- Publisher: Quantic Dream , Red Thread Games
- Release Date: Aug 20, 2024
- Also On: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
- Unscored
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Aug 19, 2024Haphazard 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.
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Aug 14, 2024Dustborn 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.
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Aug 14, 2024Dustborn 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.
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Aug 14, 2024Dustborn’s narrative beats are also the most enjoyable part of the game, but there’s too much stopping it from reaching its full potential.
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Sep 15, 2024Dustborn 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.
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Aug 17, 2024Dustborn 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.
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Aug 15, 2024The 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.
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Sep 27, 2024While 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.
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Aug 14, 2024Dustborn 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.
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Aug 15, 2024Dustborn 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.
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Aug 14, 2024But 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.
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Aug 29, 2024I feel like I’ve spent the majority of this review dogpiling on a game I mostly enjoyed. Maybe that’s because I’m frustrated by the squandered potential smothered under a pile of excess, like someone unwilling to say “when” to the person holding the Olive Garden cheese grater.