Dustborn

Dustborn is a game with a lot going for it, especially if you’re a fan of choice-heavy narrative adventures with a core cast of likable characters who develop a genuine and touching found family dynamic as they travel. It isn’t a perfect game, especially with its limiting combat component, but its strengths make it compelling. I came to care about Pax and her merry band the more I played, and that’s reason enough for me to recommend the game to those interested in it. The power of language and words can be frightening, but the tales they sometimes tell can also be wondrous and moving. Admittedly, Dustborn might not be for everyone, but it provides an enjoyable ride for those it does resonate with.

Dustborn is a captivating narrative adventure that combines a rich, alternate history setting with diverse gameplay mechanics, delivering a memorable experience despite minor technical quirks.

A warm-hearted road trip in a future that is as dystopian as it is optimistic, with very lively and varied dialogue as its greatest strength.

It is rare for a game to be about something, to work its themes into every fiber of its being, to ask us to think about the world around us and reflect on who we are, the world we live in, and the things we’ve done to make it what it is. Dustborn does that, and it's special because of it. It doesn’t always work, but what it gets wrong pales in comparison to what it does right. It is a reminder that what we say and do matters. That, to quote Hemingway, “The world is a fine place, and worth fighting for.” That a better world is possible, if only we have the courage to build it, if we can find the right words to speak it into existence. Let there be light.

Dustborn is a very strange game: in its narrative and graphic adventure component, the game is of unique beauty. Then every once in a while you get some fighting sessions that are really bad and you wonder why they included them.

If you like strong stories and games where your choices matter, Dustborn is for you. It's a game that's more about the journey and the people you meet along the way than action-packed battles or complex game mechanics. If you're looking for a game with deep and satisfying combat mechanics, there are better alternatives out there.

Overall, it was enjoyable to watch the relationships between the characters unfold. However, the prologue soured it early on for me, as it felt a bit too overexaggerated. The conversations and getting to explore new environments were some of the best parts of Dustborn, while I unfortunately found the combat system to be a little lacking in places. Still, the idea for this game is incredibly unique and one that I really enjoyed.

Dustborn is an adventure game that offers a mix of genres, catering to a wide range of tastes. It seamlessly transitions from exploration phases in the style of classic graphic adventures with environmental puzzles, to more action-packed moments, and even includes many musical mini-games. The game features a cast of finely crafted characters that are impossible not to grow attached to. At the same time, it presents a wide variety of uniquely beautiful settings, all enhanced by the splendid comic book art style that defines the entire adventure.

Dustborn is divided into three parts. The plot, the adventure, and the action. The last two are the least interesting, unstructured and often require more attention than they should, but fortunately they fail to spoil what good the team has done with the characters and the game world. In a dystopian future that is all but unimaginable, a group of outcasts rebels, grows, discovers itself and forges new bonds.

Dustborn has solid ideas and phenomenal presentation but fails to do any of its many things well enough to be truly memorable.

Haphazard at times and calmly cacophonic at others - Dustborn has much going on, and it's far from harmonious. Nevertheless, the characters and intriguing setting help sustain interest.

Dustborn is a unique visual novel-style adventure that brings combat and even a rhythm game to its sometimes-intense choice-driven dystopian world, where your decisions matter. But it often gets in its own way, mechanically and otherwise.

Dustborn may not be one of the most memorable releases of the year, yet there is some good in the work done by Red Thread Games. The on-the-road story does not always travel on the right tracks and some characters are out of focus, contributing to weakening a title with undoubted potential. That said, it remains without a doubt a title to keep an eye on, and who knows that that journey from West to East may not be to your liking, despite the critical issues.

Dustborn’s narrative beats are also the most enjoyable part of the game, but there’s too much stopping it from reaching its full potential.

Dustborn follows the Telltale Games studio's precepts: no-choice elections, minimal variation, and silly plot twists. The second part of the game looks like it was finished by another team of writers.

Dustborn attempts to tackle a lot of genres, and it honours most of them very well. This emotional, political road trip reaches its destination, but suffers a few too many bumps along the way.

The underlying issue with Dustborn is the balancing act between serious topics and the supernatural, as well as its clear desire to alternate between fun moments, activism and drama – a balance it ultimately can’t hit. For example, a tragedy for an entire community is followed by a birthday party for a raccoon. I had a better time once I stopped taking it seriously, because the standout moments happen when Dustborn leans into the silliness of its supernatural storyline. With Dustborn, you may expect a tense trek across the US, but what you really end up with is the equivalent of an interactive Marvel movie, and that is OK.

While sporting an intriguing alternate timeline, a decent cast, and a variety of gameplay features, most players will find something to dislike in Dustborn, an epic action-adventure that fails to evoke excitement and sentiment over an excessively long playtime.

Dustborn has noble intentions, but intentions don’t matter as much as execution and it executes just about everything poorly. There are too many characters and gameplay styles to make any one of them shine, let alone enjoyable.

Dustborn is an interesting game for people with an acquired taste. It succeeds as an art project but fails in many regards as a video game.

But over the course of the game, and particularly in its final few chapters, a story already soaked in metaphors--some better than others--positively drowns in them. It eventually goes so far off the rails that its thoughtful early chapters feel written by entirely different human beings. I'd be more forgiving of this narratively chaotic final act if I were attached to the characters--I like Lost Season 6, after all. In Lost's case, the events could be silly, but at least I'd have my people. In Dustborn, however, I never really had them to begin with, so I was left with nothing to latch onto. Dustborn's moral compass points to true north, but before long, both its story and gameplay go south.