As The World Turns

The adventures of Dragon Quest have been rolling out for decades, and with that comes numerous spin-offs: Heroes, Builders, and even Rocket Slimes. Even within the non-mainline Dragon Quest games, there is genre familiarity, as the side-games have been sequelized through the years.

When I sat down with Dragon Quest Monsters: The Withered World at Gamescom 2026, I expected to get monster taming and battling. And it is exactly that, but with just enough classic Dragon Quest charm and clever twists sprinkled in to make it one of the better games I played in Germany this year.

The set-up is straightforward: Bianca and Nera, two girls from separate lands, are both searching for the Leaves of Life, which could heal their ailing fathers. A creature called Fluffy appears in their rooms one night and whisks them away to the desolate Kingdom of Witherwood, where the Leaves once grew, to replenish nature and bring the flora back to life.