Dragon Quest Treasures is a Lighthearted Dopamine Fountain

I’m not gonna lie; I was a little disappointed when Dragon Quest Treasures was first introduced. I was super excited for the upcoming next Dragon Quest Monsters, and when the younger versions of Erik and Mia originally designed for that were moved (or something) over here, I was bummed. But a new Dragon Quest spinoff is exciting in its own right, and after Jesse’s preview (see the Related link) seemed to go well, I found the spirit of anticipation.

Now I’ve been able to play some Dragon Quest Treasures myself, and today’s a bit of a preview window ahead of the full review in a few days. I’m not certain where my more complete thoughts on this game will land, but in the early hours I’ve found myself just kind of happily vibing. This is an odd game with a distinctly goofy energy, even compared to other Dragon Quest games. But the loop is so simple and engaging in a Subspace Emissary sort of way that I can easily lose hours of my life and still have a smile on my face.

Dragon Quest Treasures Hands-On Preview

To boil it down, Dragon Quest Treasures is another post-Breath of the Wild game like Sonic Frontiers or Genshin Impact. By that I mean we’re looking at an open world game with very little direct critical signposting, encouraging players to run around and explore to find progress. There’s also a glider, so, yeah. Luckily the musical stylings of the late Koichi Sugiyama mean we aren’t listening to somber, quiet piano music. There’s a lot of grass, though. But that’s all beside the point; Dragon Quest Treasures is about… treasures.

Related: Dragon Quest Treasures Is the Builders Charm I’ve Been Looking For

In a way that reminds me of games like Wario Land or Kirby Super Star (again, Subspace Emissary), Dragon Quest Treasures is mostly interested in sending the player out to find all kinds of weird trinkets. There are hundreds of treasures, and almost all of them are either keepsakes from older Dragon Quest games, in-jokes or other pieces of fanfare. Most of the fun is in running out into the wilderness, digging up as much junk as you can carry, then running back home to see what everything is. It’s like a never-ending series of loot boxes, but you don’t have to pay for them and there’s no PVP making it all sketchy and whatnot.

I can only say so much at this time, since the “preview” period ends not long after the game starts to get going. But I will say that if you’re looking for something to fill in the void Dragon Quest Builders 2 left in your heart, there’s a similar energy here. Which is pretty much exactly what Jesse already said. It isn’t quite as deep as Builders, but for a Switch-exclusive romp that doesn’t run like butt, the scope feels appropriately like an old timey handheld RPG. And it’s nice to have something like that to close out 2022 that doesn’t have me planting more godforsaken carrots.