Dragon Quest Builders Critic Reviews

Solid gameplay and simple storytelling give players a reason to keep coming back, simply put, Dragon Quest Builders is a game for those that enjoy structured creative freedom, even if that is an oxymoron.

For anyone who’s ever looked at Minecraft and found its lack of structure daunting, DQB is a more focused, more accessible version of it. And, while it may not have the scope of that genre-defining title, there’s something special at its the core — an exploration of what it means to build a community. The game’s ‘building’ isn’t just about bricks and mortar, but about restoring places where people can work together to create something better than anyone could accomplish on their own. Dragon Quest Builders may not be designed to go on forever, but it offers dozens of hours of crafting, construction, and an utterly engaging story to get lost in.

Dragon Quest Builders is a stunning balance of build and adventure. I was incredibly skeptical that the two genres would ever evenly mix, but somehow Square Enix found the right spots and put together one helluva package for Dragon Quest and Minecraft fans to enjoy. It’s really quite good and addictive.

Dragon Quest Builders mixes Minecraft's formula with Dragon Quest's RPG tradition and the result is surprising. It's a game that will hook you in terribly, that always unfolds something new (enemies, new creative options...) and even if it may seem a complex game, it's always easy to play and is very fun. If you give it a chance, you won't escape.

I adore how none of it feels contrived, forced, or packed-in for the sake of nostalgia. It all flows well, including the natural progression to new tools that mirror the discovery of new villages and vendors in a classic JRPG romp. There's a small sense of rote iteration, especially if you power through the questline with little exploration, but any of those feelings are quickly washed away.

Taking a formula made famous by Minecraft and refining it in every possible way is what makes Dragon Quest Builders a fun and enjoyable experience through and through. The only thing holding it back is your own lack of imagination.

Dragon Quest Builders is both a fantastic game and a testament to the incredible versatility of the Dragon Quest series. It is a culmination of everything that the series is known and loved for, combined with the strongest elements of Minecraft. With solid gameplay, a gorgeous world, and genuinely funny writing, even those unfamiliar with the franchise can easily find something here to enjoy.

To put my enjoyment in perspective, I am a huge Dragon Quest fan, and while I appreciate what Minecraft is and what it does, it never held my interest for long as a game. I couldn’t stop playing Dragon Quest Builders and it is one of those experiences that I look forward to continue playing even after the review is done.

While created for fans first and foremost, Dragon Quest Builders serves as not only a love letter to the long running series, but also as an excellent introduction for newcomers to this wonderful franchise that is definitely worth checking out.

Striking an almost perfect balance between RPG and construction game, Dragon Quest: Builders manages to hold fast to the best parts of the series whose name it bears while creating a guided, structured format for the Minecraft concept. The end result works brilliantly, with top-notch visuals, music, and writing that help drive home the appeal. There's room for improvement here... but not much.

Dragon Quest Builders is instead a beautiful, voxel-informed, crafting-focused, thematically relatable fantasy roleplaying extravaganza that’s better because of its constraints, not in spite of them. It’s the sort of thing those who’ve bounced playing Minecraft but still find its crazy everywhere appeal intriguing should pay attention to—an exquisite, Lego-like builder deftly equipoised between structured and freeform play.

While I certainly respect Minecraft, I prefer Dragon Quest Builders. It doesn’t offer the sheer depth that Minecraft does, of course, and there will be no “educational edition” of the game being sold into schools, as there is with Minecraft. What it is, however, is a down-to-earth and genuinely entertaining little game that shares far, far more in common with its JRPG roots than even the game itself wants to admit. And as a long-suffering Dragon Quest fan, that makes Builders special indeed.

Ultimately, Dragon Quest Builders takes what makes Minecraft great, uses that template within a more traditional adventure/RPG, and does so with polish and personality. Absolutely worth playing.

It's by no means perfect, and has ideas that could stand to be improved upon when the game eventually gets a sequel, but what could've ended up as a cynical cash in has instead wound up as one of 2016's most interesting games.

Dragon Quest Builders is an entertaining RPG, a marvellous builder, and simply a tremendous game all-round.

Half Dragon Quest, half Minecraft, all delightful.

The game is fun and highly addictive. The rather steep difficulty curve in story mode, coupled with the high number of hidden item recipes and blueprints mean it will take some time before you're able to utilise the free build mode to its fullest. That being said, given the adorable and gorgeous graphics, the large and varied landscapes, and the beautiful soundtrack of remastered songs from the series, it's time you won't begrudge spending.

Dragon Quest Builders is definitely a great stride of creativity in the gaming world. Going in, I didn’t expect anything more than the ability to build things and killing a bunch of slimes. What I got was something far greater, and far better than anything I could have imagined. You have the ability to completely change everything around you, and you can truly feel the importance of your role; even the aesthetics and sounds are great enough to evoke that kind of emotion. It gives you an awesome sense of accomplishment, surrounds you with some of the most interesting concepts that this genre has ever seen, and makes you feel like you’re worth something in this world. This is what it means to be a Builder.

Masterpiece.

Dragon Quest Builders is totally, thoroughly engaging. Its gameplay is accessible to kids while its dialogue offers enough sly references to keep Dad or Mom amused.