Quantic Dream
A game calledDustborncaught our eyes atPAX Eastin March . The hopeful action mechanism - adventure secret plan looked primed to offer a politically charge story about a divided America right in time for election season . That , mix with its graphic novel aesthetic , like a shot put it on our radar as we wait to see more beyond the 30 minutes we played .
With its August 30 release date approaching , we now have got a much better photo of what the full game will front like . In a lengthy two - plus - hour demo , I got a full look atDustborn‘s characters , battle system , and political electronic messaging . The fade I toy signaled an indie adventure plug above its weight unit class , even if it ’s sure to be as factious as its fictionalise America .
Quantic Dream
Rather than kicking off with a big struggle , I start out with a long narrative section that give me a clear icon of my crew and the dystopian globe around them . The demo break up up as me and my brother wind through the desert in a circuit bus driven by a automaton . That last detail is the first polarity that trouble is coming , asDustbornlooks like it ’ll take a satirical poke at the rise of AI , whether that was its original intent or not . When we stop at a gas station , our mentality - dead robot pilot zips off without us .
That pass on me a chance to see how its more narrative , dangerous undertaking side works . With no motorcoach to be see , I ’d need to get a new ride . I ’d distinguish that each of my sidekick had their own particular ability that could help me achieve that . I ’d call on one champion to pop open a locked back door to the gasoline station , and another more automatically incline brother to prepare a broken truck inwardly . Another would habituate their strength to crowd the truck out of the service department so we could play off with it without the clueless robot worker at the counter noticing . That ’s a fun small bend that gives each companion a bit more lineament .
There ’s one sticking point for me there : I ’m not amply sold on the committal to writing or voice playact here yet . While each role feels fully shape and negotiation often grapples with social issues head - on , it lean a number into the kind of quippy comedy that ’s become a crutch for so many advanced games . That ’s dissatisfactory count how much posture it has otherwise , but I ’m hoping the full circumstance will betray me on that tone in August .
After that ordeal , I ’d get a deep look atDustborn‘s fighting when I get down research an abandon school full of rogue robots . There ’s some introductory hacking and slashing , with the tote up twist of being able to toss my melee artillery like a boomerang orKratos ’ axe . The more alone system is my exceptional power , a fierce forward-moving slash that I can only touch off once by pressing the right buttons as they appear on screen . That touch tally a little more astuteness to the otherwise basic combat , as does a skill tree diagram that teases some more exciting power ( by the end of my demonstration , I could bounce my thrown weapon between multiple enemies before it returned to me ) .
What ’s keeping me interested is just how much developer Red Thread Games is pile into what I expected to be a compact indie . The slice I played badger a surprisingly enceinte adventure game with deep character and world construction , alongside its eye - catching panache and occasional gameplay twists ( I ’d expend a power throughout my demonstration that would lease me unmask inconspicuous objects by tracking a sound and recording it ) . I may have go steady a bigger gash than what we saw in March , but the terminal picture still sense much larger than that . I ’m delirious to see where that route trip eventually conduce .
Dustbornlaunches on August 20 for PlayStation 4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X / S , and personal computer . A demo is now available on Steam through June 30 .
