Stories about the power of words are often an intoxicating prospect. Examples such as Pontypool, the zombie movie inspired by the notorious War of the Worlds radio broadcast, have proved extremely successful over the years, as the audience asks questions about exactly where our power of language comes from and exactly how far it goes. Enter Dustborn, from Red Thread Games and Quantic Dream, to explore these themes through a comic strip rock and roll road trip.

Dustborn is set in an alternative-history version of America, where the USA is instead the American Republic, which cracks down hard on a group of people called the Anomals - those who were gifted with powers of the voice thanks to a mysterious event. The player is cast as Pax, an Anomal who has been given the job of moving a package from across the American Republic to Nova Scotia, being chased along the way. Pax's cover is that she is part of a band called The Dustborn, and adventures occur as this ragtag group of misfits works their way through the landscape, uncovering secrets as they go.

A Fantastic Game World

Plenty Of Thematic Openings, But Is There Depth?

Dustborn's key strength is its wider game world, and Red Thread Games has done a fantastic job of creating some very intriguing elements of this alternative future to our own. There are strong shades of X-Men and its pro-equality roots in here, with Dustborn using its framing of superpowered individuals - the Anomals - being discriminated against as a way to explore anti-inclusion sentiment, alongside delving into greater conspiracies and intersections of oppression. It occasionally feels a little too neat in its approach - the antisocial actions of individuals being tied to being plagued by 'Echoes' being a little too tidy - but overall it's a framing structure that works well.

The journey may be devised as a roadtrip-meets-band-tour, but that hides some really fascinating narrative focuses as time goes on. Dustborn touches on some truly strange moments as its story progresses, especially the way that it delves into the idea of memetic mutation and some wonderful supernatural elements, and in these sections the player will likely be truly hooked. However, Dustborn does have a habit of asking interesting questions, but never really delivering on the promise of what could be, such as with its cross-section discussion of free will, humanity, and gender identity through the robot C-T.

Players should look around to find 'Echoes' in the game world, and in doing so unlock new attacks and dialogue options that Pax can use with her voice.

All of this also works surprisingly well with the traveling band story structure, akin to how Road 96 manages to deliver lots of disparate ideas that eventually culminate in a cohesive finale. That said, Dustborn doesn't manage anywhere near the satisfaction that Road 96 provides, failing to stick the landing and feeling a little piecemeal instead. It certainly doesn't help that the game spends far too much time on moments that are far less interesting in a moment-to-moment way.

Words Without Meaning

Dialogue Leaves A Lot To Be Desired

Although there is a very interesting wider story with absolutely bags of potential within Dustborn, it always feels as though it's fighting with the key focus of the game's writing, which is primarily on the interpersonal relationships between the main characters.

The title also feels extremely blunt in its messaging, which would be fine in something more sharply written, but everything feels a little clumsy, with awkward contemporary nods to Qanon and Pizzagate, "Karens", and the evils of social media in ways that will likely feel very dated before too long. There is far too much of a focus on character drama that neither shifts the plot nor develops characters, and this causes pacing issues that leaves Dustborn feeling equal parts rushed and bloated depending on the scene.

Characters will return to prior talking points that were briefly interrupted all the way into different scenarios, breaking immersion and sometimes weakening the power of the game's more dramatic moments.

Indeed, this lack of care with character means that the very sensitive balance of the player's belief in whether their choices matter is broken fairly quickly. It becomes quite obvious early on when the player is being railroaded to the next section and when they will apparently have a chance to change things. Mixed with other moments of inauthenticity, such as how the game's portrayal of a band on tour is very far from the reality of how that feels, even in an alternate future, it all feels quite surface level, especially as things rush towards their abrupt ending.

This is particularly true of the game's dialogue, which in a post-Oxenfree and Firewatch world feels disappointingly stilted. Characters will return to prior talking points that were briefly interrupted all the way into different scenarios, breaking immersion and sometimes weakening the power of the game's more dramatic moments. Meanwhile, the gaps between lines of dialogue feel unnaturally long, meaning that much of the game feels like all the players are stuck in the aftermath of a joke that hasn't landed, a problem exacerbated by just how much the game's characters talk and refuse to shut up. It's a shame, especially given that the actual performances are top-notch.

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Gameplay Is A Varied Jam Session

Players Are Spoiled With Various Gameplay Modes, But None Excel

Dustborn is a bit of a buffet in of its gameplay styles, not quite completing any individual part well but providing enough variety to keep players entertained. Much of the game is based around dialogue options, and the player's choices can help shape the direction that the other character takes at the end of the game. This is a cool mechanic, seeing characters progress towards one of three archetypes, although the "multiple choice, everything matters" facade drops regularly when it's clear that the game is pushing players in a certain direction.

Alongside dialogue, the game also has some basic adventure game mechanics and puzzles that use the individual skills of the player's crew, such as lockpicking or hacking, and never fall on the tiresome side. There are also some fairly common combat encounters, small arena-based 3D brawler moments that are rather simplistic and a little floaty, but get the job done and are the primary way that Pax utilises her 'voice' in the game. It's not exactly Hi-Fi Rush in its approach - a shame given the music theme of the game's plot - but it does the job in an unspectacular way.

Much of the game is based around dialogue options, and the player's choices can help shape the direction that the other character takes at the end of the game.

Music-based gameplay does show up when The Dustborn themselves play a show, with a quick time event where the player has to choose button selections that are vaguely in line with the rhythm of the song. It's not quite as precise as it should be, but at least it's aiming to implement something music-based in the actual gameplay, and showcases another example of the variety of game styles on show. That variety is a benefit, and although they're not all winners such as a boring turn-based strategy section during a flashback, it's still a solid attempt.

Our Review Score & Final Thoughts

2.5/5

ustborn is a game that tries to be many things, and in the end does instill some of its charm in the player. However, the grating tone of the game's dialogue, which takes up the bulk of the game's run time, hampers the 's overall enjoyment. It's a bit of a missed opportunity, as underneath it all is a story and game world that begs to be properly realized.

Screen Rant was provided with a PS5 code for the purposes of this review.