dragon quest builders chapter 3 bearer of blue blocks

#Dragon quest builders chapter 3 bearer of blue blocks full#

Once you’ve progressed a bit further, you can then play with up to three other friends, but there are some caveats attached. We’re constantly amazed by the things that people come up with, of course, and we particularly appreciated how this aspect is smartly integrated into the few loading screens, where you can view and ‘like’ others’ builds while you wait.

Early on, you’re given access to the social features, where you can take snapshots of builds and share them online with others, and if you like something you see, you can even go to visit it. New to this sequel, too, is the inclusion of multiplayer – both locally and online – and it’s gradually introduced to the player as you progress the campaign.

These things all help to make Dragon Quest Builders 2 come off as a much more intentional and thought out game, and that’s not even including the wealth of cool extra tools and items that have been added, with our favourite being a special glider you can use. There are smaller things that have been addressed in the interest of streamlining, too, such as how weapons and tools no longer break after extensive use or how your sword is given a dedicated button independent of your other tools. For example, there were plenty who weren’t a fan of how each island functionally had you start over from scratch, so now fast-travel – both on and between islands – has been implemented to make everything into part of a much more cohesive world. Something that we feel bears mentioning is just how much effort Square Enix has put into making the various quality of life changes that address previous grievances some fans had. These puzzles seldom are difficult enough to warrant more than a minute of your time, but they provide a nice break in the gameplay loop, and offer up medals that can later be redeemed for more unlockables. With these, you’re usually tasked with an altar that needs to be ‘completed’ in some way, whether that be unblocking a sluice gate, arranging flowers in symmetrical order, or destroying blocks that don’t seem to fit.

#Dragon quest builders chapter 3 bearer of blue blocks full#

Each island is packed full of secret caves and interesting locales that practically beg you to come and loot them, and there’s even a series of discoverable mini-puzzles which call to mind the Korok Seed puzzles from Breath of the Wild. If someone asks you to go pick up tomato seeds in the bog, for example, you’re eventually rewarded with seeing your villagers enjoying the literal fruits of your labour over a laughter-filled breakfast table.Īlthough much of the gameplay is focused on this loop of building things, getting new crafting recipes, and fighting enemies, we were rather surprised at how robust the exploration of the world itself tends to be. Sure, most quests ultimately boil down to going somewhere new and retrieving something that can then be used back at the base, but the Dragon Quest Builders 2 is constantly finding new ways to iterate on this simple idea and, more importantly, to show you the direct benefits of your actions. This feedback loop proves to be strongly compelling, if only because it offers up the perfect blend of light humour and diverse gameplay objectives. One thing leads to another, and you soon have over a dozen people living at and running your base, each of which has their own wants that ultimately will further the goal of building the farm and growing the mysterious magical “Deltree” that rests at its centre. For example, on the first island of Furrowfield, you start a farm with a woman named Rosie, and the first order of business is setting out to find a legendary worm who can turn the rotten soil into something that can be tilled. The standard gameplay flow follows you hopping between islands, meeting local residents, setting up a base with them, and doing side quests to strengthen morale and gain new upgrades.

It’s moments like this, or when you mobilize your villagers to fend off an impending monster threat, that do a lot of work in giving the impression that your friends are real people fighting to make themselves a home in a hostile environment. For example, if a new character asks to join a base you’re setting up, literally the entire village will drop what they’re doing and walk over to greet the newcomer and offer to show them around. Each named character is memorable in their own way due to some stellar writing, and though you rarely feel invested in what happens next in the plot, you grow to care for the various people living in your villages by virtue of how human they feel, a bit similar to how one grows attached to their neighbours in an Animal Crossing game. It’s clear from the get-go that the story (taking place after Dragon Quest II) is merely used as a vehicle for conveying information to the player and teaching them the ins and outs of the nuanced crafting systems, but we were rather taken aback by the charming nature of how it's presented.