

Playing the game on a PlayStation 4 Pro, Dragon Quest Builders 2 doesn’t do the hardware any favors. Unfortunately, things aren’t all peachy on the technical side. The combat could really use some expansion, perhaps a dodge roll or side-step, or simply some more compelling weapons to use.ĭragon Quest Builders 2 Review | Final Thoughts Same, Malroth. You can prepare all you like, but once combat begins you’ll be helplessly flailing in the boss’ direction and trying to avoid being hit. You can lay traps, turn bits of land into lethal death traps, but the experience is ultimately clumsy, messy, and frustrating. These fights can be tense, dramatic, and challenging, offering more refined and satisfying encounters than the previous game, but there’s still something missing. Eventually, you’ll come across large-scale boss encounters, where you’ll have to come together with your companions and topple a huge foe. You’ll level up as you fight your way through typically colorful arrays of fiends, granting you access to bigger and better weapons, but the whole thing feels rather dull. Thankfully, you can often rely on your stronger and more ferocious companions to do most of the legwork, especially when monsters invade your settlement and the entire population joins in to kick some monster butt. It’s rudimentary and tedious, consisting of little more than slashing away at monsters. Unfortunately, the combat is the weakest part of what Builders 2 offers. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Dragon Quest game without some blue slimes to slay. Slaying Slimes In Dragon Quest Builders 2 The combat is pretty clumsy and flimsy. Gather these hearts, referred to as ‘gratitude points’, to gradually level up your settlements, increasing the efficiency of your workers and earning new recipes along the way. For every meal eaten, every night happily slept through, and every crop harvested, your population will drop little hearts to show their appreciation.

Nothing you do for your population goes unnoticed. It’s a guided sandbox that comes together as Minecraft meets Maple Story. Ultimately, though, as much as Builders 2 likes to feed you dialog and world-building, this is a game about creating. There’s a lot of slow tutorials and exposition with little intention of getting going, enjoyable on its own merits but it does tend to labor on the point. Building, Farming, and Surviving in Dragon Quest Builders 2 The real joy of Dragon Quest Builders 2 comes from running a thriving community.Īs you might expect from a Dragon Quest game, it takes a little while to get going. It’s sharp, witty, and breezy, but there can certainly be too much of it and it begins to drag after half a dozen hours. There are a lot of other characters throughout and even more dialogue. Your companion Malroth joins you on your adventures, a classic JRPG amnesiac who - if you couldn’t already tell from his malevolent name - seems a tad fishy. A nameless, faceless Builder who may very well bring about a building revolution with your insane crafting skills.
