Updated Review after patched version +5 points
My original review stopped midgame, where all the weaknesses of the game and a series of crashes came together and spoiled the otherwise wonderful concept.
But now that I've had a whole 60-hour-run of "Dragon Quest Builders 2" without a single crash it has grown on me, and it's one of those games that save the best for last.
If youUpdated Review after patched version +5 points
My original review stopped midgame, where all the weaknesses of the game and a series of crashes came together and spoiled the otherwise wonderful concept.
But now that I've had a whole 60-hour-run of "Dragon Quest Builders 2" without a single crash it has grown on me, and it's one of those games that save the best for last.
If you are , like me, in love with the Minecraft formula, but can't for the life of you get into multiplayer games, this is a worthy alternative. The amount of blocks and items is amazing, and creating rooms and settlements that are actually used by NPCs is addictive. While the story and goals oftentimes seem stretched out and often feel like busywork, watching the whole village work on a blueprint or just living their daily life in whatever paradise (or little hell) you created never gets boring.
Every map is full of little sidequests, riddles and bosses that are worth exploring, with added randomly generated islands that come with their own challenges and will keep the game interesting long after you've finished the main quest. The ultimate reward for building and fighting through the campaign are up to four of those randomly generated biomes for free building, and there will be a long line of tools, functions and items left to unlock.
It unfortunately lacks any real challenge when it comes to combat or survival, and it's really hard to mess up. The control scheme is not always your friend, especially when you need precision or want to work on something fast. I spend a lot more time erasing mistakes or hitting the wrong thing than I should have, and the camera is not always on your side, either.
DQB2 is also still one of the chattiest games I've ever played. Even the save function comes with text box after unnecessary text box that need to be clicked away. Every little achievement has to be discussed, explained and commented on by every NPC who is involved; every small step of every quest will have epic explanations of the most mundane details; debating what happened, even though everyone was present, wondering what it means even though it has no meaning and pointing out the obvious in text box after text box will challenge you in all the wrong ways.
Every NPC will also have exactly one punchline, equivalent to the worst dad jokes out there, and they won't stop torturing you with it until you find yourself suffering from some sort of comedian Stockholm Syndrome; you will fall in love with them because you won't be allowed to kill them, and they just don't go away, and they just don't stop.
And unfortunately one of the main weaknesses is still there: The main antagonist IS the most antagonizing character I've seen in at least 10 years because whenever things get interesting he will appear with long lines of repetetive ramblings that are unskipable and will bring the whole world to a stop for minutes. Those monologues are displayed in total silence; it's a little bit like someone pressing the pause button whenever there's a climactic moment in a movie, and you have to wait until he returns from whatever he was doing.
Despite that the endgame is just hillarious and doesn't only come with a twist to the story, but also the whole formula. It gave me my favorite videogame vehicle in a long time and some unforgetable moments where even the dialogue becomes fun reading. Overall I'm glad I gave this another chance, and if the concept sounds interesting to you, it's well worth the buy.… Expand
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