# Dustborn

Dustborn is an action-adventure video game developed by Red Thread Games and published by Quantic Dream on August 20, 2024.

## Gameplay

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. The game also features Guitar Hero-style rhythm minigames.

## Plot

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.

## Development

Red Thread Games received financial support from the Norwegian Film Institute from 2019 through 2024, totaling 15,818,500 NOK (approx. $1.4 million) under the scheme "development of games after artistic assessment" (Utvikling av spill etter kunstnerisk vurdering). The game also received a grant of €150,000 from the EU's Creative Europe project, and 300,000 NOK from Viken Filmsenter.
The game was developed using the Unity engine and the team wrote their custom shaders to accomplish the comic book-inspired look. 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.
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.

## Reception
### Critical reception

Aggregate scores :
| Aggregator | Score |
| Metacritic | (PS5) 69/100 (XSXS) 68/100 (PC) 67/100 |
| OpenCritic | 48% recommend |
Review scores :
| Publication | Score |
| GameSpot | 5/10 |
| IGN | 7/10 |
| The Guardian | 3/5 |
Dustborn received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic, and 48% of critics recommended the game, according to OpenCritic.
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." 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".
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". 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".

### Sales

PC Gamer's Andy Chalk described Dustborn's launch sales as "apparently modest". Eurogamer.pt reported the game appeared to launch poorly on Steam with a peak of 83 concurrent players. In an interview with Gamer.no, director Ragnar Tørnquist said that the game sales have significantly exceeded those reported online but fallen below the studio's internal short-term expectations.