(s)
Tuxedo Labs
Genre(s)
Sandbox , Puzzle
Platform(s)
PC

In Teardown, almost everything is destructible, from buildings to vehicles. And you always have to break something to complete your objective. For instance, when the goal is to steal an item, you have to break through walls to reach it, as you play as the least subtle thief ever. Plus, you occasionally get an objective to destroy something, possibly even an entire building.

Of course, you don't break through brick and wood with just your hands. You have plenty of tools at your disposal that can do some damage. Yet, often driving a vehicle into something does the job. You don't want to break things too badly, though, as, at the end of every level, you must escape within a minute. So, try not to blow up the path you need to take.

1 Battlefield Series

Battlefield 2042 - via EA

The Battlefield games are arguably the most famous for their breakable environments, and the series has clearly evolved this aspect over time. The early games only allow you to destroy things like small bridges. Being able to blow giant holes in walls didn't come until several years later.

In Battlefield 4, the ante gets raised even higher as it includes levolutions. These are large set pieces of destruction that happen during rounds and alter the map while you're still playing. Some of them are really impressive as you can see full skyscrapers collapse. This level of destruction is what allows Battlefield to stand out from other influential first-person shooters.

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