I’ve always had a great fondness for The Longest Journey, the legendary adventure game about the lost April Ryan that had to unite two very different worlds. It’s a game that left a lasting impression on me, both for its deep narrative and its complex characters. Since then, I’ve closely followed the game’s creator, Ragnar Törnquist. He signed several sequels to The Longest Journey and most recently his new studio, Red Thread Games, released the game Draugen. After Draugen, I lost track of what his team was up to, but I recently had the chance to play against their latest opus, Dustborn.
Red Thread Games is known for its strong focus on storytelling, and Dustborn is no different. In the game, you take on the role of Pax, a slightly cunning and manipulative character who escapes with his three friends on a road trip of sorts. The game drops you into the thick of the action, where you meet Pax and his gang in the middle of a chase. There is no introduction to the plot or characters, which can be a little confusing at first. The four friends are in possession of a highly confidential USB stick that they have stolen, and it quickly becomes clear that this small item holds great importance to someone who doesn’t want its contents to fall into the public domain.
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However, this introduction to the story and characters is not without its problems. The game takes its time revealing what is really happening, and the focus quickly shifts from the plot to the relationship between the four friends. It is not until much later in the game that the importance of the USB stick comes back into focus. This narrative choice by Red Thread Games can be frustrating, as it can sometimes leave the plot a little unfocused or off track. I have to admit that I am not the biggest fan of this style of storytelling, where the central plot takes a back seat to make room for interactions between characters that don’t always seem relevant to the overall story.
Ironically, the characters and the way they develop throughout the game are what makes Dustborn really good. Dustborn is set in 2030 in an alternate world where history has taken a completely different turn. In this version of the world, John F. Kennedy survived the 1963 assassination, but his wife Jacqueline died in his place. This tragedy led Kennedy to become more authoritarian, and the society you encounter in the game is one of surveillance, oppression, and a heavy-handed government that doesn’t tolerate deviations from the norm. Pax and her three friends are those deviations. They belong to communities that are also fighting for their rights today, and in addition to their lifestyle, they also have supernatural abilities similar to those of the X-Men universe.
Pax, the game’s protagonist, has the ability to influence other people’s minds with her voice. She can attack people’s brains with her words and make them argue, paralyze them, or make them do what she wants. Her friends have similar abilities that allow you to solve puzzles and manipulate conversations with the many characters you meet along the way. This part works quite well, and the way Pax’s friends’ abilities are integrated into the gameplay is impressive. These abilities fit their respective personalities perfectly, and there are many ways to explore and understand these characters as the game progresses.
The Dustborn Journey is a road trip through the interior of the United States, where the four friends, under the guise of a gang called Dustborn, attempt to reach Nova Scotia to deliver the mysterious USB stick. This setting allows the game to explore various American communities, each with their own characteristics and residents. Along the way, Pax and his friends meet various characters that they can take with them on their journey or leave behind, depending on how you interact with them. The dialogue between Pax and his friends is extensive and often quite entertaining, but I must admit that it can get a little heavy-handed at times. Especially when you have to listen to characters you don’t really care about.
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At the end of the day, the group will take breaks at several stations where you can talk to your friends and further explore their thoughts and feelings. These conversations offer deeper insights into the characters’ personalities and relationships, but can also drag on, especially if you’re not into all of the characters. For those who aren’t so keen on long conversations, the game also offers the option to compose new music in a mini-game that requires you to match the buttons on the screen with the button presses on the controller. The same goes for live concerts with the band as well. Unfortunately, this type of mini-game isn’t my strong suit, and while you can reduce the difficulty to the bare minimum, I had a hard time getting it to work. I have to admit, I’m not the biggest fan of this mechanic.
One of Dustborn’s biggest challenges, however, is the variety of gameplay mechanics, and not all of them hit the mark. While storytelling and character development are the game’s strengths, it falls short in other areas. The combat sequences are arguably the biggest problem. Pax is armed with a bat and isn’t afraid to use it, but the combat is basic and unsatisfying. You’ll face enemies ranging from bikers to police officers, but the combat mechanics are very basic and lack depth. Without any real strategy, you’ll be lashing out wildly and it all quickly becomes monotonous and lacking the satisfaction you’d expect from a combat system.
While you can also use Pax and his friends’ supernatural abilities in combat, such as making enemies fight each other by shouting at them or using their special abilities to perform combo attacks, it still feels shallow and lacks the depth it needs. But what Dustborn really shines is its narrative. The game borrows mechanics from Telltale and Quantic Dream games, which isn’t surprising considering Quantic Dream is also the game’s publisher. This means that the choices you make have a huge impact on the story and relationships between characters. For example, if you’re harsh on one of your friends, that character will remember it and it will affect their interactions later in the game. This type of dynamic storytelling is something I’ve always been a fan of, and Dustborn manages to use it in a way that really changes the gaming experience.
Pax can be quite a difficult friend and her actions affect how her friends perceive her. It’s an interesting mechanic that adds an extra dimension to character development and allows you to have very different gameplay paths where the choices you make change the story significantly. In addition, each story path is supported by a unique comic that reflects the choices you make. After each chapter, a comic is created that summarizes the choices made and actions taken. This is a great way to sum up the story and make the player feel like their choices really matter.
All in all, Dustborn is a mixed bag, but it has its strengths. On the one hand, the story and the way it is told are very entertaining and engaging. Pax and his friends’ journey through a dystopian America is full of interesting characters and complex relationships, and the way the game allows the player to influence those relationships through their choices is really well done. On the other hand, there are certain game mechanics that Red Thread Games doesn’t quite master. The battles and the many small mini-games sometimes feel like an appendage that doesn’t enrich the gaming experience, but rather detracts from it.
If you like strong stories and games where your choices matter, Dustborn is for you. It’s a game that’s more about the journey and the people you meet along the way than action-packed battles or complex mechanics. If you’re looking for a title with deep and satisfying combat mechanics, there are better options. But if you’re willing to look past these minor issues, Dustborn is definitely a worthwhile effort, especially for those who appreciate a good story and complex characters.
