DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS 2 Demo Impression for PlayStation 4

Dragon Quest Builders 2, developed by Square Enix and Omega Force, is a game that demolished my expectations. With amazing 3D assets that bring famed mangaka artist Akira Toriyama’s art to life, Dragon Quest Builders 2 is a joy to experience. Additionally, the character animations for each asset are high quality and bring out the personality of every being in the game.

With an E-10+ rating and Minecraftesque mechanics, one would expect this game to be another rehash of the budding survival-construction genre but that is definitely not the case here.

Dragon Quest Builders 2 stands out from the crowd as it balances an open world experience within the confines of a narrative. While the sound of narrative restricting player freedom may scare people off, Dragon Quest Builders 2 accomplishes the opposite by using the narrative to provide context to player actions. Coupled with a well written supporting cast to interact with and build things for, the game really hooked me into its premise and made me care about the budding mystery it set up.

While the game does boast an action RPG title, those looking for stellar combat should be wary. The combat here isn’t necessarily bad but coupled with a camera that is more annoying than helpful it can be wonky at times. The survival elements are also minor as you cook and eat to replenish health, so take that as you will. I also wish there was more care put into the player character’s facial animations as “happy face with a smile” was the most utilized for nearly every scene despite the emotional context. Despite the amount of choice given for skin tone, hair color, eye color, etc., the fact that the player character reverted back to the white/blond/blue eyed default in some larger cut scenes and character art within the game was annoying. I hope that with the full release of the game more time and care can be placed into uplifting these important cosmetic choices instead of undercutting them.

All in all, Dragon Quest Builders 2 has settled into a niche of its own by blending the player freedom found in open world games with the characters and story of a single player experience. When it releases later this July, it will surely be on my radar.

Check Out the Dragon Quest Builders 2 Trailer:

DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS 2 is releasing July 12, 2019 for PlayStation 4.