Dragon Quest Builders 2 Review (Switch)

  I had a little worry that the surprise hit Dragon Quest Builders might fall flat on the second go-around but Dragon Quest Builders 2 by Square Enix and Omega Force hit all the same notes that made the first one so much fun with several improvements to the game that definitely felt like they advanced it.  Not only with the gameplay in general but the story helped keep the game going as well.  This is a game that is made for those with an imagination and enjoys worlds that lets you execute them.

Time to Build

  Dragon Quest Builders 2 starts you off on a boat where you have been captured by monsters who are sworn to hate builders.  This boat is a quick tutorial that covers the basics before you are swept off to the Island of Awakening that becomes the center point for this game.  This island is where you will be building your main base that persists through the story.  Every new item you learn in the different locations will all be accessible in this area.  There are three sections of this island that corresponds with the first three chapters of the game and each of them has plans you must complete and optional quests that will allow you to build the island the way you want.

  The controls are like the previous game, which is great for building, and not so great for combat.  This time you are given a very large inventory to store your belongings and there are several tools that you can earn that can make large constructions even easier and quicker.  Instead of the towns having scores based off of the rooms you are building, you now collect hearts based off of things that the citizens of your towns want.  Things like a place to sleep, places to eat, and custom rooms they request.  This is a great improvement over the previous town score as it allows you a lot more flexibility on how you want to build.

  One aspect that has really added to the game is the social aspect.  While the first game is really a romp around as a solo builder, you will now be constantly joined by a companion who will help you fight.  Townspeople are more likely to join you on quests and also really contribute to the building now.  On top of that, there is a multiplayer option where you can invite people online to join you on your Island of Awakening and they can explore your creations or help you build.  All of these are just massive improvements to the game.

Good But Not Perfect

  There are still really weird issues that I ran into from time to time.  The pathing of the characters can be off and sometimes when they are following you or trying to talk to you the NPCs get stuck.  For the most part, they make it through but there was a time where a large group of them did not when following me and it dropped my frame rate to sub-20s making the game painful.  I had to port back to the town and restart my treck to not only get the people I needed but to actually be able to play.  Fire and some other effects would also drop the framerate but I assume this is more a Switch hardware issue.  It certainly wasn't game-breaking but it wasn't pretty.

  My main gripe is still combat.  It just feels ridiculous.  You run in, take a few swipes, then run out before the enemy does their move.  In general, the combat is aimed more toward the easy side.   Since there is only one weapon type there is no variation and near the end, you feel kind of just taken out of fights in general.  At around that time I just wanted to build cool stuff but the story was still going, which puts a hamper on that.  Some enemies that start to spawn and will destroy your work so you feel pressured to finish the story before building.

  These issues didn't kill the game for me as I binged the hell out of it.  I had plans on catching up on reading Sunday, which were dashed by a full day play session.  I hardly ever binge games anymore but with Dragon Quest Builders 2 it was almost too easy.  This is an easy recommended pick up.  The game is fun and if you like Minecraft like building games, the endgame playtime could almost be limitless.

 TL;DR:

  Dragon Quest Builders 2 is a fun adventure and sandbox game that improved on the first iteration.  If you liked the first or want a fun building game this is a good pick up.