Dragon Quest Builders

About

Dragon Quest Builders is a fantasy open-world sandbox action RPG where players can build structures using blocks in a procedurally generated world. The game offers a main storyline, quirky side quests, and NPCs for a full RPG experience, while also allowing players to battle monsters and gather resources. It can be played in both single-player and multiplayer modes.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

98%

Audience ScoreBased on 332 reviews

story54 positive mentions

grinding14 negative mentions

The game offers a fun and engaging story mode that enhances the building experience.
Quality of life improvements, such as increased inventory space and the removal of weapon durability, make gameplay smoother and more enjoyable.
The game combines elements of crafting and RPG mechanics, providing a unique experience that appeals to fans of both genres.

The port is based on the mobile version, resulting in a less polished UI and lower texture quality compared to console versions.
Some players may find the game too simple and lacking in challenge, especially when compared to its sequel, Dragon Quest Builders 2.
The removal of certain gameplay mechanics, like resource management and durability, may disappoint fans of the original game.

story
282 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
79%
1%
The story of *Dragon Quest Builders* is engaging and serves as a compelling backdrop for the game's crafting and building mechanics, focusing on themes of hope, despair, and the struggle between good and evil. While it features a mix of lighthearted and darker moments, the narrative is generally straightforward and structured across chapters, allowing players to explore a handcrafted world filled with quests and unique characters. Although some players find the story less polished compared to its sequel, it still offers a nostalgic connection to the original *Dragon Quest* game, making it a worthwhile experience for fans of the franchise.
- “The story is about hope and despair, human vs monster, light and dark, good vs evil; the borderline is very clear.”
- “The game constructs a richly detailed world, characterized by vibrant aesthetics, complex characters, and well-designed quests that demonstrate a keen attention to narrative structure and player experience.”
- “The story isn't crazy, but it's actually pretty grim in moments, despite the game looking cute and the many giggles I had due to the funny dialogue.”
- “However, it is hard to recommend this over its sequel, as the story is not a real draw and much of the great ideas and mechanics in 2 really show this one's flaws.”
- “It's kind of short and can be pretty linear too if you're just going straight through everything in the story.”
gameplay
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
63%
8%
The gameplay of "Dragon Quest Builders" is characterized by a blend of sandbox adventure, survival mechanics, and action RPG elements, offering a fun and engaging experience that is accessible to players of all ages. While the core mechanics are solid and intuitive, allowing for creative building and exploration, some players note that the gameplay can feel limited compared to its sequel, particularly in terms of narrative depth. Overall, the game is praised for its enjoyable boss fights and stress-free mechanics, making it a compelling choice for both children and adults.
- “I enjoyed playing Dragon Quest Builders from start to finish, with its mix of sandbox adventure, survival mechanics, and action RPG elements.”
- “Its ability to harmonize exploration, combat, and construction into a seamless gameplay experience is indicative of high-caliber design and thoughtful engineering.”
- “Bosses are unique, gameplay is easy to understand, and you can build some pretty cool looking towns if you want.”
- “Game mechanics suck”
- “The mechanics of the game are pretty cut and dry.”
- “Narratively much better than its sequel though much more mechanically limited.”
graphics
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
76%
8%
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their vibrant aesthetics and detailed world design, although some users express disappointment over the inability to revert to the original UI aesthetic. While the game offers a decent range of graphical settings, it lacks advanced features found in AAA titles, and performance can vary based on user settings. Overall, many players find the graphics appealing, especially in the definitive edition, which showcases improved fidelity and charm reminiscent of classic titles.
- “The game constructs a richly detailed world, characterized by vibrant aesthetics, complex characters, and well-designed quests that demonstrate a keen attention to narrative structure and player experience.”
- “Having now completed this version as well, I can certainly say it is by far the definitive edition of the game, featuring the highest graphical fidelity (if your PC can handle it) as well as the quality of life improvements from the mobile port.”
- “✅ Graphics are good (part 2 obviously has better graphics because it's part 2, but the detail here is very good).”
- “Though sadly there is no setting for changing the overall UI aesthetic back to the original release, so you’ll just have to deal with the inferior visual design (but maybe that’s just my opinion).”
- “There are a fairly decent amount of resolution and graphical options, though nowhere near what you'd see with AAA titles, like DLSS, FOV sliders, or any of that.”
- “The game also defaulted to low on every graphical setting, but I found I was able to maintain 60 FPS with everything adjusted to medium while water reflections and bloom were set to off.”
music
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
71%
21%
7%
The music in the game is widely praised for its cozy and nostalgic qualities, particularly appealing to fans of the Dragon Quest series. Players appreciate the blend of familiar sounds and aesthetics, with the soundtrack enhancing the overall experience, especially for those who enjoy creating block structures. Additionally, the option to make the music retro adds a fun twist to the auditory experience.
- “The soundtrack especially is my favorite; it is so cozy to listen to while playing this game.”
- “I enjoy the music and colors of the game.”
- “Aesthetically it's Dragon Quest, the music is Dragon Quest, and it has all the charm of those games melded into Minecraft essentially, and it's a great blend.”
- “Aesthetically it's dq, music is dq, and it has all the charm of those games melded into Minecraft essentially and it's a great blend.”
grinding
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be significantly improved, with less tedious material collection due to the removal of weapon durability and simplified crafting processes. While some minor farming elements exist, particularly in the first game, the overall experience feels streamlined and less burdensome, allowing for quicker progression.
- “The second world is basically the first, but a little harder, and has a small focus on farming, which never comes up again.”
- “Weapons no longer break in this version, saving a lot of tedious material grinding.”
- “If you do decide to play DQ1 first, it's a very short game; I figure you can complete it in less than 10 hours all told, if I recall correctly (there's some grinding in there, of course).”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by a blend of cute visuals and grim moments, eliciting giggles through witty dialogue. While it retains the franchise's signature cheeky humor, the tone is notably more serious compared to its predecessor, resulting in a simple yet effective comedic experience.
- “The story isn't crazy, but it's actually pretty grim in moments, despite the game looking cute and the many giggles I had due to the funny dialogue.”
- “Not a revolutionary game, it's just a simple funny game.”
- “While it maintains that cheeky sense of humor the franchise is known for, it's a bit more serious in tone than the story for 2 was.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
Overall, players find the game to have good replay value, though some believe that the sequel offers more in terms of replayability. While the first game may not hold as much long-term appeal, there is still potential for players to revisit it after the initial story experience has faded.
- “Love this game, it's got great replay value.”
- “In general, I'm not sure if DQB1 has as much replayability as the second game in the series, but I may go back to it in the future when the story has worn out.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game demonstrates excellent stability, performing well on both Proton/Linux and laptops, with multiple users reporting a smooth experience across these platforms.
- “Runs great on Proton/Linux.”
- “Runs great on laptop.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game features no expansions or in-game purchases, indicating a straightforward monetization model without additional costs for players.
- “The game has no expansions that I know of and no in-game purchases.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
The game is well-optimized for the Steam platform, particularly excelling on the Steam Deck, making it a recommended choice for players seeking a smooth experience.
- “The Steam version offers an excellent value proposition with its features, content, and technical performance, and it truly shines on the Steam Deck.”
- “The Steam version is the best choice for its value proposition, features, and technical performance, especially on the Steam Deck.”
- “With its impressive optimization, the Steam version stands out in terms of features, content, and overall performance, particularly on the Steam Deck.”