The developer of Dustborn has condemned the “tidal wave of hate and abuse” they claim is coming from gamers who have critiqued the game.
Red Thread Games gave a statement on X, attempting to sandwich the rejection its received from gamers with more positive news: “Since we first announced Dustborn, we’ve read your comments and listened to your feedback, hopes and wishes for the game.”
“Over the past four years, our team has poured their hearts into telling a story that’s deeply meaningful to us; a story about the power of words, about building a world where everyone can feel safe, about love, friendships…and robots, of course.”
“We expected Dustborn to spark conversation and debate, and looked forward to engaging with our players in a positive and constructive fashion. Unfortunately, that conversation has been drowned out by a tidal wave of hate and abuse,” the studio bemoaned.
“We welcome thoughtful feedback and respectful criticism. We embrace discussion and debate. But we have zero tolerance for hate speech, harassment, and threats of any kind. Those who engage in such behaviour will be removed from our community.”
“To everyone else: thank you for coming on this journey with us. Your support means everything, and your constructive feedback continues to push us to learn and evolve. Together, let’s continue building a world where everyone can feel valued and empowered to share their stories,” Red Thread Games championed.
Quantic Dream, the publisher of Dustborn (under their third-party publishing label Spotlight) shared the developer’s sentiments. “We want to express our heartfelt support for our partners at Red Thread Games. We stand united against hate in all its forms and are committed to fostering communities built on understanding and respect.”
However, it seems the hatred being discussed is aimed squarely at Dustborn itself, which the developers have taken as an insult to the diverse array of identities and political standings they tried to portray. While the game has had positive reviews by critics, user reviews on Metacritic are diabolical, with 1.1 out of 10 from over 300 reviews.
Nonetheless, it should be noted those who have not played a game can still leave a user review on Metacritic. In the opposite case, Steam user reviews for the game are “Mostly Positive” at this time of writing. Even then, the game has an all-time player peak of just 83 on Steam, achieved one day after launch. Its since fallen to less than 30 over two weeks later.
As such, it seems people rejected Dustborn from the start, to the point some review bombed the game in protest. So what drove them to do so?
The game is story-driven action-adventure title, with a “Neo-Western” setting and graphic novel aesthetic. Set in an alternate time-line America, John F. Kennedy’s wife was almost assassinated instead of himself, prompting a police state to be formed. By 2030, the American Republic is ruled by the authoritarian Justice, while fanatical Puritans run wild. Sounds a bit like the video game version of The Handmaid’s Tale, no?
The protagonist, con-artist Pax, is tasked with smuggling something to the free lands of Nova Scotia (with the money to start a new life there), while posing as a touring folk-punk-rock band. The band also possess incredible powers, such as Pax manifesting what she says into various effects.
While the gameplay is touted as lackluster at best, the main gripes in user reviews come from the cast and story, a borderline parody of DEI and hard political left-focused stories seen in the last few decades. Clips shared across X gave the worst first impressions of Dustborn, and even in-depth videos on YouTube only serve to drive the nail in the coffin.
For example, the main characters sing their first song in the game’s opening, to prove they are a band to a Justice officer. The song opens with the lyrics “We’re the aliens, we’re the refugees, we walk among you, we’re right behind you, your time is past, your kind won’t last.” The song is in favor of those with superpowers who are persecuted in-universe, though there are clear pro-immigration sentiments.
Other lyrics include “This bug is airborne, we’re the new porn, our kind is new-born.” The Justice officer warns the band that their song could be deemed offensive and “people here don’t like politics with their entertainment.”
A pro-immigration song with such hostile lyrics would undoubtedly go down poorly at a time when in the real world America finds immigration a dividing issue. On the other hand, the “punk” element of their band would mean lyrics and themes designed to offend mainstream opinions, rather than parrot the slogans of politicians and megacorporations.
The lack of nuance is further compounded by the character criticizing the song being an authoritarian, and using the same argument those critiquing soap-boxing are mocked with (a rejection of all reference to politics, rather than just brow-beating from one stance).
The “hostilities” continue in other scenes. At one point, a pair of Justice officers question Pax and her associates. The male officer calmly asks, “The other fellow you’re with, the black kid, he dresses like a Rider. Does he know anything?” The word black is put in all-caps in the subtitles.
The player has the option for Pax to lash out with her powers, using “Trigger” to balk “You are racists.”
Pax’ hot-headed nature continues, stopping her friends’ argument by using her powers to render them briefly unable to speak (literally telling them to shut the hell up). Though this is arguably not entirely undeserved, if not a bit more brutal than the usual tropes to silence an argument.
For a game dripping with diversity – including protagonists that are transgender (Noam), the child of gay parents (Pax), and suffering with vitiligo as a form of disability (Sai) – main character Pax is hostile to robots. Irrelevant of her backstory and possible traumas, Pax is shown to be hostile to a robot who assists the crew while being polite and courteous.
Most of the younger characters are actually in their 30s, some approaching 40, yet act like bickering and anxious teens at best. When the gang attempts to get into a camp, Theo muses that it reminds him of something out of a western film.
This causes Sai and Noam to launch into a tirade against Theo, treating the term “western” as “not Asian, or African, or South American.” When Theo clarifies he means cowboys and Indians, the latter term only sparks more outrage from the pair, especially with “American Indians” helping “propagate a myth created by genocidal imperialists.”
Another element that made people disgusted with Dustborn was Vox’s powers, which can be used both in combat,and when dealing with other NPCs. The most basic of these is “Push”, which will manifest as an unseen force knocking people back and or down, but others are akin to temporary brainwashing.
This has led to people being afraid that “deviants” are “contagious,” able to forcibly convert others to behaving and thinking like them.
Screenshots from the game show other powers including Discord (turn people against one another), Bully (force people to do something or make them feel bad), Cancel (isolate the target from allies), and Normalize (make negative behavior or feelings normal).
In reply to PC Gamer’s coverage of Red Thread Games’ call out, @GiveMeBanHammer showcased these very powers, and mocked their own words.
“‘Dustborn emphasizes the power of words and the importance of building an inclusive society where everyone belongs.’ Is that so PC Gamer? Me looking at the game in any detail, it seems to indicate that its doing everything in its power creating the complete OPPOSITE in every way.”
The above seems to hit the nail on the head. Dustborn is criticized as being an average game, dragged down by a progressive skeleton that insults anyone outside a progressive-activist mindset, even to the point of romanticizing harassment as super-powers.
It touts love and respect for all and condemns those against it, while the characters and the players’ actions have them doing the exact opposite. Compounded by over a decade of DEI-driven media wearing patience thin, and the game even getting European tax-payer funding, people discussed the game in aghast disgust.
While the game’s Fandom wiki was sabotaged with abusive language and Nation of Islam Yakub conspiracy theories, it seems the “hatred” aimed at Dustborn wasn’t because it was a bad game, but a disgusting one.
@JDPD11618, though discussing only the protagonist, perfectly summarizes the issues with Dustborn in direct reply to Red Thread Games.
“The main character in Dustborn uses her powers to cancel, bully, hoax, manipulate and gaslight others because they don’t share her beliefs. You are the advocates of hate speech, harassment and threats.”
“Pax is not a hero, she is a sociopath and you not recognizing this is insane.”
