Dustborn

Lore & Background

Dustborn is set in an alternate timeline where John F. Kennedy survived his assassination and established the militarized police force Justice. Decades later, President Samuel Ward twisted Justice's purpose to consolidate power, enacting draconian laws across the United States, now called the American Republic. In the year 2000, the Broadcast spread mind-altering Echoes, turning a small percentage of the population into Anomals—people who can use Vocals to influence reality. The government declared martial law and suspended elections while Justice rounded up Anomals. By 2030, protagonist Pax lives in Pacifica (formerly California) and is recruited by the Weave resistance to deliver Puritan Protolanguage data in exchange for safe haven in Nova Scotia. The game follows Pax and her crew—Noam, Sai, Theo, and later recruits Ziggy, Eli, Girl, Sol, Ophelia, and Nainai—as they travel across the Republic, evade Justice and the Puritans, and uncover that Justice caused the Broadcast for experiments on children. The story culminates in a three-way battle at Schoodic Point, where Pax uses empathy rather than brute force to defeat the Puritan Axiom.

Reader's Guide

Dustborn received mixed or average reviews, with a 47% critic recommendation rate on OpenCritic. Reviewers noted the game's difficulty balancing fun moments, activism, and drama, with The Guardian calling it 'the equivalent of an interactive Marvel movie.' IGN rated it 7/10, praising its emotional ride and punk performances despite a slow start. GameSpot gave it 5/10, calling it 'one of the most overtly political and unapologetically leftist games' but criticizing monotonous combat and a weak second half. GameRant rated it 2/5, finding the dialogue irritating and the narrative bloated. The game launched with modest sales, peaking at 83 concurrent players on Steam, though director Ragnar Tørnquist stated sales significantly exceeded online reports but fell below internal short-term expectations. Dustborn was nominated for Outstanding Video Game at the 36th GLAAD Media Awards. The game's diverse cast drew culture war backlash, prompting both developer and publisher to condemn the resulting hate and abuse.

Did You Know?

• The game was developed using the Unity engine with custom shaders for a comic book-inspired look.
• Red Thread Games received over 13.6 million NOK (about 1.4 million USD) from the Norwegian Film Institute and €150,000 from the EU's Creative Europe project.
• The macOS version of Dustborn was released on July 8, 2025.
• The game's protagonist Pax is voiced by Dominique Tipper.