8Bit/Digi

Liberation Through Rock

Whether it is music or politics, Raging Against the Machine has always been a favorite pastime of mine. As such, when I heard that Quantic Dreams was publishing an indie game about a rebellious crew of superpowered rockers road-tripping across the fictitious Republic of America, I couldn’t help but be intrigued. So, is Dustborn worth your time? Or is it just another tumbleweed passing through the oversaturated narrative genre of gaming? While that answer will vary for some, I thought it rocked.

Dustborn starts out very confusingly. Instead of an info dump or slow-build intro, the game starts with four distinct-looking characters (Pax, Sai, Theo, & Noam) in a car driving down a highway. The scene feels tense from the get-go, even with no context as to why they are driving down the highway. With full control over the protagonist, Pax, I could see each character’s detailed emotions before they ever said a word.

Sai was driving, gripping the wheel firmly and fidgeting anxiously; Theo was looking out the window, murmuring to himself while counting cars; Noam furrowed their brow quizzically while looking down at their phone. The way this scene was painted without a word even being said was my first indication of how much effort developer Red Thread Games put into its character details for Dustborn.

All We Are is Vox in the Wind

Once a little more exposition was given regarding the situation, I was even more intrigued by just what was going on and how we got here. It is explained that Dustborn takes place in an alternate reality where two major events shaped the course of the world. The first was the failed assassination of John F. Kennedy. As a result of this, the United States of America becomes a dystopian “big brother” information state known as the Republic of America.

The other event is known as “The Broadcast.” In the year 2000, a strange signal caused fear, paranoia, and violence to occur across the country. It turns out this event also gave a small group of people the ability to use powers, known as Vox. These people are branded as Anormals and are hunted by Justice, a security force created by the government to “keep the peace.”

While it is by no means new to tell a story about politics via superpowers, the specific ones that I had at my disposal as Pax is perfect for a narrative-based adventure. Using her Vox, she can control and push emotions or stop them in their tracks with a word. While this might sound like the perfect tool for offense and defense, Dustborn also warns you that words are powerful and that actions can have consequences.

Meeting Your Codas

My favorite part about Dustborn is its relationship system, Codas. There are multiple ways to approach dialogue with each character. Just like in real life, each one will affect your relationship with a particular person based on their personality traits, which evolve with each interaction you have with them. If I used my abilities to force Sai to pull over and get out of the bathroom in the first chapter, she is going to think that she needs to be more closed off.

The more conversations you have with your bandmates, combined with the big fork-in-the-road decisions you make, results in a completely different journey for each player. It is the type of freedom of choice and conversation I’ve always wished Telltale would have leaned more into. It is ok if stories always have the same endpoint, but characters and relationships should change depending on their choices. That is exactly what Dustborn succeeds at.

The writing can be a bit “hello, fellow kids” at times. They take any chance they get to bash the government and use shorthand or slang for words, and it is also unabashedly queer-coded. This makes sense, as the entire message of the game is about acceptance. As a result, there are many deep conversations about identity, life, and depression, which helps make characters and their relationships that much more relatable.

Combative Gameplay

The biggest downside of Dustborn is that there are some elements that really feel shoehorned into the gameplay for no reason. And no, I don’t mean the quick-time events. For the most part, I enjoyed the QTE rockband related events. They didn’t rewrite the history books or anything, but hitting the notes in time with the beat was a satisfying minigame, much like singing karaoke in Yakuza.

The gameplay element I could live without is anything related to combat. Whether I was fighting off enemies with a bat in a dream or throwing Molotov cocktails off the roof of the bus – ok, that concept was at least cool – controls always felt unresponsive and unsatisfying. Any time Dustborn spent on this kind of minigame, I was always just hoping it would be over quickly so I could get back to my ragtag rockers and my favorite robot.

The Power of Words…and Rock

I really enjoyed exploring the Divided States of America with the motley crew that Red Thread Games created, especially since they focused so hard on molding relationships into the narrative.

It has its quirks, with some forced combat and somewhat cringy dialogue choices, but it is nothing that takes away from the overall enjoyment of the journey. If you are looking for a good narrative adventure that respects your ability to choose and explore, Dustborn is for you.

Disclaimer: The publisher through a PR representative provided the game used for this review.

This review is the critique and thoughts of one writer. If you want to see how other critics feel, check it out on OpenCritic.

8Bit/Digi is an independent media outlet that provides insight into the gamer community of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Dustborn (PC)

8

Excellent

8.0/10

Pros

• Characters are emotive and well-written.
• Introduces a mysterious world that I immediately wanted to know more about.
• Deep and important themes told through emotion.
• Tying Vox and Codas into the story results in unique experiences.

Cons

• Combat feels like an unnecessary gameplay element.
• Dialogue can sometimes be a bit cringy.