Dragon Quest Builders

 PlayStation Vita
User Score
8.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 50 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 44 out of 50
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 50
  3. Negative: 2 out of 50
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  1. manuelgcg
    Oct 14, 2016
    9
    Amazing game. I never enjoyed Minecraft because of the lack of motivation, there are no missions, no quests, just imagination and a little of survival skills.

    This game changes that, is feel like an upgraded version of minecraft adding tools that minecraft needs (A chest where everything that cant fit in your backpack it automatically stores it, building houses and letting actual npc's    Amazing game. I never enjoyed Minecraft because of the lack of motivation, there are no missions, no quests, just imagination and a little of survival skills.

    This game changes that, is feel like an upgraded version of minecraft adding tools that minecraft needs (A chest where everything that cant fit in your backpack it automatically stores it, building houses and letting actual npc's live there) awesome jrpg style, great music and well written script.

    Only negative is the lack of multiplayer, however it is understandable since it might have been too much for the vita to handle.    … Expand
  2. karican
    Feb 8, 2017
    10
    I really enjoyed this game. If you are a fan of the sandbox style, definitely don't pass this one up.
    Pros:
    + looks great + loved the soundtrack/sound effects + dialogue and characters are actually quite enjoyable and funny + quest driven, so you always have something to be working toward + offers much more variety of items and ascetics than minecraft, and rewards you for both    I really enjoyed this game. If you are a fan of the sandbox style, definitely don't pass this one up.
    Pros:
    + looks great
    + loved the soundtrack/sound effects
    + dialogue and characters are actually quite enjoyable and funny
    + quest driven, so you always have something to be working toward
    + offers much more variety of items and ascetics than minecraft, and rewards you for both ascetic and functional building
    + I think the story builds off of the story of Dragon Quest 1, and it also borrows much of the same music
    + boss battles are interesting and fun to figure out
    + has a sort of free play mode, if you don't want to do the story-line with the quests
    Cons:
    - creativity can be stiffed just somewhat due to some of the requirements of what a room is considered to be    … Expand
  3. SuperkenGaming
    Oct 21, 2016
    8
    Dragon Quest Builders
    a questing game disguised as a builder
    In Dragon Quest Builders you play as your own custom character… a builder... You’re tasked with rebuilding a town and helping the people of that town remember how to build… It’s very important to go into this game knowing that this is not Minecraft... This game despite the similarities is not about creation or freedom...    Dragon Quest Builders
    a questing game disguised as a builder
    In Dragon Quest Builders you play as your own custom character… a builder...
    You’re tasked with rebuilding a town and helping the people of that town remember how to build…
    It’s very important to go into this game knowing that this is not Minecraft...
    This game despite the similarities is not about creation or freedom... though there is a free play mode unlocked after chapter 1…
    This is a game about gathering materials to complete quests and build whatever the residents need…
    Not about creating your own systems designing your own town or exploring the world…
    As you do go out to gather materials needed to craft items to complete blueprints given to you by the residents, there will be creatures you can slay for drops, as well as plants to gather materials for your own personal survival, as you do still have to create your own armour, weapons, healing creams and stay stocked up on food so you don’t starve while completing tasks..
    As you slowly rebuild your town you will get more and more residents with more and more tasks, eventually having to deal with enemy creatures trying to destroy your town... a great reason to not get attached to your creations... a reason to not waste your time being creative here… because theres jerks that come every night or every few quests to knock down your sand castle…
    So you can eventually create defenses.. Spike and fire traps…
    And when you defeat the waves you’ll sometimes get a new portal to a new area as you can’t just swim to the different islands or even build your way there… again this is a very restrictive quest game with material gathering.. not a do as you wish game…
    each island has different materials that can be found for different weapons and armors…
    Items you can use to defeat giant creatures you couldn’t slay before..
    Eventually after 10 hours of questing in each of the 4 chapters, making this game about 40 to 50 hours long…
    You’ll take on a giant boss trying to destroy everything you’re worked on building for all of that time…
    And after you defeat him, there will be a light in the distance...
    a new portal to go through...
    And here’s the most important reason to not get attached... to not treat this like minecraft...
    Once you go onto the next chapter you lose everything…
    And I mean everything…
    All of your food you cooked, the weapons you’ve built, the blueprints you’ve collected, the portals to the different islands... and annoyingly the life seeds you’ve collected to increase your health... all gone… you start from scratch with a new town to rebuild with its own needs…
    Its very frustrating to get knocked back down to the start after all you just went through.. And it kind of takes the ultimate joy of building a town away... of collecting materials away, of building defenses, when youre just going to lose it all in the end… and really opens your eyes to what this game really is... fetch questing for 50 hours with all feeling of progression constantly being taken from you when night falls an enemies attack…
    That’s not to say this game isn’t fun or addicting.. I just wish I could freely revisit my past towns for materials I worked so hard to obtain… taking it all from me was a really draining slap to the face…
    If you go into this game actually knowing what to expect and don’t waste your time doing more than you have to… you’ll have a great deal of fun with this game that despite how repetitive it truly is, is so hard to put down.
    I give Dragon Quest Builders an 8/10    … Expand
  4. Juberberry
    Oct 24, 2016
    10
    Long time RPG and sandbox player here. Original DQ, FF, and many other JRPGs as well as Minecraft, Terraria, and I have loved them all.

    This is not a Minecraft clone and that is a good thing (for a handheld). The gameplay is fun, combat mechanics are enjoyable and the crafting is good. It feels large (larger than MC PE) and each zone has it's own flavor. I think I have 40 hours and I am    Long time RPG and sandbox player here. Original DQ, FF, and many other JRPGs as well as Minecraft, Terraria, and I have loved them all.

    This is not a Minecraft clone and that is a good thing (for a handheld). The gameplay is fun, combat mechanics are enjoyable and the crafting is good. It feels large (larger than MC PE) and each zone has it's own flavor. I think I have 40 hours and I am not even done with Chapter 2. Every item you gather has a use. every mob drops at least 1 useful item. Nice progression system that is not experience point based.    … Expand
  5. kuehnau
    Nov 7, 2016
    7
    I love games like Harvest Moon, Minecraft and Terraria. So when I saw the trailer for Dragon Quest Builders, I picked it up as soon as I could.

    DQB is kind of a combination of the Dragon Quest franchise and Minecraft. You play as a hero who must help re-build cities in the world. And you are the last human who knows how to bascially do anything yourself. Each chapter brings you to    I love games like Harvest Moon, Minecraft and Terraria. So when I saw the trailer for Dragon Quest Builders, I picked it up as soon as I could.

    DQB is kind of a combination of the Dragon Quest franchise and Minecraft. You play as a hero who must help re-build cities in the world. And you are the last human who knows how to bascially do anything yourself.

    Each chapter brings you to a new city, where you will have to deal with a new threat (kind of). Each chapter has it's own boss with it's own unique mechanics.

    As I started playing the game, I was really enjoying it, that is until the next of the first chapter. You see, any progress you made, resources you gathered, equipment you have on, it's all reset for every new chapter. It feels like maybe the developers for the game didn't want to work as hard on adding meaningful content to the game, so they basically make you reset every chapter and do everything all over again. It feels like the game is wasting your time, in a bad way. I don't like having my progress thrown in the garbage.

    The entire game revolves around nonstop constant fetch quests that have you running from one side of the map to the other. Further, there's no meaningful leveling system. Instead, in order to increase your max health, you have to find special nutts. In order to deal more damage or have better defense, you have to rely on new equipment. Why couldn't they have included actual leveling mechanics? Just like in classic Dragon Quest fashion, as you progress in the game, you'll encounter a ton of monsters that are simply re-colored versions of previous monsters. Very lazy.

    Unlike games like Minecraft, there is no large, vast world. Instead it's all broken up into islands and those islands are accessed via teleporters. The game makes an attempt at fooling you into believeing the world is much larger than it actually is, but it doesn't make a very good attempt. If games like Minecraft with giant world designs can work on the Vita, or even Android platforms, what were theythinking limited world sizes so much?

    It's an alright game, but it feels like there wasn't enough effort actually put into the game. The characters are completely forgettable, the quests are all terribly tedious and the game takes any progress you make and flushes it down the toilet. It's a $20.00 game at best.    … Expand
  6. Footballpires
    Oct 14, 2016
    10
    Very fun sandbox-like gameplay, really nice visuals, interesting new story. It is quite similar to Minecraft, but with better graphics and a decent render distance.
    This game was born for the PS Vita.
  7. DinoBeam
    Aug 10, 2020
    5
    At first this game is amazing and addicting, them comes chapter 2, one of the most annoying and frustrating things i've ever done in a video game, and god that end boss is just made to piss you off. All the cracks in the game will become more apparent. You have a very small distance window for attacking enemies, too far away and you don't hit, get to close and you get damaged ANDAt first this game is amazing and addicting, them comes chapter 2, one of the most annoying and frustrating things i've ever done in a video game, and god that end boss is just made to piss you off. All the cracks in the game will become more apparent. You have a very small distance window for attacking enemies, too far away and you don't hit, get to close and you get damaged AND STAGGERED. Luckily they changed that in 2, and i'm hoping it fixes all the problems in this poorly designed game… Expand

Critic Reviews

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No score yet - based on 2 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. Gaming Age
    Apr 28, 2017
    100
    Dragon Quest Builders will undoubtedly scratch the itch of any Minecraft/Terraria fans looking for their next favourite game, but it's accessible enough that RPG fans should enjoy it, too.
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  2. The Vita Lounge
    Oct 26, 2016
    96
    Dragon Quest Builders is part RPG, part construction game and loads of fun. It's full of charm, personality and adventure! There's plenty to explore, recipes to learn, quests to complete and bosses to fight. This game will have you addicted to it for a very long time.
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