25.10.2016

I do not like Minecraft. Figure I may as well put that out there now. In fact I don't like any of the games that focus on building stuff and surviving. In fact every time someone mentions Fallout 4 I get triggered into going off on a rant about how much I hated the building in that game, so all that might make my opinion on this useless but I do love Dragon Quest.... so there you go.Dragon Quest Builders starts with you waking up in some sort of underground shelter. You are woken up by the Goddess Rubiss and she says "hey, the world is pretty borked man. A Dragonlord wrecked it and now human can't build stuff but you can so please go and build everything" and that is that.The game has no voice acting and the emphasis on hilarious accents seen in previous DQ games is gone. The armourers are still written with their ridiculous cockney accents but that is about it and because of that the game does lose a bit of its charm. But hey, this is Dragon Quest so it has plenty of charm to spare.You get a brief tutorial which basically amounts to whack it and stack it and then you are let out into the world to build. The first level slowly introduces new mechanics to you at a rate where you are never overwhelmed but never bored either. By the time you get to the end of the first chapter you will have learnt pretty much everything you need to know about the various ways of crafting.Something that I have never liked about games of this nature is how aimless they are. Builders addresses this by giving you a town with villagers that will ask you to build various things for them. This ranges from trinkets and food to building requests. Once you have built a room and filled it with various items it will become a certain type of room. So for example if you have a light source and a couple of beds it will become a basic bedroom. Add a pot and a sign and it will become a private bedroom. The game is great at giving you feedback for what you are building and sometimes the villagers will give you a rough idea of how to build a room, then it is up to you how to go about it. Other times they will give you a blueprint where you have to follow the exact plans to complete it. This is where the first negative of the game comes in. The building instrucions for blueprints are very strict and if it says you need a dirt wall you have to have a dirt wall, never mind if you want a brick wall or wooden wall. After the building is complete you can replace the walls or put some cladding on them to change them more to your liking but it is just a bit of a pain. Not a massive frustration but to shift the focus from doing whatever you want to then having to follow the game exactly can be jarring.As you move along each chapter and complete objectives your town will occasionally get attacked by monsters. Sometimes random enemies will just show up and if you have a castle wall built around your town they will just get bored and walk off. Other times it is a story encounter where you and the townspeople will band together to fight off a couple of waves of tougher enemies. You can build fortifications around your town, but honestly I found all these did was get in the way, usually doing more harm to me than the monsters,Outside of your village you will spend most of your time collecting building materials. These are generally either environmental cubes for building or materials for crafting. You can also fish later in the game and once you have a shovel you can dig up flowers and stuff to plant at your base. As the game progresses you will get items and abilities that will make collecting materials easier and much much quicker. That is a very brief description for what makes up half of the game but the joy of it comes from the simplicity.While you are out and about you will constantly be bothered by monsters. This is probably the weakest aspect of the game. Combat is actually pretty fun but it is very basic and becomes tedious later in the game. There is no block, very few special weapons and only one attack button. There are a few special combat encounters where you will have to defeat special enemies or some such and they are usually pretty annoying. Each chapter also ends in a boss fight which can result in your beautiful town getting completely ransacked. They aren't difficult. There is always some trick to it and once you have it figured out you will walk right through it. A couple of times I went into the fight, figured out what I had to do and then reloaded my game so that my town didn't get blown to tiny pieces.The majority of the game will be spent building, obviously and it is a lot of fun. I have been having a look at some of the stuff people have built now that I have beat the game and it is pretty cool. The main issue is that all you really get to do is stack stuff on top of each other and fill it with decorations. There aren't really any machines to create or any moving parts which is great for me but if you are used to some of the bigger games within the genre I can see this being a bit of a disappointment in that regard.Once you have beaten the first level you unlock a freebuild mode. As you progress through the story you will unlock new items and locations for this sandbox. I haven't spent a huge amount of time in this game mode but from what I have played it seems like resources are more plentiful to really encourage you to build whatever you can imagine. There are also share block in this area. Little plots of land where you can build whatever you want and then share it with your friends. Or import their creations. Once they are in your world they just kind of sit there though. As far as I could tell you can't do anything with them. It is still nice to see what other people have created.Overall I loved this game. Each new world provided a slightly different way to play than the previous level which stopped the formula from getting stale. However the combat did become a bore after a while and there were a few niggling frustrations here and there.Including a Kamikaze blowing up the outside wall of my base, along with an inn, a treasury and a kitchen. Rage quit.

11.11.2016

So I didn't expect too much from this. Although I like the Dragon Quest series my interest in Minecraft and building games has always been pretty much zero and this appeared to be a take on that. SquareEnix, the company behind Dragon Quest kindly released a demo for the game however which I figured I would try for half an hour or so and see what it was like. Three hours later and I was till playing the demo. The added characters, story and mission structure really give Dragon Quest Builders the purpose to build your perfect town and explore the nearby environments.The story is pretty simple and seems to be based on an alternative universe of the original Dragon Quest game (which I have never played)where the hero struck a bargain with the main villain Dragonlord rather than fighting him. The end result was the monsters ruling the world and humans scattered having lost the ability to build anything, merely surviving in ruins. This is where you come in as the legendary builder! Given powers by the goddess herself you are to rebuild these towns and rally the people showing them how to build again.The gameplay is a little odd, it's a mixture of an action RPG, Minecraft and a tower defense sim. You are given a plot of lland bathed in ight in which to build your town that characters will be drawn to. These characters will then give you quests to improve the town such as building bedrooms, kitchens, changing rooms etc, whatever they need to improve the town. Your job as the builder is to hunt down the materials needed to forge these items and choose how and where to build them. As the game goes on more materials become available as more areas unlock to explore so though your town may start off as a mudheap eventually with enough effort and planning you could turn it into a majestic castle.Most materials are mined simply by being attacked giving you access to wood and stone for example which can be transformed into wooden planks or walls etc. Your weaponry defines what you can mine, with better weapons allowing you to mine for precious metals to create better weapons and armour to fight harder enemies. Your access to what you can build is slowly rolled out to you rather than all at once allowing you to grow used to every new idea and area. I never felt overwhelmed.Walls, plants, caves and structures aren't the only place to get materials though as all monsters will drop various materials including fur, bones, metal, eggs and meat. The combat sadly is where the game kind of falls down for me. The problem is that your attacks are used to destroy blocks to carve out your town as well as replace wrongly positioned items in your town. That sounds fine right? Well the problem is due to that your attack range is absolutely pitiful so as not to destroy too much when building. When attacking monsters who move and fight back that becomes an issue. You have to almost dry hump them to get in range to actually hit them. To compound the issue is that touching enemies causes you damage and sometimes knocks you back. I found most of the damage I took was simply trying to get in attacking range which is especially annoying as the enemies get tougher.Fortunately combat though important is more of a side dish to actually exploring and building. Your town will get attacked though the resident characters will leap to attack any mosters that try (building a town wall of the toughest material you can can minimise that anyway) and dying will warp you back to town dropping some of the items you were carrying which you can collect again so it's not overly punishing.The game is split into chapters set in completely different areas with different characters. Each area has it's own theme and introduces new ideas, materials and rooms to build. The only issue is each time you have to start building your town from scratch which does get kind of annoying though as you play the game it becomes a quick process as you know what to do. There is a free build mode however that gets more things unlocked as you complete quests, challenges and chapters of the game so if you want to build your ultimate town, you can. These chapters are surprisingly long especially if you invest heavily in them. I think beating the game took me maybe 50-60 hours originally? Then there are speed run challenges for each chapter as well as others for exploring or building certain things. It certainly was good value for money.The visuals considering this is a Vita and PS4 game are actually fantastic. It keeps the exact look of Dragon Quest with Akira Toriyama's art style, great use of vibrant colour and detail. It's certainly not going to be compared with any of the big hitters visually but it's a great looking game with style that carries it through. The music is also incredibly retro and Dragon Quest as fans know it (A good thing). Though the game supports no voice acting the dialogue is surprisingly good with some genuinely likeable characters and witty moments that sometimes made me laugh, I really didn't expect that.All in all this was a surprising gem. It's incredibly addictive to play, I loved building the perfect town and exploring around. The visuals are excellent, the characters give the game life and purpose and it all fits so well into the Dragon Quest series. The game isn't perfect though as the combat is annoying, the town areas for building can feel constrained at times and restarting a new town each time could annoy some people but they don't get in the way of it just being fun.Recommended.+ Immensely addictive.+ Characters and plot give the crafting and building purpose.+ Good value for money, spent nearly 80 hours playing.+ Surprisingly good dialogue at times.+ Great visual style and music.- The combat range is pitiful and taking damage touching enemies is especially punishing because of this.- Having to start a new town every chapter could annoy some people ( I liked being able to do stuff differently each time personally)

16.2.2018

Dragon Quest Builders is like an alternate reality take on the Dragon Quest story.The game is set in the ruined land of Alefgard. In the distant past the hero from the first Dragon Quest game took a deal from the Dragonlord to share the world equally, but this turned out to be a deception and the hero was ultimately killed. The hero had a chance to defeat the Dragonlord but this one mistake condemned the entire world to ruin and gave the Dragonlord dominion over everything.Set some time later, you the new hero are revived by the Goddess and tasked with the reconstruction of the world. Basically the knowledge of building is lost on what survivors are still roaming the world,and you the new hero have to bring hope and light back to a world devoid of it.The game contains four chapters, which can easily last upwards of 10-20+ hours depending on how much building and material gathering you want to do. The game does have a town boundary which you have to build within. You are given blue prints by the residents that flock to your town after you place your banner of hope and they ask that you build to those specifications.For those wondering if the game is like Minecraft, I think it is. The entire world is destructible, you can gather many different types of materials and craft and build stuff. Sure the game isn't roof friendly, but you can build roofs if you like. One thing I would say is that despite the games requirements to build, you can really make some elaborate looking towns in the story mode. I personally built the outer walls of Cantlin out of obsidian and laughed at the puny boulders making no impact by the boss.You are often tasked with defending your town via quest with NPCs and at night when the story requires. As you progress through the story you'll have some blueprints for some really elaborate things like canons, siege equipment and the like. It really can get quite exciting and terrifying when your town is being bombarded with monsters, but its fun, really fun.For those wondering about the difficulty curve. I would say it does have an upwards take on it. But as long as you have a good supply of food I don't think you'll have much to worry about. The game eases you into things and I think those who master the first two chapters will have a pretty good grasp of what to do when you're faced with the immediate challenge of gathering food and the like when food is initially sparse. If you are ever stuck or aren't sure what to do, I would say just go smash a bunch of areas and gather NEW materials. Usually when you need to build something and you're not sure what that material is that you need, it's fool proof and easy.The game has a mode called Terra Incognita which means Unknown land. This is basically a huge sandbox where you are free to build to your hearts content without fear of your town being attacked. You can build absolutely huge towns, castles, whatever you like. If you ever need inspiration go load up Youtube and see what other creators are done. This is a mode you can easily invest 100s of hours in just to build your own little world. There really is no limit beyond that which your imagination can conceive. You may find yourself just clearing away a massive amount of land just so you can plan out where your buildings, moats, bridges, anything really will go. When everything comes together you'll no doubt feel the satisfactions that comes with creating stuff.Unfortunately there's no online mode in the first game. Square-Enix are correcting this with Dragon Quest Builders 2, which if you look at some videos available at the moment shows several players building together, as well as new features like underwater, gliding etc. The game was announced for the Switch & PS4 and hopefully will be out this year(No date announced yet..).

23.12.2016

I'm a bit late for the hype towards this game as I had only saw two gameplays of it but was at uni when it came out so I had to get home in order to check but this review is mainly based on the demo of the game as I only bought it online today and am waiting for it to arrive (so excited <3)Also, before experiencing this game for the first time, I haven't played either Dragon Quest nor Minecraft before so I am new to these franchises.Many say this is a Minecraft clone yet I haven't been one of those that played Minecraft but trying it out as a demo after trying the Dragon Quest Builders demo, I've actually gotten so used to the simple interface of DQB that Minecraft seemed a bit too much forme to handle and DQB seemed to strike me more as the thing I want to buy more than anything else.I can literally spend many hours, until the point it gets too late into the night, trying to improve my little town along with different rooms and such I want to add even if it serves no purpose to the characters but having thoughts like "I want to make a bathing area next" and "I'm gonna create a passage to connect my town with this secret hideout I made outside the town" excites me.It's also fun just scavenging for things outside as this game makes you work for your items to improve your town and although it's similar too to Minecraft in that respect, that works well in DQB too as a building game.Having spent so much time developing my town, I'm actually pretty scared about how much time will end up going to DQB just building and not continuing with the story as I'd probably take a long time to finish the game with the satisfaction of adding more and more into your town.I did try and get this game at GAME (no pun intended) to find out it's out of stock even though it's been 2 months since the release and even one of the employees stated they noticed it was really popular and that they wanted the game too but was too late as well to join the bandwagon for this game.You could get the digital version of this game but with the Day One Edition, I feel I'd be missing out on extra content and as a collector, I'd rather obtain the physical copy instead as it has more value and meaning into my life.This is a game for those that either enjoy a good JRPG plot/gameplay, enjoy building structures/communities for fun, or even both/If you do want to play this game, prepare to make room in your schedule for many hours to devote yourself to this game as it can get really addictive doing the tiniest things.This is also a game that is friendly to those that has never encountered building games and JRPGs. Some Dragon Quest characters are used in this game but not having the knowledge of these characters won't make the experience worse.

6.2.2017

The question that gets asked a lot about this game is, isn't this just another Minecraft clone?Fact that it uses a similar system, a block based gathering / crafting system may seem like it is just another clone, however this game has a charm that no other "clone" has.Dragon Quest Builders, is a creative game, which has you the "non-hero" having to build up a town from rubble, following the requests of the townspeople it attracts over the course of the game, you have to fight enemies, gather the right resources in order to build you weapons, defences or even just glamour items to make your town look pretty (Plates, Tables, Cupboards I even found a bathtub)It is a story driven game first,

29.4.2018

Its a good game. I've only played one other dragon quest game, the one on DS several years ago, but its got the same theming, same huge amount of content. It's very child-friendly, but if you're a bit older you might catch some of the hints that wouldn't be obvious to, say, a nine year old, like the 'farmer sutra'. It has a very definite, unique atmosphere which takes me back to some childhood wii games, which is nice.Gameplay wise, there's four completely separate chapters, in between which you reset all your health, items, recipes et cetera. In each, you found a base on top of the ruins of an old town, and meet your first person, a kind of 'main companion'

27.2.2018

Going in to this with a bit of Dragon Quest / Warrior nostalgia. Certainly scratches that itch. A decent game which will take a lot of hours to work through, although much of this can feel a bit grindy.If you're looking for Minecraft-esque games, DQB is OK, but it's more story focused than freeform building focused. If that sounds like your thing then this could be the game for you.The game design is a little unusual in that it doesn't reward you for building things to a consistent idea, for instance you could have a mismatch of floor tiles and walls and the buildings score the same as perfectly crafted symmetrical buildings. As such it's more a kind of 'patch things up to a point where it's functional',

28.10.2016

A huge budget and well developed game...to an extent. This is cross between Minecraft, in that you construct stuff with blocks and craft stuff from trees, rocks and your general surrounding. Its also part Jrpg.The Minecraft side of things is very undercooked and quiet clunky, the Jrpg stuff is very light and simple.Combined however, they become more than a sum of their parts. They make quite the addictive game. Yes, I can point out what needs to be improved, but really, it doesn't matter. I've sunk 30 odd hours into the game since it's launch and am currently working through world 3 of 4 worlds.Once you complete world 1, the open world section , Terra Incognita opens up,

1.11.2017

I bought this game from a supermarket. Its a good game for people of all ages(young children and adults). If you don't like minecraft you will probably still like it.(though you probably won't be interested in the freeplay/terra incognita section of the game) Even if you don't play the freeplay section completing the story at your own pace can take a while and is fun (you unlock stuff in terra incognita if you speed run the game though). It's quite an easy game. But it's fun to play. Its a casual game that you can play for ages or just pick up for half an hour and do one quest one SMALL annoyance, when playing short bursts is that you have to go back to your base to save.

6.2.2018

Great little game that I've been playing for over a week a now. Good story to guide you along and I'm currently nearing the end of the second world.Crafting is easy and fun. Certain buildings need to meet specific requirements but you can choose to create your own rooms in addition if you like.There's plenty of quests and combat to keep you busy but the combat can be a little frustrating. As other reviewers have said, you need to be really close to enemies in order to hit them with a hammer, sword or axe. So close in fact the you end up walking into them and taking damage as you try to kill them. It can be really annoying but most enemies have a pattern when attacking you. If you time it,

12.11.2016

Well, I'm officially addicted... this is definitely one of my top favorite games!! <3 I'm a big wuss when it comes to fighting games.. half the time I scream and hide... the other half I throw my controller across the room... then run, screaming and hide. Haha. But I love how cute the monsters are in this game and how I can actually fight them. ;) They're not too tough. I'm so excited that there's a free build level as well!! I love all the little quests and missions but I really want to build whatever I can think up too! People... buy this game.. you won't be disappointed!!

28.10.2017

Originally I gave it 5 stars but now downgraded it to 4 star the stupid boss fight with the bashmobile totally ruin the game for me. It’s uncontrollable to the point of being stupid. Poor design too much fighting building being destroyed every 5 minutes. Rubbish.I give it 5 it’s very addictive but it’s has day and night the days you build and chase quest but the nights are dark and come too soon and too often. So you tend to reach for the nearest bed and sleep. Very annoying but a annoying additive game that some how wants you to go back for more.

14.12.2018

Interesting to see how many reviewers said : I don’t like mine craft but this game is great!I am in the same boat. I do like RPG and have played a bit of dragon quest (not a massive fan as it is too old fashion for me). I do like to have a structure for crafting / building gameplay. Especially the gameplay focuses so much on building the town , not just mining and crafting items. You literally will only level up by building up your town. It is brilliant.

20.11.2016

One of the best games I played so far! It is exactly what Minecraft should be like. This game is a must-have for every fan of the Dragon Quest series. The only thing that could have been better: After completing a chapter you can't take anything with you to the next one - that was a bit frustrating as I spent a lot of time building my city... All in all: This game guarantees hundreds of hours of fun and is absolutely worth the money! :)

2.7.2021

I never played minecraft but I love lego games like lego worlds which slows you to build your own world. This and Dragon Quest 11 are the reasons why I got this game. I was not disappointed I love it the ability to break and collect items to build and create new buildings,armor, weapons, and room accessories. I also love the fighting enemies and open world. Overall there is a lot to enjoy . The story is just the icing on the cake.

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