From the publisher that brought us riveting story-driven games such as Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls, and Detroit: Become Human, Quantic Dream, with developer, Red Thread Games, now bring us Dustborn, a story set in an alternate version of America. It has already garnered a ton of controversy for what many are claiming is promoting “woke culture” and left-leaning ideologies, as well as referencing real-life American politics. Dustborn is now available on PlayStation 4|5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC.

Set in the year 2030, Dustborn takes place in an alternate version of America, where former president, John F. Kennedy, survives the assassination attempt in 1963, going on to marry his second wife, Marilyn Monroe, but the country is more divided than united and under strict control. Pax has been hired to transport an important package from Pacifica, across the Justice-controlled American Republic, to Nova Scotia in Canada. With Sai, Noam and Theo as her crew, this group of misfits must work together and try to get along with each other as they work to deliver the package, posing as a punk rock band on tour and dealing with corrupt authorities.

Players take control of Pax, a con artist with the power to manipulate people with her words. On top of transporting the package, players will also need to converse with the other characters, battle enemies and even perform songs to prove they’re a touring rock band. For the most part, players are in control of their own narrative and the choices they make will either have positive outcomes or serious consequences.

The majority of the game is focused on conversations where players can either build relationships or treat everyone like trash. Being nice to some while being mean to others can also affect what happens later in the game, and during conversations, players have different options on how they want to respond. They can dive deeper into the topic, be supportive, offer advice, have fun or cut them off, and even insult or gaslight them. Even saying nothing might open different lines of dialogue, and little things, like choosing to not flush the toilet, can result in another character reacting negatively and bringing it up again later, making for entertaining conversations. The story has many branching paths, so each playthrough can be a different experience, offering tons of replay value.

Those with powers in this game are called Anomals. Pax’s power can make others feel bad about themselves, depending on how aggressive she is while talking to them, and she is known to have trouble handling her own emotions, which makes this a dangerous power for her to have, but it can also be handy in certain situations. Sai has enhanced strength and Noam can calm others down with their voice, the opposite of what Pax can do, and they also happen to be ex-partners, making the overall story even more interesting. Theo is a regular human, but an expert with technology and his skills are an asset to the team. Players will also be able to recruit other characters they meet along the way, who have their own unique abilities.

Occasionally, the team will have to perform as the band they’re pretending to be. Performing as The Dust Born, this story-driven game becomes a rhythm game where players must press the correct buttons to match the on-screen prompts. It’s simple, straightforward and has some catchy songs to enjoy. The songs include some political messages that the government wouldn’t agree with, as well as some questionable lyrics that don’t seem appropriate. Depending on how good or bad you play, characters will comment accordingly, and it can affect dialogue later in the game.

When the situation calls for it, Pax and the crew will have to get their hands dirty and fight. The combat mechanics are kept simple and aren’t quite one of the game’s strong points. It’s not terrible, but it’s not the most fun either. It does have some interesting elements, such as using each character’s unique ability, with Pax manipulating an enemy to fight his own team, or playing a little baseball to take down a helicopter in the air. Overall, the combat is more fun to watch than to play, but it serves its purpose.

The overall style and presentation are much like a comic book, and the game utilising cel-shaded graphics fits perfectly. Despite this version of America being more on the drab side, there’s still so much colour and personality with the character designs and environments. The animations do feel incomplete in parts, but do more than enough to help tell the story and convey emotions. The talented voice cast all do a fantastic job bringing the characters to life. They include Dominique Tipper as Pax, Safiyya Ingar as Sai, Celeste De Veazey as Noam, Jay Rincon as Theo and various more that players will encounter along the way.

Regarding the overwhelming negativity surrounding this game, some of it is justified, but most feedback seems to be upset about the diverse cast of characters they claim are being forced on them, and that the American government is shown as corrupt. Pax is African American, Sai is a plus-sized girl with vitiligo, and Noam identifies as non-binary. The main characters will certainly appeal to the LGBT community, and even though it might occasionally be brought to in-game conversations, alongside other minorities, the entire game doesn’t revolve around it.

It’s also dependent on how the conversations play out based on the player’s choices. The characters just happen to be of different minorities, and diversity and representation are never a bad thing.

The corrupt game’s corrupt American government has also triggered many people, specifically Americans, of course. Even though the story was inspired by the result of the 2016 Presidential election, at the end of the day, it’s just a fictional story and a “What-if?” scenario of what modern-day America could be like if the wrong people were in charge. Assassin’s Creed III did something similar with The Tyranny of King Washington DLC back in 2013, so Dustborn isn’t the first game, or any form of media for that matter, to do this, and it certainly won’t be the last.

Dustborn is a game like no other, mixing in a few different genres, but the story is its strongest feature, and your choices can have positive outcomes or serious consequences. The diverse cast of characters with unique personalities and representing different minorities adds a lot to the game without any of it feeling forced. This alternate version of modern America creates an interesting dynamic and gets more interesting as players progress through the story.

Dustborn is a game that isn’t afraid to be comfortable in its own skin, be thought-provoking and challenge the status quo.

Written by: Sammy Hanson