For just over a decade, Minecraft has been a dominating force in gaming. The sheer creativity on display has led the title to be one of the most viewed games on various social media platforms, launching the very careers of thousands of content creators in the process. From crafting a full-scale Starship Enterprise to just perfecting that little cottage out in the middle of nowhere, Minecraft and its blockified nature has always seemed to have unlimited potential. Developers Mojang and Double Eleven have now taken the aesthetic charm of Minecraft and have fused it with the isometric flavor of Diablo, making a family-friendly dungeon crawler in the process, equipped with an engaging loot progression system and enjoyable hack and slash gameplay, but lacks the creative nature of what made the franchise so beloved.
Now before I put the cart before the horse, I will say that Minecraft Dungeons is vastly entertaining, but does only present itself as related to its franchise roots on its surface. You don’t actually mine or craft anything here, surprisingly, but the game itself is still incredibly engaging and rewards you the more time you invest in it. You’ll select from a preset character across several avatars and then hack and slash your way through a dozen or so environments as each is narrated by a mysterious voice detailing the reason you’re there. The story itself is largely throwaway as you’re on the hunt for the Arch-Illager, a vengeful loner who stumbles across an evil artifact that grants him untold power. There are no NPC’s to talk to, no side quests, and apart from those voice-overs at the start and end of each level, that’s about all the story there is here. It’s a shame that the game features no direct narrative to coincide with the release of the upcoming novel “Minecraft Dungeons: the Rise of the Arch-Illager”, detailing the events of not just the game, but the backstory of its villain.
As you venture through forests, mountains, farms, deserts, and underground lairs, you’ll earn experience and gather up loot, as well as much-needed emeralds to spend at one of two shops in your nearby camp. Each time you jump back into a completed zone, the layout will change due to each level being procedurally generated to an extent. While some core locations within each level will remain the same, the ways you’ll reach it, and sometimes the angle given to you, will make most expeditions feel like you’ve stumbled into a whole new level. Some changes are not incredibly significant but do prevent each of the ten standard levels, and their subsequent secrets levels, to thrive on replayability. While procedurally generated content can contribute to that very replayability, it does come with the cost of several dead ends that fail to reward your efforts to get there, such was the case as I traveled down a long hallway, defeating 5 back to back stone golems, only to have nothing waiting for me at the end of my efforts other than the experience I earned along the way. However, there are moments where the game feels handcrafted, giving some locations a much more noticeable purpose than others.
While I always find it unfair to compare some games or complain about the lack of certain features, I would have loved to have seen Minecraft Dungeons incorporate its procedural world like that of Children of Morta, locking certain discoveries or side quests upon revisiting each location, making every run or expedition feel wholly new and everlasting. It’s a shame we don’t have any sort of narrative reason to dive back into each level such as populating your camp with NPC’s to initiate side quests or another compelling reason to revisit the desert temple for the 14th time. It’s also a shame you can’t use the classic Minecraft gameplay to customize your camp, tracking down supplies and various tools throughout each level, shaping your home base into something uniquely yours, and then showing it off to your friends; something that feels so incredibly Minecraft that I’m shocked it’s not here in some capacity.
However; what is here is rather enjoyable and is backed up with a very addictive gameplay loop. Given there are no classes built into the game, you’re going to be at the mercy of whatever weapons you wield, be them spears, claymores, maces, or whathaveyou. You’ll also handle a long-bow or crossbow, with each weapon occupying one button on the controller. There are no strong or weak attack buttons, but you do get different swipes of your blade as you mash down the button. A is your standard weapon button, with RT being your bow, only accessible should you have arrows to use it. X, Y, and B are your artifacts, items you’ll equip that grant you various skills like summing pets, healing totems, or offering a massive boost to your defense for a short period of time. You can roll with RB, and heal with LB, via a potion that refills on a cooldown. Controls are largely solid and provide any level of skill a fighting chance to stay alive.
Where Minecraft Dungeons largely impresses is through its enchantment system, which is furthered along as you level up. Each increase will net you an enchantment point that can be spent to improve your weapons by increasing certain abilities within them. Each weapon has three possible enchantment slots with basic weapons largely only have one to customize and very rare and unique items sporting up to all three. Each slot then has its own variety of skills that can be increased through a three-tiered system such as leeching health, electrocuting enemies when you roll, deflecting incoming attacks, or a variety of other offensive and defensive abilities. While each slot can contain a variety of skills to choose from, picking one will lock out the others, so choose wisely which ability you want to occupy that single slot. What makes this system so great is that should you find a newer and possibly better version of that weapon, or something else entirely, you can dismantle that weapon and keep those enchantment points to plunk right back down into the newer item, allowing for a deep sense of experimentation and making your choices regret-free in case that new blade isn’t cutting it. Now, there is an initial downside to this as well as wanting to have backup weapons can prove a bit of a challenge until you start getting so high in level that you have enhancement points to sink into a second or third weapon. Until then, however; you’ll have to contend with only having enough points to put into one or two weapons at most.
The sheer variety of skills is immense, with my current crossbow, dubbed the “Doom Crossbow” allowing my arrows to ricochet off numerous mobs as well as laying down healing pools to tend to my wounds. It also has a nasty kickback that launches enemies off-screen. There are so many variations on stats that you may find the same basic blade a dozen times but the random stats and skills you can choose from allow them to play very differently from one another. It’s a very intuitive system that paired along with the ability to retrieve your enchantment points back upon dismantling, makes it ever so satisfying. At my current level, I have the ability to also rock three pets at once, allowing my bat, wolf, and llama to unleash hell alongside me, making for one incredibly unconventional team as we cut down threats both big and small.
Now, weapons aside, I do wish we got more choices in how we outfit our characters. Instead of being able to equip helms, gloves, boots, and a chest piece, we only get to customize through a single full-body armor piece. I don’t have a massive issue with it but felt that the variety in weapons with enchantment points could have benefitted with more options for how crazy some skills can get, not to mention the tiered difficulties giving us more reason to dive in and play. It’s not a deal-breaker in any sense of the phrase, but it certainly can make the game feel limiting in respect to giving each character a unique variety among you and your friends.
Minecraft Dungeons is certainly tailored more towards kids but offers up a substantial kick to its difficulty by having familiar tiers to up the challenge. You’ll pursue the Arch Illager through default difficulty at the start, using a gear power system much akin to a game like Destiny, but you can swap back and forth the challenge with a few button presses before you dive into that level. Completing the game will then unlock Adventure Mode which ups the challenge and reward, and then finally wrapping credits on that mode will unlock Apocalypse difficulty, which is vastly more difficult. While Minecraft Dungeons make look childish and simple, it’s anything but and offers up a great amount of challenge for those looking for it. Whether you’re playing with your kids, or alongside friends, there is easily something here to keep you entertained.
Minecraft Dungeons allows for 4 players to gear up and take down the evil forces of the Arch Illager. Dungeon difficulty will increase the more players you add to the fun. You can revive your teammate so they won’t die, as fallen allies will initiate a summoning of deadly monsters as they attempt to fully defeat them. When allies are revived, they will do so with only a sliver of health, so make sure you have a potion or that your ally has some sort of healing spell at the ready. Loot and emeralds are not shared, but arrows and consumable items are, so make sure you’re not hogging everything for yourself. Minecraft Dungeons currently does not support crossplay, but will so in the future at some point. Online coop allows players to play to their own screen, whereas local co-op will pull back the camera to keep everyone in frame, with certain limits to how far away you can be.
While I’ve never been a fan of Minecraft proper, this Diablo-like spinoff was a real treat. It’s addictive and solid fun, a game that is perfect for all ages. With numerous difficulty tiers that each come with new perks and abilities, there is a lot to sink your teeth into should you invest the time into it. I do wish there were more levels to keep that replayability going, and while the procedurally generated worlds do a bit to combat this, their formatting can lead to some environments that tend to have too many dead ends or off-beaten paths that don’t reward exploration. That said, the loot progression system is fantastic and one that really allows this game to stand apart from so many in the genre. The story may be largely paper-thin and lacking, but the adventure you’ll embark on is anything but.
Minecraft Dungeons was downloaded via Game Pass by the reviewer and played on an Xbox One X.
All screenshots were taken on an Xbox One X.