Minecraft Dungeons II
Developers: Mojang Studios, Double Eleven
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Platforms: PlayStation 5 (Reviewed), PC, Xbox Series X, Switch, Switch 2
Release Date: Available Now
Price: $29.99 USD – Available Here
Overview
When Minecraft first came out it seemed like it would be a flash-in-a-pan like so many other building games of the era, but not only has the title thrived to the point that it is playable on basically every modern device and has received numerous spin-offs as well as a live-action movie. One such spin-off was the 2020 release of Minecraft Dungeons, an action RPG similar to Diablo where players would fight with their friends against all matter of foes, all from Minecraft and decking players out with signature gear at the same time. Even then though, many wondered if Microsoft would pursue further games of that element after such a long wait and they have finally done so with Minecraft Dungeons II. With a number of changes to the formula to make it even more accessible than before, is this a worthwhile game for younger fans of the franchise or just fans in general?
Story
Supposedly set sometime after the events of Minecraft Dungeons, though no knowledge of the former is required, the heroes and villagers have thrived in a time of peace along the Squid Coast, expanding and living freely with little fear of the mobs that hide out in the darkness. That is until the illagers down beneath the surface stumble upon a strange new realm known as the Sift with innocent and cute beings filled with souls, something that the illagers desperately want for themselves.
After infiltrating the “Sift” dimension the illagers have transformed three of their number into an almighty Illager High Council capable of wielding powerful abilities that put the heroes of lore to shame and bestow them the ability to imbue souls into mobs, corrupting them and enhancing their abilities at the same time. With this new power at their fingertips the Illager High Council teras fabrics between the dimensions and starts invading the villagers’ homes all over the land, forcing the player to flee until they find the town of Brave Haven, the first major stronghold built to face off against this new threat.
For the most part Minecraft Dungeons II presents its story well-enough, establishing things by showing that the player’s character and the world stands no chance against the newly powered up illagers and showing how dire things have become, especially as they continue to venture through the world and find more villagers and locations in need of help all while having to deal with the monstrosities that the Illager High Council have created. It also helps that, for many of the major scenes, the game features a narrator to help show how important a scene might be or at least explain things to those unfamiliar with the base game or are a bit lost since no characters actually speak in the game outside of mumbling grunts.
There are pieces of dialogue here and there handled entirely through text boxes and players can take on a number of side-quests that help expand the world’s lore a bit, especially in regards to the new dimension of the Sift, but this is still mostly a soft-fantasy setting for a younger audience to enjoy without much complexity. This means don’t expect much in the way of twists or turns on this adventure, simply one that sees a hero trying to save the world once more.
Gameplay
In quite a few ways Minecraft Dungeons II has changed but one thing that has remained the same is that players can play solo or in co-op with up to four players total, either online or offline, giving couch co-op a vital inclusion for this family oriented game. The game’s internet support includes cross-play along the different platforms as well as drop-in/drop-out support should players want to keep their lobby open for anyone to join. It is worth noting that the game does not feature any strict class system, in fact it barely features a proper leveling system. Instead players will be able to equip whatever melee weapon, bow, set of items, and different pieces of armor that they wish. Alongside this the player has a healing potion with unlimited uses but limited by a cooldown between uses as well as a dodge-roll with a similar cooldown.
As players fight through the land they will “level up” and obtain enchantment points that can later be applied to weaponry and armor pieces, though it is worth noting that unlike the first game that only had one armor set, the player now equips different headgear, body armor, and leg gear. The bow and arrow works in expected fashion, depending on the type of ranged weapon the player is using, with ammo regenerating over time and some effective auto-aim making it easy to snipe foes at a distance, especially with weapons such as a heavy crossbow. These enchantments are really where players can vary their build-up and also completely break some pieces of gear. Spending a slew of enchantment points and soul crystals to level up the merchant or enchanter can allow players to enchant gear all the way up to Tier 3 quite quickly.
The types of enchantments vary depending on what the player has uncovered while traveling inside of dungeons, rifts, or even luckily obtaining from a mini-boss or boss, and some can be quite devastating or useful. This includes making projectiles ricochet into nearby enemies multiple times, a near 50% chance to trigger a healing pool with every melee kill ensuring players can stay in the fight without relying on their regenerating potion, and more. Other additions to the player’s arsenal include various talismans that offer their own unique bonuses that level up the longer the player wears them, such as having a canine companion fight by the player’s side even solo, or using the various magical items at the cost of “souls” that are obtained from defeating enemies. These magical items come in all forms and range from enhancing or adding elemental types to arrows or melee attacks, triggering AoE attacks, shielding the player, and more, giving players plenty of options.
Unfortunately, the game doesn’t really have a good way to actually showcase this primarily due to how cut back the user interface is and limited detail about equipment. It is understandable that Minecraft Dungeons II was designed to be simple, but all gear has now been stripped of any standard statistics and is simply given a power number indicating how strong it might be and a rarity that will determine whatever randomized effects it might have. This means that while players may find a stronger piece of armor, it might pale in comparison to their previous piece that has various bonuses to melee damage or even reflecting incoming damage onto attacking enemies.
Though whatever actual defense loss there isn’t actually shown other than a generic “power level.” It is also worth noting that as players level up and beat bosses they will complete certain “Milestones” that apparently make enemies stronger and increase the chances they will drop rare loot, but nowhere does it signify how strong a foe is nor the danger level, and while players do have the option to alter the difficulty in the game’s menu, doing so is unnecessary unless they want to turn it up as the default is far too simple.
Now while the game’s equipment system does have its faults, as well as both the combat itself and the gameplay loop growing quite repetitive after a while, since while there are more weapon types than ever before, some are extremely terrible compared to others, there have been some new improvements to Minecraft Dungeons II. First and foremost the game is now open-world rather than having stages for the player to complete, various minecart tracks can be discovered and used as fast travel points. Secondly, the title also features a vertical element as well since players can now jump which not only aids in exploration but fights as well. Players can use jumps to get out of a sticky situation such as being surrounded by foes or deal a jumping attack to trigger far more damage than a standard attack.
Audio & Visuals
It is nice to note that Minecraft Dungeons II looks pretty much exactly like what fans of the franchise could hope for, only sporting a number of new locations to explore and a brand new dimension known as the Sift featuring vibrant and colorful locations now twisted with monsters new to the franchise as well. The armor and designs of the characters are fitting for the game’s blocky aesthetic even if it does mean that some of the elements are less detailed than one would hope, but this is Minecraft of course. The few cutscenes throughout the game are presented well enough and so are the boss battles as they feature some nicely modified designs that feel like they would fit right into the blocky world of the base game.
As mentioned before the general characters do not talk in any way outside of grunting but it is nice to note that the narrator’s voice actor does a great job trying to make the story sound as grand and dramatic as possible. The game’s soundtrack features a collection of background music that feels incredibly fitting for the game and Minecraft as a whole.
Overall
Minecraft Dungeons II manages to retain what made the original decent for those looking for a lighter action RPG by delivering even simpler mechanics to work with while also expanding the world and giving more options to create a truly overpowered build should players truly wish to min-max their gear with the best enhancements around. Thankfully, there is no punishment for wanting to experiment with enchantments but it does eventually start to feel rather repetitive despite the amount of post-game options available. As a result, Minecraft Dungeons II still retains the “dungeon exploring for kids” label while offering just a bit more depth here and there.
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