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Dustborn

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Dustborn
Developer(s)Red Thread Games
Publisher(s)Spotlight by Quantic Dream
Director(s)Ragnar Tørnquist[1]
Producer(s)Rodica Enciu[1]
Designer(s)Martin Bruusgaard[1]
Programmer(s)Audun Tørnquist[1]
Artist(s)Christoffer Grav[2]
Writer(s)Ragnar Tørnquist[1]
Composer(s)Simon Poole[1]
EngineUnity
Platform(s)
ReleaseAugust 20, 2024
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Dustborn is a story-driven action-adventure video game developed by Norwegian studio Red Thread Games and published by Quantic Dream on August 20, 2024.[3]

Gameplay

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The game is primarily built around player versus environment (PvE) combat involving the player using the power of their language and voices to combat enemies.[4] The game also features Guitar Hero-style minigames.[5]

Plot

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Pax, Noam, Theo, Sai
Main Dustborn characters, from left: Pax, Noam, Theo, Sai

In the game, the player travels across an alternate reality United States known as the American Republic in the year 2030. The main character Pax (Dominique Tipper) must smuggle a package alongside a traveling band.[6][7][8]

Development

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Tipper, Dominique
Dominique Tipper stars as Pax

Red Thread Games received financial support from the Norwegian Film Institute (Norsk filminstitutt) in 2019, 2020 and 2022 totaling 14,000,000 NOK (approx. $1.4 million) under the scheme "development of games after artistic assessment" (Utvikling av spill etter kunstnerisk vurdering).[9] The game also received a grant of €150,000 from the EU's Creative Europe project, and 300,000 NOK from Viken Filmsenter.[10][11]

The game was developed using the Unity engine and the team wrote their custom shaders to accomplish the comic book-inspired look.[2] Due to its character designs, the game was noted by the BBC as experiencing online backlash from those who believe developers are being forced to make their games more diverse, though creative director Ragnar Tørnquist denied the cast's diversity was due to outside pressure, stating that they were targeting a "wider and more diverse audience" than typical games.[12]

In August 2024, the developer released a statement condemning the "tidal wave of hate and abuse" aimed towards them and the game. The publisher released a similar statement affirming their support for the developer and their "zero-tolerance policy for threats, hate speech, or harassment" on their social media platforms.[13][14]

Reception

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Critical reception

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Dustborn received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic,[22] and 48% of critics recommended the game, according to OpenCritic.[18]

Malindy Hetfeld, writing for The Guardian, rated it 3 out of 5. Hetfeld noted the difficult balance as the game attempts "to alternate between fun moments, activism and drama – a balance it ultimately can't hit." Hetfeld enjoyed the game most when it "leans into the silliness of its supernatural storyline" calling it "the equivalent of an interactive Marvel movie, and that is OK."[19] Rachel Weber of IGN rated it 7 out of 10: "Dustborn brings angst to a comic book caper about an alternate-reality America, and you'll get an emotional ride with a few exciting punk performances if you stick with it through a slow start".[20]

GameSpot reviewer Mark Delaney, rating the game 5 out of 10, called Dustborn "one of the most overtly political and, more specifically, unapologetically leftist games I've ever played", which he felt "makes its early hours very interesting, but it falls apart in the second half due to monotonous combat and a final few chapters that undo the stronger first half".[21] GameRant commented in its 2 out of 5 review, that while "the diverse cast's goal of fighting back is noble", the "dialogue is irritating and never lets up" and that the "bloated narrative is full of poor or meaningless beats".[23]

Sales

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PC Gamer's Andy Chalk described Dustborn's launch sales as "apparently modest".[13] Eurogamer.pt reported the game appeared to launch poorly on Steam with a peak of 83 concurrent players.[24]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Red Thread Games (August 20, 2024). Dustborn. Spotlight by Quantic Dream. Scene: Credits.
  2. ^ a b Parijat, Shubhankar (August 27, 2024). "Dustborn Interview – Setting, Art Style, Choices, and More". GamingBolt (Interview).
  3. ^ "Dustborn". Steam. August 20, 2024. Archived from the original on August 20, 2024. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  4. ^ "Dustborn on Steam". store.steampowered.com. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  5. ^ Loveridge, Sam (June 24, 2024). "Dustborn took me on a roadtrip where I fought with words, played Guitar Hero-like rhythm games, and made Telltale-style choices". gamesradar. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  6. ^ "Dustborn's politically charged action is a breath of fresh air". Digital Trends. March 29, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  7. ^ Wright, Autumn (June 24, 2024). "Dustborn let me smash fascists and flirt with my situationship on a road trip across America". PC Gamer. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  8. ^ Handley, Zoey (July 8, 2024). "Dustborn might not be something you want to take on a road trip". Destructoid. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  9. ^ "Dustborn". Norwegian Film Institute (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on August 17, 2024. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
  10. ^ "Dustborn". European Commission for Culture and Creativity. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  11. ^ "Stort spillfokus i årets siste tildelingsrunde" [Great game focus in the year's last award round]. Viken filmsenter (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  12. ^ Richardson, Tom (June 25, 2024). "Dustborn: 'No-one forced us to make a game with a diverse cast'". BBC. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  13. ^ a b Chalk, Andy (August 30, 2024). "Dustborn devs call out the 'tidal wave of hate and abuse' that's engulfed the game: 'Those who engage in such behavior will be removed from our community'". PC Gamer. PC Gamer. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  14. ^ Shepard, Kenneth (August 30, 2024). "Dustborn Developers Condemn 'Tidal Wave Of Hate And Abuse' Directed At The Team". Kotaku. Kotaku. Retrieved September 9, 2024. Dustborn publisher Quantic Dream put out its own statement in support of Red Thread Games, saying it stands with the developer against "hate in all its forms."
  15. ^ "PlayStation 5 Critic Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  16. ^ "Dustborn Xbox Series X Critic Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  17. ^ "Dustborn PC Critic Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  18. ^ a b "Dustborn". OpenCritic. August 16, 2024.
  19. ^ a b Hetfeld, Malindy (August 15, 2024). "Dustborn review – supernatural road trip across an alternative America". The Guardian. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  20. ^ a b Weber, Rachel (August 14, 2024). "Dustborn Review: Have some patience and this punk comic book caper will win you over with its weirdos". IGN. Archived from the original on August 14, 2024. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  21. ^ a b Delaney, Mark (August 14, 2024). "Dustborn Review - Words Hurt". GameSpot. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  22. ^ "Dustborn". Metacritic. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  23. ^ Leri, Michael (August 14, 2024). "Dustborn Review". GameRant.
  24. ^ Salgo, Jorge (August 22, 2024). "Dustborn com lançamento desastroso no Steam". Eurogamer.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved September 4, 2024.
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