DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS

接下来我会给你最直接、最真相、最不绕弯、最扎心、最硬核、最干脆、最不墨迹、最戳痛点、最不留情面、最一针见血、最开门见山、最单刀直入、最不铺垫、最不客套、最不煽情、最不废话、最不拐弯、最不磨叽、最不装、最不端着、最不啰嗦、最不拖沓、最不委婉、最不掩饰、最不藏着掖着、最直白、最露骨、最实在的评测：“感觉游戏性不如迷你世界”。孩子们，别玩DQB1，无限制的通马桶，这简直是地狱，四章都是一个套路，先攒各种材料建装备，帮村民找人，然后打几波小怪建传送门继续通马桶，建造系统很搞笑，营地就那屁点大，稍微超出范围建了都不涨等级，有些建筑超出范围还没特殊效果。刚开始五小时之内有新鲜感，剩下的几十小时全是折磨

8.6/10 ([b] Chapter 1 [/b]) ; 9.0/10 ([b] Chapter 2 [/b]) ; 7.5/10 ([b] Chapter 3 [/b]) ; 9.2/10 ([b] Chapter 4 [/b]) [h3] Even if you’re not the chosen hero, you still have the freedom to choose your own path. [/h3] My first experience with [i] Dragon Quest Builders [/i] goes all the way back to 2016 on the PS Vita. If I had to sum it up in one sentence, I’d call it a goal-driven [i] Dragon Quest [/i]-flavored version of Minecraft. Unfortunately, for various reasons, I never actually finished it back then. Thankfully, revisiting it ten years later not only allowed me to finally see it through to the end, but also left me with a completely new sense of appreciation. What I admire most about this game is how its core theme leans toward the opposite end of what the traditional [i] Dragon Quest [/i] series usually emphasizes: the autonomy of an ordinary individual’s choices. Anyone familiar with [i] Dragon Quest [/i] knows that the series has always revolved around grand narratives. Its protagonists are almost always chosen ones—heroes destined to save the world, often carrying noble blood or extraordinary status, such as being royalty. In nearly every respect, the series is steeped in epic scale, fate, duty, and responsibility. [i] Dragon Quest Builders [/i], however, tells you something very different right from the start: you are [b] not [/b] the Hero. You are simply an ordinary person entrusted with a task—nothing more, nothing less. Yet instead of being driven primarily by some grand destiny to save the world, the protagonist is motivated by something much more personal: acting according to their own convictions, making choices freely, helping those in need, and protecting the people they genuinely care about. Ironically, it’s precisely these seemingly “small” things—insignificant when measured against a world-saving mission—that make the game so emotionally resonant. Real life is often the same way: compared to sweeping grand narratives, it’s the small moments of kindness between people that stay with us the longest. In the end, those human connections become the very thing that makes saving the world possible. And it all stems from a protagonist who, despite not being chosen by fate, still chooses to act with sincerity and conviction, making one wholehearted, regret-free decision after another. To me, that is [i] Dragon Quest Builders [/i] at its most moving. Now, without diving into spoilers, I’d like to briefly share my thoughts on each of the game’s four chapters and explain the reasoning behind my scores. [h3] Chapter 1 — “Where the Journey Begins” [/h3] As the game’s opening act, this chapter delivers a genuinely strong first impression. It immediately gives players a refreshing sense of novelty and immersion. Its biggest weakness, in my opinion, lies in the NPC cast. They’re not particularly memorable or likable compared to the later chapters, and honestly left the weakest impression on me overall. On top of that, they constantly send the protagonist running errands, which created a strong sense of “being the designated problem-solver” rather than feeling like part of a team. Most of my criticisms of this chapter stem from that. [h3] Chapter 2 — “Compassion in a Land of Death” [/h3] This is, in my opinion, the chapter that best embodies the game’s central themes, while also featuring the strongest NPC writing. It explores philosophical ideas surrounding life and death, and when paired with the chapter’s larger thematic focus, it’s hard not to come away feeling something. More importantly, this is the chapter where the “errand-runner” feeling almost completely disappears. Instead, you genuinely feel like you and the others are comrades fighting side by side to save lives. The people in your settlement also interact with one another in a way that feels far warmer and more natural, unlike the previous chapter, where relationships felt distant and loosely connected. [h3] Chapter 3 — “The Desert Brotherhood” [/h3] If I had to summarize this chapter’s core gameplay in one word, it would be: [b] combat [/b]. This chapter is packed with battles, while the story feels comparatively more conventional and less impactful. The NPCs are decent enough, but nothing especially memorable. Since combat in [i] Dragon Quest Builders [/i] is serviceable at best, the repetition and fatigue that had gradually built up over the first two chapters finally hit me here in full force, making this chapter the least smooth experience overall. That said, the ability to build all kinds of bizarre yet powerful mechanical contraptions did add a bit of fun. [i] (Fun fact: this is actually the chapter where I dropped the game ten years ago…) [/i] [h3] Chapter 4 — “The End, and the Beginning” [/h3] This final chapter feels like the culmination of everything that came before it. It serves as both the payoff to the previous three chapters and the emotional centerpiece that elevates the game’s core themes. Compared to earlier chapters, the gameplay shifts more heavily toward story and narrative, and overall, I found the experience excellent. As for its themes, they speak directly to what I discussed at the beginning of this review, so I won’t repeat myself here. Finally, I want to briefly touch on the quality-of-life improvements introduced in the Steam PC version and the Nintendo Switch version compared to the original release. It’s been about ten years since I played the original, so my memory may not be perfect, but these should be mostly accurate: 1. [b] Auto-climbing: [/b] Your character can automatically step up one-block heights while moving, eliminating the need to jump constantly and making traversal much smoother. 2. [b] Sprint function: [/b] Holding [b] Shift [/b] lets you run. 3. [b] Undo feature: [/b] You can reverse a certain number of recent placement or destruction actions. 4. [b] Cursor mode: [/b] Allows direct block placement or destruction wherever your cursor is pointing. 5. [b] Auto block placement beneath you: [/b] Double-tapping jump automatically places blocks under your character. 6. [b] Hammer AoE attack: [/b] The giant hammer can destroy a [b] 9×9 area [/b] of blocks at once. 7. [b] Weapon durability removed: [/b] No more worrying about weapons breaking. 8. [b] Timed challenge removed: [/b] The original version included chapter challenges requiring completion within a set number of days, which often pressured players into rushing rather than enjoying the game at their own pace. To wrap things up, I wholeheartedly recommend [i] Dragon Quest Builders [/i] to fans of both [i] Dragon Quest [/i] and Minecraft, as well as to anyone simply interested in this kind of game. It’s a genuinely unique, charming, and thoroughly enjoyable experience.