Dragon Quest Builders 2 Hands-on Impressions

Square Enix is refining the mixture of genres

Dragon Quest Builders 2 Hands-on Impressions

At PAX East 2019, I had the chance to get my hands on Dragon Quest Builders 2, the sequel to 2016’s Dragon Quest Builders developed and published by Square Enix, that features gameplay that remains a wonderful mixture of Dragon Quest and Minecraft. Is the sequel more of what made the first game great or a tired re-hash of a good idea? Our hands-on time gave us a look into answering that question.

The build at PAX East 2019 featured two sections, a tutorial section that takes place early on and one that took place a little bit further. Considering I played a decent amount of the first game, I jumped straight into the more advanced mode, fully ready to build and explore the beautifully crafted world.

For those unfamiliar with Dragon Quest Builders, you assume the role of a Builder and play a parallel version of the ending of the original Dragon Quest and, after losing the battle, its up to you to rebuild the land of Alfegard. You complete quests and help villagers and rebuild a troubled world, all while dealing with some light survival elements like hunger.

In our review of the original Dragon Quest Builders, we said that it is “a fun alternative to Minecraft, with some great role-playing thrown in.”

The first feeling I had during the demo was one of comfort. Dragon Quest Builders 2 feels a lot like the original, but with plenty of quality of life improvements that are already apparent, even though I only spent about 20 minutes with it.

Things that popped out to me right away were that my Builder’s weapon and mallet were now mapped to two separate buttons so that I didn’t need to keep swapping between them. Companions now seem to travel with the builder and will steadily collect “gratitude” that will help build up a bond with them. I also really enjoyed the new retro-inspired mini-map.

What I didn’t love, and what I think is inherently a problem with short demos that throw players into the middle of a scenario, was the amount of text and hand-holding, even in the more advanced section. I felt that a big portion of my time was spent rushing through text so I could experience the gameplay, like building out an irrigation system for a town and learning all the new farming techniques. When the game is out in the wild and in the context of being able to take my time with it, I can see this not being that big of an issue, but it felt a little much in the demo, and some of the localization was a bit off with even one or two typos.

Dragon Quest Builders 2 will feel very similar to those who have played the original, as the art-style and gameplay are much alike, but there just seems to be much more to do in a more streamlined way. Obviously, th

That aside, Dragon Quest Builders 2 makes me wish that others would adapt this formula. There is something so satisfying about going out, collecting materials, helping build a town or village, and completing quests that actually result in tangible rewards and progress that are visual in nature. All of this while living in a Dragon Quest world just adds to the satisfaction and charm.

While Dragon Quest Builders 2 isn’t a revolution by any means, it should be another exciting journey into the world of Dragon Quest that really gives players control and empowers them to continue to build and explore.

For more information on Dragon Quest Builders 2, check out the official website. For more action from PAX East 2019, check out our PAX East coverage of Heave Ho and My Neighbor Pedro.

We also did an essay on the first Dragon Quest Builders a while back.

Adam has been writing about and playing video games for as long as he can remember. He is an aficionado of all things Chipotle, Disney, and Hibachi related and is the founder of Extra Life Columbus. He truly believes there is nothing better than playing games and healing kids! His favorite games include Final Fantasy VII, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Mass Effect 2, and Super Mario World.

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