Note: There is a free demo consisting of the first chapter of the game for download for those wanting to try it before they buy.

There is an entire genre of fiction known as "alternative fiction". In this genre, they explore what-if scenarios, like "what if the Confederacy won the American Civil War?" The same can be done to fictional history, and Dragon Quest Builders asks of Dragon Quest I: "what if the hero was stupid enough to take the Dragonlord's offer of half the world instead of stopping the Dragonlord?"

Dragon Quest Builders uses this to explore a new timeline. Thanks to the foolishness, greed, and evil of the fallen hero of Dragon Quest I, the lands of Tantegel have fallen utterly to ruin. The art of building and creation has been banned, with most people no more adept at survival than primitive hunting and gathering. The goddess Rubiss, horrified at the evil her fallen champion allowed to happen, selects another of the same bloodline to repair the world their predecessor allowed to be destroyed.

You can choose to play as either a male or female of indeterminate age with the name of your choice. After a short tutorial level, the player is set loose to explore Tantegel, unlocking new areas as they acquire tools and complete certain plot events.

The gameplay loop is one that anyone familiar with sandbox survival games would be quite familiar with. You must build tools and structures, hunt and cook food, and defend yourself against animals and monsters. It has some aspects specific to Dragon Quest, specifically the plot, but otherwise follows the Western Minecraft-style sandbox mold.

Graphically, things are a mix of the bright and colorful Akira Toriyama Dragon Quest art that meets the polygonal, blocky look of the Minecraft games. Given the retro feel of the Dragon Quest series already, these two styles mesh beautifully. The only downside is that true to the Minecraft inspiration, animations are slightly stiff at times, but nothing that would compromise play, just visually annoying.

The sounds and music are lifted directly from the Dragon Quest games. If you love the retro blips and bleeps of the sound or enjoy the retro synth musical styling of Koichi Sugiyama, then you will enjoy the aural offerings of this title. There is no voice acting whatsoever.

The controls are not too difficult to pick up if you are a veteran of RPG games, especially the Dragon Quest ones. However, there are some strange control decisions, with the action and menu buttons placed opposite how most games would place them on the control pad, which can take some getting used to. The sequel used a less counterintuitive control scheme, so this can be annoying to adjust to. The controls for picking up and placing items are also a bit complicated compared to the sequel, and not as simple as you'd expect from a game that is taking inspiration from titles like Minecraft either.

Stability is not a problem. This game loads quite fast on the Switch. It has no issues with framerate or stability, and I encountered no trouble worthy of note for sustained periods of play.

Morally, Dragon Quest Builders has some concerning themes.

Violence is RPG style "give orders and watch it happen", minus blood and gore depictions. Bodies disappear after death as well. One enemy is called a "Bloody Hand", but it looks more like red mud than actual blood. Language is similarly mild, rising no higher than h*ll or d*mn, mostly in a religious context.

Sexual content is generally low, as the art style is not conducive to it, but there is a "Racy Swimsuit" item that is equippable that, while it does not look very lewd thanks to the art style, it certainly would be in another game. There are a few veiled sexual innuendos, mostly in the form of subtle double entendres.

The presence of the occult and supernatural is generally low, with only some depiction of skeletons, zombies, and ghosts as is typical of the Dragon Quest franchise, meaning they are drawn in a cartoonish format. The in-game religion is Christianity with the serial numbers filed off, with a goddess named Rubiss as the "God" stand-in. The morals associated with her faith are more or less Christian-compatible. The game itself uses some Christian themes, as the game itself starts on a failed test against temptation (like how Satan tempted Jesus in the Gospels). Your player character also is subject to some Jesus allusions, right down to being given divine power to act on the behalf of the God-stand-in to further their glory via the power of creation. The Dragonlord, as the villain, is cast in the role of Satan, even trying to tempt you away from your morals like they did your predecessor at one point.

Given the biblical allusions that underpin the plot, the moral is both obvious and commendable, making clear that breaking one's moral creed in pursuit of greed and base desire is never worth it, no matter how tempting. Those who fall prey to such are shown to be lost to their own iniquity and those who resist are held up and rewarded for their faith in doing what is upright.

Morally and ethically, there are a few minor concerns. While your main character has the option to be rude and short with people (even Rubiss herself), they ultimately do the right thing more often than not. There is a plot-mandated event to defy Rubiss. Still, the circumstances show it was a secret test of moral character, as the manner of defiance proved your willingness to do the right thing despite knowing you would suffer for it. Otherwise, there are no serious ethical problems of note. You can build an item called a "beer barrel" as a decorative structure, but that is merely a real-world barrel design. No actual alcohol is depicted as stored in or drunk from them.

Overall, it's a decent game to pick up for the Switch if you are a Dragon Quest fan, albeit a tad pricey. It's got some concepts that were much better implemented in the sequel, but some slight annoyances aside I generally had fun with it. On moral grounds, it has some minorly concerning content, tempered by very commendable moral lessons against the evils of falling to temptation.