Dragon Quest Builders Preview: More Than Just Minecraft

Since its reveal, Dragon Quest Builders has been seen as “Minecraft with slimes.”. This is a fair observation, as there are few games other than Minecraft that successfully take its “pixel-block building” gameplay, and make it their own. Judging from the recently released demo, I can say with confidence that Dragon Quest Builders will be one of those rare games that, in ways, is superior to the game that it takes inspiration from.

The first major difference is that Builders seems to have a cohesive and interesting plot. Minecraft has always been about freely creating things, while crafting your own story. Builders on the other hand, focuses on narrative, taking place in a parallel timeline of the first Dragon Quest. As the hero approaches the villainous Dragonlord for their final battle, the Dragonlord offers the hero dominion over half the earth in exchange for joining him in world conquest. In the original game, the hero declines the offer and destroys the Dragonlord, bringing peace to the land. In Builders, the hero accepts the Dragonlord’s offer, and is promptly betrayed and killed, leading to a world of darkness and decay.

This means that it’s up to you, Bildrick (a wonderful example of Dragon Quest‘s charming puns), to restore light to the land and rebuild society from the ground up (literally). As you traverse the gloomy world, you build towns and bring light to the world, brightening it at every turn. This entire concept is a fascinating variation of the first Dragon Quest‘s storyline, and sets up a reason for running around the world, all the while breaking blocks and building houses.

“All these little touches make Builders stand out as a Dragon Quest game with Minecraft elements, rather than the other way around.”

Arguably the biggest difference between Minecraft and Builders is the presence of actual objectives. In Builders, NPCs will ask you to build things for them, with your projects ranging from houses, to Chimera Wings, to portals. Obtaining the necessary materials and building rooms and houses that citizens will live in is satisfying, as you get EXP for every house built. This rewards you for going crazy and building wherever you want, which incentivizes you to construct for more than just creative purposes.

But even these changes don’t detract from the game’s Dragon Quest roots. Builders looks to be unapologetically corny in the best ways. Silly puns are as common as slimes, the trademark goofy dialogue is whimsically charming , as usual, and Toriyama’s iconic art-style is as colorful as ever. The music in the demo (and assumedly the full game) is made up of remade tracks from the original Dragon Quest. All these little touches make Builders stand out as a Dragon Quest game with Minecraft elements, rather than the other way around.

While the demo only allows you to stay on the first island, there’s plenty to experience. Iconic monsters ready for a slaying, mountains to scale, weapons to make, and wonderful dialogue to uncover all give you the feeling that this is more of an RPG than a creativity simulator. While there are no doubt plenty of similarities to Minecraft in-game, Builders is shaping up to be a refreshing experience that only builds on its inspiration’s concepts. If you like Minecraft, Dragon Quest, or just making things in general, you should have Dragon Quest Builders on your radar.