Investing in brick has never been this fun
A few days after the first candle that closes a golden year for the hybrid console of Nintendo, the softeca of switch is ready to open doors a Dragon Quest Builders, already appeared in the West on devices Sony (Playstation 4 e PlayStation Vita) and intended to pave the way for a follow-up already announced in recent months, but of which we still ignore a launch window.
But no more chatter and armed with a hammer, let's discover together the cuby world of Dragon Quest Builders for Nintendo Switch, available in stores and in the eShop starting next February 9th.
Tested Version: Nintendo Switch
The Rebuild of Dragon Quest
The first few hours in the world of Alefgard will be crucial to settle into our new role as buildersThe plot, being a direct port, retraces the carbon copy of the one experienced in the original publication, and will see us "dress" in the role of a "chosen one". Unlike the heroes we are used to knowing through the various chapters of Dragon Quest, the protagonist of Builders will be "special" as in his hands lies the now extinct art of creation. In a world brought to the brink of destruction by the feared Dragonlord, upon us will bear the task of bringing light back to the kingdom of Alefgard, now reduced to ruin, and thanks to our power we will be in possession of the ideal qualities to succeed and thus teach a lesson to the perfidious ruler.
The first hours in the world of Alefgard will be crucial to settle in our new role as builders, and guided by a mysterious but extremely reassuring voice, which we will later discover to be of the goddess Rubiss (recurring character within the fantasy universe of Dragon Quest), we will learn the art of building literally starting from its foundations. Immediately after our awakening, shrouded in total mystery, we will arrive near some remains, more precisely those of Cantlin, once an imposing fortified city in the southern area of Alefgart, and from there we will have to take the first steps to reconstruct the glories of the past, starting with placing the Banner of Hope, a light capable of guiding the wanderers and repopulating the now destroyed world.
As soon as the first inhabitants start arriving at the ruins of the city, we will have to commit ourselves to respond to some requests that meet the minimum conditions to survive: building lodgings, buildings dedicated to crafting or cooking (an activity not to be underestimated) or protections that defend us from the attack of the monsters that swarm nearby and that will tend to visit us causing not a little damage. The more we make alliances and friendships, the more our new outpost can grow in splendor (measurable through a level dedicated to it), as each new inhabitant will contribute to the cause by providing us with projects or giving us suggestions on what we can create.
All using a very intuitive and easy to learn construction system, which will allow us to give vent to our creative vein, simply by placing the blocks on top of each other as if we were playing with the famous Danish bricks, to create buildings (or other ) by pressing a button (X), or by destroying them with hammering and putting the remains back in our inventory for later use. All provided that you have the necessary materials in your bag. This basic simplicity helps a lot to get right into the mechanics of the game which, while following the same logic based on immediacy, also offers an unexpected depth, sinning only in some inaccuracy in the controls in placing the pieces in the 3 dimensions.
The Square Enix title clearly takes its cue from Minecraft, which over the years has created a genre of its own
Are all building permits in order?
Builders maintains its identity and a strong characterThe merit of Dragon Quest Builders is to take inspiration from Mojang's game, while at the same time managing to maintain its identity and a well-marked character. And so here is that Builders will focus on developing a narrative aspect that will be the driving force throughout the adventure, both with a main plot, that is the reconstruction of the world and the defeat of Dragonlord, and with mini stories that will feature the inhabitants of the various villages that we will have to bring back to "life".
From this point of view Builder also poses differently in the eyes of the player compared to Minecraft itself, letting himself be played on several floors: we will be able to decide whether to face the adventure by limiting ourselves to complete the various requests, building the minimum wage necessary to proceed in the adventure, or abandoning ourselves completely to the construction activity, exploring the various areas in search of new materials, useful objects and new "recipes" that allow us to expand the catalog of achievable elements.
Although it is a spin-off, in Dragon Quest Builders the role-playing aspect is present albeit in a decidedly soap and water way.
Our hero, in addition to the tools dedicated to construction, will be equipped with equipment, both offensive and defensive, and the choice of equipment will always be bound by the rules of cafting, and it will be up to us to dedicate ourselves to the optimization of our swords, hammers or armor, dedicating the right time to researching ever better and more resistant materials. The hero will not have a level, and in turn all the aspect related to the growth or development of the skills that he can learn is missing, but by answering the various subquests or advancing in the story we will get the seeds of life, items that we can use to extend the health bar, so as to face more aggressive monsters and in turn push us into the depths of Alefgart without the task of dying at any moment. In case of defeat, we will be teleported back to our base losing only a part of the objects in our pockets, which can be recovered by going back to where we lost our lives previously.
On Nintendo eShop A free demo of Dragon Quest Builders is available. While it is not possible to import the progress in the full game, this demo version allows you to savor the initial stages of the game until the creation of the first portal, so that you have a general understanding of the mechanics and what the Square Enix title has to offer.
During some mission or in the assaults that we will undergo, we will be joined by citizens, who managed by the AI of the game, will work to protect their "home", often with unconvincing results, becoming more of an obstacle than a precious help, ending the more often than not until the worst is over. The combat system also exhibits several limitations, making it difficult in some cases to take proper measures to deliver the blows, going to miss or bumping into the enemy himself taking damage. Certainly the fighting phases are not the strong point of the game, they try to be, and especially during the most demanding clashes this limit emerges.. Fortunately, checkpoints and character recovery in the event of a defeat buffer all of these problems.
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Dragon Quest Builders
One blow to the rim, the other to the barrel
The cubed and colorful style is a pleasure to see and admire, especially in tablet modeDragon Quest Builders is structured in chapters, and each of the 4 acts will focus on the reconstruction of a certain objective, after which we can decide whether to advance to the next or retrace our steps also going to complete some challenges that will not just lengthen the already generous longevity. Curious is the choice to reset the character at the end of each episode, forcing the player to start from scratch as soon as he set foot in the new area, a decision probably constrained by wanting to balance the gameplay in some way, and avoiding that, at the end of the first chapter, the player was in a position to "break" the game by having available an almost infinite inventory of materials that would have negatively impacted on the exploratory aspect of Builders and on crafting.
This Switch version of Dragon Quest Builders brings back all the content present in the original, including the free mode Unknown land, an option that will be unlocked at the end of the first chapter and will allow us to build freely and without plot constraints whatever comes to mind, with the possibility of both sharing our creations online and visiting those of other players. In addition, exclusive to this version, we will be able to take advantage of the help of a companion, a very tender one, inside terra incognita Baby Grandizanne, "Tiger" with saber teeth that we can use both as a mount (with the possibility of double jumps) and to attack enemies, perhaps jumping on their heads in order to obtain special building materials such as pixel blocks. A pleasant addition not present in the original that greatly helps the exploration in this mode designed for the most passionate builders.
Always dedicating ourselves to this Nintendo version of Dragon Quest Builders, it is also necessary to express ourselves in a more than positive way on the technical sector, which combines a visual rendering that is close to the Playstation 4 counterpart to the portability of the PS Vita version, with a technical result that at the expense some compromises related to the resolution (with a 720p image rendering both docked and portable) does not differ too much from what was seen in its first release.
The cubed and colorful style is a pleasure to see and admire, especially in tablet mode and the fluidity of the frame rate manages to remain constant and enjoyable at any time. The interface used for the hud, while being reduced to the bare minimum, is functional and allows you to have an eye on every aspect linked to both the constructive activity of the chef and the management of our character, letting you play more than pleasantly, especially on the move.
Dragon Quest Builders - Nintendo SwitchOn amazon: 39,9 € buy
Drawing inspiration from the world of Dragon Quest the game enjoys the design of Akira Toriyama, the father of Dragon Ball, and it is possible to find in every corner of the game elements that recall the main series, from the design of the world and the characters, to that of the enemies, between Blue Slime and gigantic G stone. The same for the music, from the classic Dragon Quest theme to the various symphonies that will accompany us during our adventures and creations.
The game is fully translated, and follows the same type of adaptation used in the various chapters of Dragon Quest, with some risky and questionable choices in the use of some of the terms used, while the text on screen in TV mode, due to the lower resolution. low level appears slightly blurred, making reading fatigue during dialogues.
✓ The world of Dragon Quest in a new guise
✓ Long-lived and with many things to do
✓ Excellent visual rendering ... x ... even if in TV mode you could do more.
x Subtitles not always legible
x Controls and AI sometimes inaccurate
