So Dragon Quest Builders 2 might be the perfect game? The thing I always liked doing best in Minecraft was finding one of those procedurally generated towns Notch did a half-assed job of coding into the game and then spending time fixing it up to make it my own. DQB2 basically takes that premise and makes a whole game out of it, giving you a full Minecraft style game with tons of customisation options. Then on top of that it gives you RimWorld style abilities to direct your villagers to farm and cook and do jobs for you. Then on top of that, they squeeze in a full size JRPG with levelling, characters and a story. Then on top of that there is a co-op multiplayer and the ability to visit other people’s worlds to check out the ridiculous buildings they have made.
I never played DQB1 but apparently it sold like hotcakes which led to the sequel that I’m only a few hours into. But it is definitely one of those games where you start and then you go ‘whoah’ as you realise just how vast it is. The pacing is slow (which I don’t mind), and the dialogue is basic (and neverending), but hot damn, is this good. I thing I have noticed playing handheld on Switch is that it is a massive battery sink - I can only get 2 hours playtime where something like Zelda or even Diablo will get 3 or more.
I haven’t. I don’t think you can play the story co-op. The game has a ‘hub’ island, and then the story takes you to different islands. The co-op is just a sandbox on the ‘hub’ island (which is huge). You need to progress the story to unlock lots of building recipes but I’m not sure how that integrates if you just want to play MP.
I have just got to the part where you build a toilet for your villagers. They all line up at the door with the knees crossed ‘I need to go’ pose. Then you get to collect ahem ‘night soil’.
In the first game you were building the world of the first Dragon Quest RPG. I asked a friend if this did into some weird meta territory but apparently it didn’t. I wonder if you are building Dragon Quest 2 in this one.
Just as an FYI, I haven’t played the second one yet, but from what I’ve heard, this one is rather easy. Stuff like hunger has been reduced in importance, etc. that suits me fine, but if people are expecting a survival-game sort of challenge, this may not be for you.
Fighting is only slightly above Minecraft level fighting. The biggest difference is mobs will spawn on a timer and attack your town regularly (they otherwise don’t spawn in it or come near it).
The story sends you to the first island pretty quickly. Here you get missions that are roughly 50/50 ‘advance the plot’ and ‘build things for villagers’. Missions and building level you up and unlock recipes. Once I’m done with the plot on the first island I can take all the levelled up recipes back to the hub (which is barren) and start building there, then go to the second island. I don’t think I’m meant to leave island 1 until I’ve done the plot here, and once that’s done I don’t think I’ll need to come back.
The first game was self-contained zones. The structure of this one is a little different, with the hub world (the first game had an unlockable sandbox mode but no hub, but afaik it is similar.
A couple of observations after playing through 3 “story” islands now, along with time spent in the hub island.
The game is very childish. Most people who have played a DQ game before know this, but it’s worth mentioning here. It’s almost too much so for me, but so far, I’ve kept playing.
It’s also very hand-holdy. Sometimes, it takes control too much and gets frustrating. When I’m in the middle of building out a room, I don’t want to be forced into mandatory dialogues, or cut-scenes.
The story islands play out a lot like DQB1 for those that played it. You have a very defined set of goals and must meet them to advance. You do have some freedom to build a little on story islands, but are limited by space (the town zone) and must also fit in the required rooms per the goals.
The hub island, however, is a different thing altogether. You have much more freedom here, and much more room. There are goals, but it’s not tied to forwarding a story or anything. Basically, you bring some of the characters from the story islands back with you to the hub island, and make a new life for everyone there. I like this aspect a lot.
I did just finish my 3rd story “island” which I’ll put it’s name spoiler tags since it could potentially be spoilery. The Alcatraz prison lsland. .
I did not enjoy this one at all. I won’t go into any details, but it’s been my least favorite part of both games so far. I’m hoping the next destination is at least as decent as the first 2.
So, yeah I’m enjoying it overall, but I’m definitely not as high on it as the reviews seem to be. It has some frustrations, but I did like DQB1, and so far this is similar enough to keep my interest. Plus with the hub island, I’m sure to have more fun there.
