I have never played an ounce of Minecraft , and I've never had any desire to do so. My eldest son, who's eight years old, is absolutely obsessed with it. He builds some amazing things, and it really taps into that creative mind he has for architecture and construction.

Charming Dragon Quest visual style; Fluid combat; Deep crafting system; Minecrafting with a purpose; Dragon Quest

Odd glitches with room building; Camera does not like enclosed spaces

is totally, thoroughly engaging. Its gameplay is accessible to kids while its dialogue offers enough sly references to keep Dad or Mom amused. Collecting, crafting, and building all sounds familiar, but this package encapsulates so much of the best parts of this creative process and wraps it in...

A brilliant marriage in which two very different types of game - Minecraft and the classical console RPG - come together to find their ...

Dragon Quest Builders was a bit of an eye opener when it was unveiled. I mean, it's no surprise that everyone would want a bit of the world-builder pie in gaming, but despite its obvious inspiration

Beautiful to look at; Just enough structure to not leave you to your own devices; Lots to do

Camera makes aiming difficult; No autosave feature; No co-op

Years ago Minecraft's original designers felt compelled to add a story to their sandbox hit, in order to impose some kind of formal structure to the playpen. The reward for completing that somewhat tepid storyline was some poetry, written by the Irish novelist Julian Gough.

Dragon Quest Builders is a Minecraft-like, open-world action/RPG where you are tasked to rebuild the Alefgard Kingdon, which was destroyed by Dragonlord.

A hallmark of excellence. It may have some flaws, but they are negligible to what is otherwise a supreme title.

Moving the Dragon Quest franchise into the realm of sandbox Minecraft style gameplay Dragon Quest Builders offers a uniquely satisfying adventure that bridges the RPG with the sandbox genre. Set in the same universe as the original Dragon Quest series (Alefgard) with the world inhabited by a la...

Great blend of RPG and sandbox – Feeling of progress as your ruins turn into a town

Controls and camera have some issues – Lacks multiplayer

But perhaps that's just an issue that someone like me, the Lego-perplexed and Minecraft -averse will run into. It's worth it, though, to finally experience joy in creating and crafting. I just needed a little guidance and a reason to build.

Marrying the best ideas from 'Minecraft' with the structure and charm of 'Dragon Quest', 'Builders' had its work cut out for it from the start. The team behind it, however, have gone the extra mile in developing a game that feels wholly unique and endlessly endearing.