Dustborn review

Dustborn is a game with blending genres and ideas, wrapped up with obvious messages and views that don’t exactly breed subtlety as you play more and more. However, when you strip it back to its fundamental source, it is about connection and friendships, and the choices you make along the way. There are QTEs, dialogue choices to make, music rhythm sections, and some combat as well, but when it is at its best is when you see your decisions impact the story in different ways. It is by no means perfect, but I enjoyed the journey me and my bandmates went on.

The story takes place in a dystopian America following a second civil war. You find out about the alternate American history, such as how Jackie Kennedy was the one who got shot and not JFK. Following her death, the President of the United States forms Justice, a branch of the police that instills fear in the new Republic of America. As Pax, you and your friends want to stop this oppression, tasked with carrying an important package from RA to Canada.

I started off being overly unfond of some of the characters. They’re opinionated in the wrong way and it gets a little tiresome. Who they are as people isn’t the problem, but it’s the manner in which they are overly obvious in their beliefs and their message. It feels as though you’re not smart enough to understand the message, feeling less natural and more drip-fed every opinion until you’ve had your fair share. Thankfully things settle down and the characters begin to gel better with every new conversation when the exposition isn’t happening every few seconds.

When Dustborn gets its chance to breathe, it is at its best. Conversations between you all are done in a great way. You can choose how to respond, whether to interrupt or whether to listen and what the best course of action in any given situation. Depending on your response, you’ll change the outcome of how your friends view you and your relationship, and over the course of the game, this can lead to some interesting scenarios. Pax is a strong-willed character, and I started to warm to her eventually.

The story reflects what is wrong with society today, specifically in America. It’s an important story to tell, one where fascists are getting in power and the importance of those who oppose having their voices heard. Those voices in Dustborn are called Vox, a special ability wielded by Anomals who can use their voice to change minds. Pax can negatively affect others by what she says, while others can gaslight and even trigger those around them. It’s on the nose but it makes sense with the way the game is played. Pax’s Vox abilities can also be used in combat situations, but I often found fighting to be the least exciting element of it.

Pax will use her baseball bat to swing at enemies or even launch like a boomerang, but I always found these sections to be arbitrary. Dustborn does a lot of different things but it’s always at its strongest when it gets back to conversations and learning about your characters through the power of dialogue. In some sections, you’ll play music that requires you to hit the correct button at the correct time, but again, they feel like they’ve been thrown in for the sake of it. They’re not bad by any means, just not quite as fun as I had hoped.

The cel-shaded visuals are a phenomenal comic book art style that helps to make Dustborn enjoyable. From the way conversations play out to the cutscenes, it always looks amazing. I would always linger on certain scenes just to soak them in, and there rarely comes a moment where you don’t want to look around and appreciate the environment. The music is also great, and the original songs suit the makeshift band as well as the story itself. Dustborn has a lot going for it, with character growth being at the forefront. Going from a rag-tag bunch of punk rock activists to people I cared about is done with great care and consideration most of the time.

Dustborn is about the power of words, and on the flipside the power of misinformation. We live in a dangerous world, but what we say really can make a difference. There has been a shift in the last ten years in how misinformation can travel, especially through social media. Dustborn tells an important message, but it also beats you over the head with it at every opportunity it gets. It needs to stop winking at you through the screen every few moments and ease up on its metaphors. Despite this, I still enjoyed my journey across a broken America with Pax and her friends.