Generations ago, the realm of Alefgard was plunged into darkness by the terrible and treacherous Dragonlord, ruller of all monsters. Mankind was robbed of the power to build and forced to wander the ruins of their former home, scrounging and scavenging in the dust to survive. Now its up to you, a Legendary Builder chosen by the Goddess herself, to return the power of creation to the people and rebuild Alefgard.
Only when the wonder of imagination has been returned will mankind be able to overthrow the evil Dragonlord once and for all!.
Dragon Quest Builders is also available on PS4.
Any Minecraft-minded players out there will love it. [Issue #32 – March/April 2018, p. 73]
The gravest mistake that could be made regarding Dragon Quest Builders would be to liken it to "yet-another-Minecraft-clone." That could not be farther from the truth as, while of course the similarities are undeniable, this game is its own thing altogether and does some things better than Minecraft, and vice versa. Both may well appeal to the same kind of audience when it comes to broad-minded players, while maybe both being so different will make Minecraft purists detest it and Minecraft detractors absolutely love it. At any rate, it is a solid experience faithful to the Dragon Quest franchise that suffers only from very minor gripes with the gameplay and comes highly recommended for anyone who sees in there something that tickles their fancy.
Dragon Quest Builders is a motivating game that skilfully combines block building with RPG elements.
In case you missed the chance to discover Alefgard on PS4, this re-release for Nintendo Switch could be for you.
It's easy to have a love/hate relationship with Dragon Quest Builders. Mechanically, it's a brilliant experience, with some of the best gameplay and aesthetics of any game in the genre. But the decision to break the game up into four separate parts with no sense of progression between them is jarring at its best, and downright frustrating at its worst. It could have been so much more, but what's here is worth celebrating too. It might not be perfect, but it's fun, there's a tonne of content, and most importantly, the monsters are cute as heck.
The Switch-exclusive features--limited to the free-building non-story mode--add another layer of endearment to a game already brimming with charm.
Beyond the obvious Minecraft inspiration, Dragon Quest Builders is based on a solid, subtly ironic narrative which creates not only reason for these building tasks, but also life into this 3D rendition of Alefgard. And it gets sharper on Nintendo Switch with the Great Sabrecub that literally cuts through the potentially more pixel arted Terra Incognita mode, even if such retro nostalgic additions can't counterbalance the limited sharing options and the lack of multi player, thus consolidating this fundamentally solitary experience as a whole.
February 14, 2019
Dragon Quest Builders 2 comes to Switch & PS4 this summer. Watch video
