Not helping this at all are certain sections with unskippable or fast-forwardable dialogue and the similar rhythm of each island’s storyline that can lead to a sensation of deja vu. But the padding of playtime is quite evident, even with the new fast-travel ability, and a bit frustrating when you’ve seen everything a certain island has to offer. You’re going to love Babs and it really pays off at the end when the various story threads come together.

Don’t get me wrong, the story is worth going through. I’m fine with having to rebuild these towns - that’s par the course given the last game - but every time I reached near the end of each storyline for each island, the game would find one or two more last second objectives for me to complete before I could really move on. There are not very many islands to explore, so the game will do whatever it can to stretch out how much time players have to spend in each core area. Pacing is just one of the issues that extend throughout Builders 2. The much-talked-about gilder cape is introduced on the first island you visit, but concepts like riding animals, coloring, and metalworks can take hours before you get those abilities. It’s a formula that allows the game to slowly introduce new features and ideas to the players, but for those returning from the first game, these new ideas may be introduced a bit too slowly. Instead, the flow of the game is very similar to a standard Dragon Quest game: you and Malroth discover a new town and try to solve all of its problems before moving on. It doesn’t feel as open as its predecessor, and the pioneering sense of discovery that resonated through every chapter of Builders is absent in Builders 2. Unlike its predecessor, Dragon Quest Builders 2 is a very straightforward game. After meeting the spirit of the island, the pair set off for nearby lands to recruit people to rebuild the Isle of Awakening to its former glory. It’s here they meet the aforementioned Malroth, but as an amnesiac with a human form. A strong storm ends up saving them, washing them ashore the Isle of Awakening. It goes without saying that this cult hates builders, which is why Builders 2 kicks off with your builder on a prison ship, sailing off towards their inevitable demise. The Children of Hargon want to see the world slowly die and any attempts to revive the towns, farms, and cities that once stood are met with violent retribution.

I’m not sure if that’s how Square Enix intended for it to turn out, but it’s not hard to see parallels between the accusations lobbied at this cult and the actions of actual organized religions. Here, in the years following the defeat of Hargon and Malroth, a group of disciples known as The Children of Hargon carry on his vision, brainwashing the people of the world into following a life of despair and destruction in a plotline that is surprisingly anti-religion. Much like the first game, Dragon Quest Builders 2 presents players with a “what if?” situation that follows one of the games in the mainline series. Whether or not it’s as successful as the original will depend on what exactly it is you want out of these games.ĭragon Quest Builders 2 (PlayStation 4, Switch) Dragon Quest Builders 2 is attempting to repeat that success, this time building off the events of 1987’s Dragon Quest 2. It took the open-world, craft-em-up gameplay of the possibly best-selling game of all time and gave it all meaning, adding a real sense of purpose as you journeyed throughout the land, rebuilding what once was.

Dragon Quest Builders is one of the only games on the market that arguably does Minecraft better than Minecraft.

Dragon quest builders 2 review