DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS
Come for the crafting, stay for the story
By my bristly brows, this game is positively brimming with life. Combining all the goofy smiling slimes and puns of the Dragon Quest series with the building blocks of Minecraft has led to something wonderful. It might look like a crafting cash-in, but Dragon Quest Builders far exceeds those expectations. Like Minecraft, building is block-based and you can make whatever you want, though you may be given blueprints to prompt you. There’s your typical earth, stone and precious metals, but you’ll also find more elaborate items such as roof tiles, pots, and chairs to decorate with. Even if you’re not creative it’s easy to design something that looks good and has plenty of character.
However, unlike its bigger cousin you’re not simply let loose in a random world – there’s a set story to follow and quests to complete. You need to rescue the land from darkness by, er… rebuilding towns one block at a time (go with it). The sense of structure, no matter how bizarre, is welcome since it gives all of your building a sense of purpose. If you’re focused, all four chapters can be rattled through in 20-25 hours, but you could quite happily spend 50+ hours just tinkering with your first homestead.
It’s not all about building – there’s also a strategic element to whatever you make for your township. Certain types of room will buff your residents: inns boost health faster, and cafes can stop your hunger meter dropping. It’s a cute twist that comes in handy when monsters start descending on your village, as you’ll be better equipped to fight them off.
At points it feels like a fullon tower defence game where you’re creating specific units to defend yourself. And it makes building satisfying – even if you’re not very good at making things look pretty, you can still plan for optimum efficiency.
PLANNING PERMISSION
Occasionally you’ll have to hit things for certain materials. Combat is basic – jab w to bash things with your club – but it can be a little fiddly to get just the right angle and distance to land hits. It can take a few attempts to figure out how to best the bosses, but they’re such a small part of the game that’s easily forgiven.
Don’t expect Minecraft’s breadth. There is only one world here, and it is rather limited. Once you’ve finished the story, it’s Goodnight Vienna, or wherever. And it’s single-player-only, too. You do unlock a free-build mode after chapter one, which lets you share your creations online, but the inability to play with others is a huge feature vacuum.
Yet while it isn’t as open ended as the game it’s inspired by, Builders rarely suffers for it by being big, bright and filled with character. Ironically, those who overindulged on Minecraft will appreciated it most of all – its structure turns out to be exactly the fresh spin on the genre we’ve been waiting for.
VERDICT
This is what Minecraft: Story Mode should have been like: a grand adventure with plenty of room for creativity, even if the overall package is limited in other ways. Daniella Lucas