Dragon Quest Builders Reviews

Dragon Quest Builders is ranked in the 91st percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
IGN
Top Critic
8.9 / 10.0
Oct 8, 2016

Dragon Quest Builders is totally, thoroughly engaging. Its gameplay is accessible to kids while its dialogue offers enough sly references to keep Dad or Mom amused. Collecting, crafting, and building all sounds familiar, but this package encapsulates so much of the best parts of this creative process and wraps it in light roleplaying progression and storytelling. It doesn’t matter that there isn’t a multiplayer component, because it wouldn’t have contributed to the world. So that means this is a gold-standard RPG for the non-connected gamer to flex all their cerebral muscles wherever they want it to go.

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Recommended
Oct 10, 2016

Offering freedom within structure, Dragon Quest Builders manages to formalise a riveting story within Minecraft's expansive template.

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Oct 5, 2016

Square Enix takes a JRPG classic fuses it with elements of Minecraft in Dragon Quest Builders, creating a unique spin on the genre that enthralls even when it stumbles.

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Oct 4, 2016

Combat could be better, but Dragon Quest Builders combines RPG structure and freeform creativity to great effect. It's Minecraft for people who hate Minecraft.

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8 / 10.0
Oct 4, 2016

Dragon Quest Builders is a great alternative for people who want more structure from a Minecraft-style experience – and plenty of structures to build

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8.5 / 10.0
Oct 17, 2016

This Dragon Quest experiment gives players a great reason to build

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8 / 10
Feb 7, 2018

Whether you want to focus on completing assignments or build with no specific purpose, the game is feature-rich enough to suck up untold hours, even if this happens to be your first Dragon Quest experience.

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Unscored
Feb 9, 2018

The game's Minecraft trappings are somewhat misleading. Dragon Quest Builders is less about creativity and more about strategy. It's a hand-crafted, charming video game that starts off slowly but never stops feeling delightful.

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VG247
Top Critic
Oct 7, 2016

Striking an almost perfect balance between RPG and construction game, Dragon Quest: Builders manages to hold fast to the best parts of the series whose name it bears while creating a guided, structured format for the Minecraft concept. The end result works brilliantly, with top-notch visuals, music, and writing that help drive home the appeal. There's room for improvement here... but not much.

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Unscored
Oct 10, 2016

If either Dragon Quest or base-building games appeal to you, try it with an open mind and a willingness to buck convention.

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4.5 / 5.0
Oct 4, 2016

Combining an action RPG with a building game is an unusual combination, but great care was done to ensure that fans of both can be satisfied by this and the freedom to play the game in a way most compatible to the individual player’s preference only makes it better.

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Nov 11, 2016
Dragon Quest Builders - Easy Allies Review video thumbnail
8 / 10
Feb 7, 2018

Both classic Dragon Quest RPG and Minecraft-style building sim, Dragon Quest Builders takes just enough ingredients from each side of the developmental kitchen and gently stirs them into a dish that never manages to overpower either of its core mechanics. If you've ever wanted to try Mojang's ubiquitous hit but found it a little too intimidating in its vagueness, then this is the alternative for you. Fun, empowering and Dragon Quest to a tee; Its combat and camera can be a little erratic, but they never manage to derail your new building adventure.

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8 / 10.0
Feb 12, 2024

Dragon Quest Builders is a crafting game that's a joy to play even all these years later, and it runs brilliantly on both PC and Steam Deck.

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8 / 10.0
Feb 7, 2018

Dragon Quest Builders is quite simply a perfect fit for the Nintendo Switch and a brilliant entrée before the sequel releases this year.

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8 / 10.0
Oct 7, 2016

Relaxing and compelling, with Dragon Quest Builders if you’ve struggled to get into the genre with building games in the past this might just be the game that changes your mind.

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Ollie Barder
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Feb 13, 2024

Overall, this is a good PC port of the first Dragon Quest Builders but has some weird design changes taken from the second game that take away from what originally made this game so special. If you have no other option than to pick up the PC version, you will definitely enjoy yourself, but it’s sadly not as good as the PlayStation 4 and Switch versions.

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7.9 / 10.0
Oct 4, 2016

Dragon Quest Builders has a perfect design and concept to entertain to the younger and an adult audience.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

Ollie Barder
Top Critic
9 / 10.0
Feb 11, 2018

Overall, this is still the fantastic game I remember playing back at the start of 2016

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8 / 10.0
Feb 7, 2018

Interesting fot hose who are looking for a deep RPG and for the ones that just want to play a minecraft like game. Dragon Quest Builders is a well rounded game that may fall too repetitive as it biggest flaw.

Review in Spanish | Read full review