Available on: PlayStation 4
Even though I’ve always been interested in crafting a beautiful skyscraper from scratch, I’ve never been able to commit to the dull environments of Minecraft. Luckily, Dragon Quest Builders creates a beautiful experience with a lush world and approachable controls. It’s a simple joy to play.
The Story
Blessed with magical building powers, you’re tasked with bringing the ancient city of Cantlin back to life and restoring the world of Alefgard. And after a short introduction, you set off to explore, gather people, collect materials, and defeat monsters. It’s a simple task, but it gets the job done well.
But the story isn’t what kept me going. Watching my base grow from a humble little encampment into my own personalized city kept me hooked and pushed me to play more.
Presentation is the real rock star here. Builders looks incredibly charming and smooth, making exploration enjoyable even if the world lacks variety in its environments. The urge to spend hours chopping, smashing, and slashing through the gorgeous wilderness is fun all on its own.
The Gameplay
Dragon Quest Builders revolves around four things: building, collecting, exploring and fighting. You’ll venture out into the world of Alefgard to gather resources and take down a variety of dastardly monsters. Once you have the sticks, earth, and feathers, you’ll return to your home base to create kitchens, bedrooms, workshops, and much more from the ground up. Everything works as you’d expect–attacking, building, destroying, storing, jumping, etc are all handled with a simple button press. This makes it easy to get into a rhythm as you venture out into the wilderness to collect stone in order to build another workshop. Once you get past the initial learning phase, the world is your oyster to explore.
Nothing in Builders is especially complicated or difficult. Your next objective is always laid out on your compass and all resources can be found in abundance close to your home base. You can follow the narrative and save Cantlin, or you can spend a few hours goofing off and erect a giant blocky Pikachu. Whatever floats your boat.
The Rating
The ESRB gave Dragon Quest Builders an E10+ with descriptors for fantasy violence, mild blood, language, suggestive themes and alcohol reference. But I can’t say I experienced anything too mature during my play time. Builders is actually a great chance to create something from scratch with your kid.
Takeaway
Dragon Quest Builders combines the imaginative world of Dragon Quest with addictive and fun mechanics that will keep you playing for hours. If you’re a fan of Minecraft, Dragon Quest, or if you’re just looking for a bit of fun on your Playstation 4, Dragon Quest Builders is a sure-fire way to have a great time.
