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68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews What's this?

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  • Summary: The year is 2030, three decades after the Broadcast.

    You play Pax: ex-con, outcast, con-artist, and Anomal with superhuman powers fuelled by disinformation. Your job: to transport a package across a divided America. But this is not a one-woman job. The fanatical Puritans are on your ass,
    The year is 2030, three decades after the Broadcast.

    You play Pax: ex-con, outcast, con-artist, and Anomal with superhuman powers fuelled by disinformation. Your job: to transport a package across a divided America. But this is not a one-woman job. The fanatical Puritans are on your ass, the authoritarian Justice is in your way, and you're four-months pregnant. You need help. You need a crew.

    Joined by a motley mob of misfits with their own weird powers, you must overcome the many obstacles that stand in your way - through manipulation, subterfuge, and force - to reach your final destination and escape your troubled past.
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 23
  2. Negative: 1 out of 23
  1. Aug 19, 2024
    85
    While its combat system leaves much to be desired, Dustborn is filled with a variety of fun elements focused on opening up to the people around you that truly helps the game blossom into a powerful experience. Once your trip is over you will definitely miss those you got to know, but you will be thankful you got on the bus in the first place.
  2. Aug 14, 2024
    80
    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.
  3. Dec 19, 2024
    80
    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.
  4. Aug 19, 2024
    70
    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.
  5. Aug 14, 2024
    68
    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.
  6. Sep 15, 2024
    60
    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.
  7. Aug 14, 2024
    40
    Dustborn’s rhythm mini-game is just another way the game demonstrates how underdeveloped it all is. Its terribly paced narrative is married to an elementary view of authoritarianism and stars an irritating crew that never stops talking. Combat is woefully simplistic and lacks the necessary smooth controls. None of its systems fit together coherently, either, because they’re all underbaked in one way or another and, in some cases, plagued by glitches. It’s hard for Dustborn to fight the power when it’s too busy fighting with itself at every turn.

See all 24 Critic Reviews