Whether or not you’ve played Minecraft before, you know about it.
It’s a veritable multimedia powerhouse and for good reasons.
Minecraft is a fun, addictive game that comes with endless possibilities.
The spinoff titles take the core game into new directions but none have done it so boldly as Minecraft Dungeons.
In many ways, this isometric dungeon crawler is nothing more than a Diablo clone with Minecraft’s IP thrown in the mix.
And let’s not pretend like it is controversial or even innovative to say that this game is a Diablo clone.
Everyone and their mom is calling it that and, as a huge Diablo fan, that’s not a knock on the game. Sure, I could be esoteric and say something like, “Minecraft Dungeons is a great Path of Exile-style title using Mojang’s beloved franchise’s art assets,” but that would be too try-hard for me right now. So, what can you expect if you pick up Minecraft Dungeons?
One of the more fun and casual dungeon crawlers to come out anywhere in some time.
But don’t confuse fun and casual for lacking in depth. Some people are trying to call this a “kiddie” Diablo clone but what does that even mean?
The video games from my childhood confound me now with their arbitrary mechanics and shameless difficulty settings.
What I think people mean by that is that Minecraft Dungeons isn’t as intense as Diablo 3 – whatever that means. If you’re a fan of the genre, however, this game deserves a pickup and soon.
The graphics are pretty glorious and everything clicks in terms of in-game mechanics.
There is nothing exceedingly novel here but it hits all of the right points when it comes to balancing combat with moving forward to accomplish objectives.
In other words, the game has rhythm and it’s a balanced one that maximizes your joy from the title.
That said, it can become difficult at points and for gamers that have never played this type of game before it will be more than enough of a challenge. Of course, we have to address the elephant in the room which is: “That’s nice, but what does this have to do with Minecraft?”
Very little, my friend, outside of the use of the game’s intellectual property, lore, and art assets. Like any dungeon crawler, you have your loot and all that entails, but you’re not going to construct fortresses or roller coasters in this game like you do in the main title.
They are totally different games and they are only tied together by a shared universe.
Really, that’s to be expected and isn’t a knock on the game at all. We’re just throwing that out there because it might be jarring for the little kiddos out there that are used to building huts and farms.
Should you buy it? That’s a hot yes. You don’t have to take my word for it. Just look at the charts. It’s awesome to see a dungeon crawler post up sales like this game is and it bodes well for Blizzard’s Diablo 4 (whenever that arrives). The more isometric action RPGs we can get, the better.
