Minecraft Dungeons review is a newly released game that has been receiving a lot of attention. The game is set in the world of Minecraft, and players take on the role of a character who must battle their way through hordes of enemies to save the world from a terrible evil. The game has been praised for its simple yet addicting gameplay, and its beautiful graphics.
Minecraft Dungeons Review
You need to be informed
- What is it? It’s a fun dungeon crawler in the Minecraft universe
- You can expect to pay $20/PS16
- Developer: Mojang Studios
- Publisher: Mojang Studios
- Reviewed on: i5-2500K 8GB RAM, GTX670
- Multiplier Yes
Pros
- Variable settings
- Enjoyable exploration
- Co-op adds depth
Cons
- Too repetitive
- Combatting boneless
- Runs out steam
- Very brief
When I first saw Minecraft Dungeons gameplay, I thought, “Is it Diablo but with Minecraft?” After playing it, I can confirm that Minecraft Dungeons is essentially Diablo, but with Minecraft skins. It doesn’t have the same level of robotic exploration as Diablo and is more cautious with its formula than it is with bold, Minecraft-inspired ideas. However, it still has the fun combat and loot it needs and is accessible to anyone.
It’s hard to believe that Minecraft Dungeons’ intentionally low-resolution art style can look beautiful. Mojang’s blocky zombies and creepy icons from the Diablo series are replaced with Mojang’s savage iconography and hellish inspirations. It’s also set in familiar places like swamps, mountains and colorful villages. Everything looks fantastic, even in the darkest caverns or dungeons. Some of the subtler lighting effects were particularly striking to me. For example, heat from lava warps bends the light behind them, and on one level, a lightning storm strikes outside. The light flashes through stained glass windows and throws colored light onto the floors and walls below. It is simply beautiful.
1. Everything looks amazing, even in the shadows of dungeons and caverns.
The sound and music are also excellent. Although it has a different soundtrack than the main game, it manages to keep the same lo-fi sound of the original while tweaking it just enough so that it is thematically appropriate for dungeon-crawling adventures. For example, levels with higher stakes at the end have more dramatic music. However, it doesn’t feel out of place or excessive in the Minecraft universe. It would be easy to integrate the Minecraft Dungeons soundtrack into Minecraft.
One of my favorite levels is an autumn-themed village pillaged by the Arch Illager. The town’s ruins were littered with jack o’lanterns, harvested wheat bundles, and its orange and yellow leaves that bob in the wind. My brain returned to the beginning of fall, where it was receptive to the rustling leaves and the whispering winds. It feels like I could just lay down in the middle of the floor, take it all in, and still enjoy it.
2. It would be easy to make Minecraft Dungeons sound like a normal soundtrack.
The graphical performance of Minecraft Dungeons is excellent on my GeForce GTX 1080-powered gaming computer. All graphic settings were automatically set to the highest default setting when I started it. The frame rate was set to 120, which is reasonable considering my monitor’s 144Hz refresh rate. I could go higher, though. The game is low-impact, and I didn’t notice any performance problems even though the screen was filled with projectiles, mobs, and magic. A Minecraft world built from low-fidelity blocks is a great way to have a better experience, especially if you don’t want to build or destroy anything.
The story is straightforward and serves only to connect the various dungeon-crawling levels. The Arch Illager is the main villain. He stole the Orb of Power from other Illagers and then used it to do general evil. The following six to eight hours will be spent chasing him down, defeating his minions, and finally confronting him in his castle. This is it. Don’t expect to do much more than that with Minecraft: Story Mode.
Great Family Fun
The first time I started a game, I was excited to see so many choices of player classes. But, it turns out that you can only choose from a pre-made list of skins. They are the same from a gameplay standpoint, which is disappointing, considering there’s no way to customize your character. Although some of them look cool, I chose the one with the mohawk because he is a badass.
Although this is not a Diablo game in the traditional sense, the gameplay is as good as any other. The level involves fighting enemies, finding treasures at various rarities, and finally defeating a boss.
Finally, you collect a chest after your victory. An interesting twist is that leveling up gives you enchantment points, which you can use to increase your items’ power. My current suit of armor has an enchantment that allows melee attacks to cause magical thorn damage to any enemy within close range. Several enchantments can be applied to items, some with two slots.
For example, my most recent bow throws out five arrows each shot. This pairs well with the second type of enchantment, which allows a certain percentage of hands to pass through enemies and into others, causing damage to both. Although it doesn’t have a lot of depth, it is something you can experiment with and create powerful weapons.
3. Although this is not a Diablo game in the traditional sense, the gameplay is as good as any other.
Two weapons are available: a melee weapon that can be used close to the enemy and a long-range weapon. The Hunter’s Armor is my favorite for a ranged-based character. It gives you bonuses for your arrow abilities. However, many armors can be used to suit a tank playstyle or an “assassin”, a fast “assassin”, or a soul-collector who relies heavily on soul-infused artifacts.
Three artifacts can be added to your character with different defensive or offensive effects. This is enough to increase your combat abilities without making things more complicated. You can also call on wolves, llamas and other creatures with artifacts.
They can be a huge help when being rushed by low-level enemies such as zombies or needing to get back up. It’s a Fisher-Price My First Dungeon Crawler-style combat system that feels natural. While it isn’t too complicated, it still allows you to fight enemies either close range or face-to-face.
When I first started playing Minecraft Dungeons, I felt the normal difficulty was too easy. Although I could hack and slash my first few levels, the problem increased as I progressed. The second half of the campaign was more challenging. I had to be careful about my artifact and potion usage and approach battles with thought. The difficulty was just suitable for a first game. It was a bit harder for the final boss than I expected.
Beat Minecraft Dungeons unlocks higher difficulty levels for the character that you defeat. There are also more specific grades depending on how powerful your mission is. You can change the default difficulty level, but you cannot move up or down in any stories. However, beating the game unlocks a higher difficulty level with gradated missions. You can adjust the difficulty to get more experience or kill more formidable enemies to gain more loot and experience. However, there is a real chance you will be sent back to base camp and smashed.
4. Losing is not a penalty for your stats or equipment, so even if you lose, you still have progress.
There are only three chances to win each level. If you lose three times, you’re out. It can be frustrating when you fail the final boss and then go through the whole story again to face him again. Even though it is frustrating, losing to a boss doesn’t affect your stats or equipment. You still have progress, even if you lose.
Get the Loot
The loot is probably the most critical aspect of a dungeon crawler. Minecraft Dungeons has plenty. Levels encourage exploration and reward you for going off the beaten track with loot, chests or maps that unlock secret levels. Although some chests and areas can be hidden very cleverly, I found exploring them inconsistently. My decades-old obsession with video game loot led me to believe that I would find a chest at a dead-end map area. But, often, they didn’t. On the flip side, occasionally, I’d stumble into an otherwise-nondescript corner and find a chest containing rare loot.
5. Levels are meant to encourage exploration. If you go off the beaten track, you will often be rewarded.
Loot doesn’t do anything novel, but it shouldn’t. Trade-in cash at home to a blacksmith or travel merchant for gear, and you still get a thrill when you pull out a Unique-level object. The loot is completely random, and you can get gems if it doesn’t work out. The salvage system was my favorite feature. You get the enchantment points back with no penalty if you save an enchanted item.
The loot system surprised me because it didn’t have a crafting system. I don’t usually demand this, except it is a spinoff of a game built around this concept and still includes the word “craft” in its name. The crafting table is located in the base camp house. I clicked it wild when I saw it, hoping that a crafting dialog would appear. It doesn’t allow for mining or more-than-average breaking of items in Minecraft Dungeons. The source material references are therefore largely superficial. This doesn’t mean that setting up a dungeon crawler within Minecraft is impossible. It’s charming and fun. It minimizes “Minecraft” while maximizing “Dungeons.”
Verdict
Minecraft Dungeons can be a fun and beautiful dungeon crawler. It uses a set of tried-and-true systems. The game is very safe and doesn’t add any crafting or mining spins to Minecraft’s unique look and feel. It’s still charming and fun. Minecraft Dungeons offers a lot of replayability, including tons of loot and secret areas that can be discovered and more difficult difficulty levels. Its story mode is only six to eight hours long. Who plays Minecraft for the story?
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