Minecraft Dungeons Review - Hours of Fun For Locked-down Families

Minecraft Dungeons review - hours of entertainment for families locked down

Mojang Studios; Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, Xbox One (version tested)

Retro-themed hack and slash, this spinoff of Mojang has lots of Mojang characters.

When the idea to make a Minecraft spinoff was first batted around at Mojang Studios, a dungeon crawler game was one of the first ideas. From Gauntlet to Diablo the genre has always featured dank subterranean lairs, treasure chests and warrior skeletons, all of which are well-known Minecraft components. The blocky visuals are well-designed and will make Minecraft Dungeons look familiar to fans. They'll be moving through dioramas full of hack-and-slash action, that reorganize each time you play.

The plot is thin: a vengeful loner finds a treasure that transforms him into a powerful mage and duly begins an era of terror across the Minecraft kingdom. It is possible to play the game alone but it's much more fun to play with a co-op player. This can be played either online or via a console. In this mode players work together to bring down waves of slime monsters, skeletons, and giant spiders, while reviving fallen allies as they go. With four players taking part each with a unique set of weapons, the game is soon filled with explosions, arrows lightning bolts, freeze rays in a confusing but exciting light show. Gauntlet veterans are familiar with the nuances of this genre. The anticipation of the next phase and the chaos of battle and the frenzied loot collecting are all what makes this genre enjoyable.

Fighting is highly simple to use - one button for melee attacks, and another for ranged weapons. You start with a bow and sword, but you soon unlock more powerful weapons like battle hammers, crossbows that fire quickly, and spears. You can also earn enchantments for your weapons, which give them new abilities - a poison cloud or lightning strike, for example. Artefacts and armor can give you special abilities such as healing auras or lasers. The generous cornucopia of options for attacking and defensive provide a wealth of strategy and planning to the chaos of the levels.

Minecraft Dungeons is a thrilling adventure in dungeons that takes you from your first encounter with a cute archer who is skeletal to your final battle with the Arch Illager. The levels are filled with detail, from lush pixellated forests to deep red stone caverns, where mining carts whirl around the narrow tunnels, while torches flicker across the sloping walls. There is a straight path to the finish on every level, but there are many side routes. Also, horror movie music and necromancers that create zombies accompany the bosses as well as baddies.

Minecraft Dungeons is alive and well with an energetic, diverse score and theatrical sound effects and numerous references to the original Minecraft. If you're not enthralled by the infant zombies running at you, arms outstretched, or by the collectible anthropomorphic dungeon keys that run off in terror when attacked, then you have had your soul extracted by a sorcerer.

Minecraft Dungeons is not an extremely difficult game. You can complete a basic run-through in an evening, but the increasing difficulty levels will reveal ever more powerful and interesting weapons and items. Furthermore, because the game's levels are mostly random, they're not always the same when you return, adding to the replay value. Some players might find it frustrating that the game map shows an area that is not available for purchase.

It's also disappointing that the game's main gameplay doesn't put more emphasis on player-generated imagination. At the end of every level, you're able to return to your training camp to purchase new items and practice with new weapons. It would have been great to able build your own castle there. However, as a retro-themed hack-and-slash game with plenty of Mojang character and humour, Minecraft Dungeons is a extremely entertaining game that will bring hours of entertainment to families with children locked in.