[1] The games hack-and-slash combat system features two moves; A standard attack, and a "Spinning Slice".

New features not found in the previous game include a fast-travel function based on a retro-style map, an optional first-person perspective, underwater exploration, and gliding.

[6][7] Dragon Quest Builders 2 takes place some time after the events of Dragon Quest II, and centers around a group called the Children of Hargon, who seek revenge for the defeat of Hargon and Malroth by the descendants of Erdrick, by ensuring that all builders are eliminated and that no one be allowed to create anything.

The player character escapes, washing up on the Isle of Awakening, where they meet a person named Malroth, who has no memory of his past.

[2] After visiting a number of different islands and helping the residents there cast off the beliefs that creation and building are wicked, it is discovered that the world they inhabit is an illusion created by Hargon to protect the soul of the defeated Master of Destruction, none other than Malroth.

Due to the sales success of Dragon Quest Builders and players requests for features that were too big to add to the game, Square Enix decided to make a sequel.

Dragon Quest Builders 2 first released for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in Japan on December 20, 2018, and in North America and Europe on July 12, 2019.