Dustborn Reviews
I admire a game that is willing to take a risk, and certainly trolling the people who believe that games should be mindless content that doesn’t challenge their intelligence with a “political idea,” is a creative risk I can admire. But beyond the initial amusement that I took from knowing that somewhere out there someone is absolutely fuming about this game on a forum or in a tweet, there’s actually very little intelligence in Dustborn. It’s also an experience that is so culturally specific that it probably shouldn’t have been a global release.
Dustborn grabs the generic modern day adventure game formula and adds a bunch of cliché and often annoying characters, a subpar story, some low-grade music, along with a heavy-handed dose of politics front and center, resulting in a middling and overlong road trip that's more concerned about its poorly delivered message than anything else.
Although Dustborn has dubious combat and some technical problems, the game has an excellent and flashy plot, a fact that will make you stay tuned until the last chapter of the story.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Dustborn ultimately left me with mixed feelings. It’s excellent cast and voice acting mixed with a solid story is just what I hope for in an adventure game, however its ho-hum combat and annoying interruptions in the dialogue hold it back from being great.
While its combat system leaves much to be desired, Dustborn is filled with a variety of fun elements focused on opening up to the people around you that truly helps the game blossom into a powerful experience. Once your trip is over you will definitely miss those you got to know, but you will be thankful you got on the bus in the first place.
Dustborn offers a rich story with compelling characters that drew me in and kept me hooked over the 15-hour adventure. Pax and her gang are down-to-earth and relatable, brought to life through excellent voice acting.
Dustborn is a game that tries to be many things, and in the end does instill some of its charm in the player. However, the grating tone of the game's dialogue, which takes up the bulk of the game's run time, hampers the user's overall enjoyment. It's a bit of a missed opportunity, as underneath it all is a story and game world that begs to be properly realized.
Dustborn isn’t perfect, but its engaging storytelling, wonderful visuals, and variety of gameplay mechanics ensure that it still makes for one heck of a memorable road trip. You’ll constantly feel like you’re doing something different, and whilst it does miss the mark at times (most notably with its combat and lack of challenge), it has plenty of little surprises to keep a smile on your face when playing.
As an overall package “Dustborn” is an absolute delight. Believable and lovable characters are combined with an intriguing story and a wild mix of gameplay variation. While the combat is mediocre and gets stale quick, the variety of little vignettes is outstanding. The voice acting is stellar and the music might be more Pop-Punk than Punk-Rock which doesn’t make it any less awesome.
Review in German | Read full review
Dustborn is a good story, with good characters, but it completely lost its way trying to be more than it needed to be. Its best ideas end up being buried in a torrent of poorly developed elements that, at the same time, take up too much of the story's time. It would have been a perfect Life Is Strange-style game, if it didn't want to prove its own existence to people who will never be interested.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
The excitement and interest I felt when I first started playing Dustborn never faded away. This is one of those games that you can't put down once you start, thanks to its very interesting story and everything connected to the narrative in general.
A risky bet by a little-known studio but supported by Quantic Dream cannot leave you indifferent. A very solid game, with many references to popular culture but with performance problems and bugs.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
If you are looking for a good narrative adventure that respects your ability to choose and explore, Dustborn is for you.
Dustborn’s narrative beats are also the most enjoyable part of the game, but there’s too much stopping it from reaching its full potential
Dustborn is a narrative adventure that starts very slowly but eventually captivates you with an intriguing plot and characters that you will grow increasingly attached to. Despite some slower parts, it keeps itself fresh and interesting by mixing different types of gameplay and a wide variety of settings. Even if it doesn't have what it takes to sit next to the top titles in the genre, if you love this kind of adventure it will keep you entertained for many hours.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Every praise is followed by a small "but". This is also the reason why I can get a lot out of Dustborn as a whole, but not as much as I would wish for myself. Because the game creates an interesting world with multi-faceted characters. I like how much I can immerse myself in the world of thought and listen to the well-written dialog. The fundamentally different mechanics and game elements are also entertaining. What bothers me most, however, is the pace of the narrative, which can be slow at times, and the unused potential of the combat system. Although this gives me some exciting options, it is somewhat clunky to play and the enemies are moderately challenging. However, as I like versatile characters, the charming look and the wealth of ideas, Dustborn is a successful story game for me.
Review in German | Read full review