The famous cubes game seen from another perspective.
Version tested: PC.
Over 200 million copies sold in just ten years from launch, surpassing even the seemingly unbeatable Tetris. A “simple” and at the same time brilliant basic idea born from the mind of Markus Persson, known to most as Notch, who unwittingly created one of the most influential games in videogame history. It is not difficult to understand who we are talking about Minecraft, that deliberately pixelated title on which no one would probably have bet a cent, promptly deceived by the aesthetic impact of the 90s. A mold that suggested yet another indie experiment destined to be forgotten shortly thereafter.
Yet, that cubed universe whose alpha version saw the light on PC back in 2009 (among other things, precisely in this period) has met with unimaginable success, revealing over time a nature that goes far beyond the video game. Minecraft is a real creation tool capable of creating phenomenal digital works of art and still does not cease to amaze us, also thanks to the skill and patience of many players. Among the many masterpieces, the most noteworthy is certainly the ambitious and mammoth project that involves the construction of a 1: 1 scale city based in Los Angeles, on which 400 people are working. If you think that the buildings are empty, then you are wrong, since they are all specially furnished. A titanic work that, at present, is only 20% and already has the beauty of 20 million blocks, just to realize what Minecraft allows to do.
The launch of the final version takes place in 2011, with the subsequent landing of the game on consoles and mobile devices to reach practically all the public. The rest, as you well know, is history.
After so many years, Mojang has decided to try his hand at developing a totally new experience with the new Minecraft Dungeons, a dungeon crawler with an isometric view that vaguely refers to titles like Diablo, just to give a clearer vision to those who chew a little.
Before giving you our impressions, we want to thank Microsoft for providing us with a copy of the game for review purposes.
The wrath of the inhabitant
Minecraft Dungeons it completely abandons the sandbox mold in favor of a story that is defined albeit simple in context. An inhabitant, read peasant for Minecraft purists, is rejected by his people, forcing them to wander aimlessly through the surrounding lands. This is until he comes across a mysterious cave hidden in a mountain, inside which he finds a powerful relic that will infuse him with evil. Loaded with all power, the Arch-dweller can thus begin his revenge, founding his kingdom and putting every place to fire and sword thanks to his army. No inhabitant is able to stop the wrath of the abandoned inhabitant and this arduous task will be up to real heroes: us, alone or in good company.
The game bases the campaign on the completion of different dungeons and areas, adopting a level structure halfway between linear and open which still leaves room for a good exploratory component. As a good dungeon crawler, the cornerstone lies in thehigh replayability rather than in the longevity of the adventure itself: to complete it for the first time, in fact, it took us about 6 hours of game, continuing calmly and exploring every corner of the maps. If we had stopped here, therefore, we would have seen only a small part of the Minecraft Dungeons experience, or in any case we would have had to wait for the arrival of the expected DLCs.
By completing the first run, we will unlock the second of three adventure difficulties available, which not only significantly enhance the enemies, but also increase the quality of the rewards as well as giving us access to new equipment. In addition, based on the power of our "endowment" we will be able to replay the various areas at further levels of increasing difficulty to get the best rewards.
Despite an initial skepticism, we did not feel any sense of repetitiveness, this also thanks to a level design of the dungeons sufficiently articulated and with variable structure. This means that we will not always find ourselves walking the same streets and exploring the same rooms, but most of the game areas will be diversified every time we face them again.
As mentioned above, the game is passable alone or in a cooperative up to 4 players, possible both online and locally on the same screen by simply connecting other controllers. Unsurprisingly, the title brings out its best in multiplayer, offering guaranteed fun in the company of other friends. Among other things, theimplementation of cross-play, thus allowing anyone to play together regardless of the platform they own.
Fun, but with some reservations
At the first launch of the game, we will be able to choose our first hero among a Rather rich "roster" in which, of course, the classic Minecraft protagonist is not missing. In a perspective of gameplay immediacy, the various characters differ only from an aesthetic point of view, leaving aside basic statistics and skill trees typical of the genre. From the beginning, however, the nature of the grinding game, as we have the ability to create different heroes and alternate them to level them up.
The power of our alter ego is determined by the average level of our arsenal, which is divided into three types: melee weapon, ranged weapon and armor. The equipment can count on a good variety, providing swords, hammers, picks, bows, crossbows and so on, each with a different degree of rarity. Weapons and armor, then, can be improved thanks to enchantments, making them more effective with passive bonuses, and sometimes recycled to recover spent enchantment points. Furthermore i manufactured goods, special objects that can be activated for a set time, will give us further support in battle, not infrequently saving us from the most critical situations. The various equipment can be obtained either from the loot of hidden and enemy chests or by purchasing them from the merchants in the our camp. The latter, unfortunately, is practically devoid of any other functionality, acting as a simple place of transition between one mission and another without any development mechanics.
What might make Minecraft fans turn up their noses enough is there total absence of the crafting system. Although it goes in favor of a more immediate and intuitive gameplay, as already mentioned, the search for more or less common materials to create ever better equipment would have given greater depth to the exploration. The wear of weapons and armor has also been eliminated, a decision however shared since, otherwise, the pace of the game would have been affected.
The combat system turned out to be simple and basic but perfectly fitting with the proposed game experience. The degree of challengefinally it is quite satisfying, with enemies capable of putting us in serious difficulty especially when we are surrounded in narrow places. In this regard, there are all the classic "villains", from zombies to creepers to Enderman, to which are added new figures and mini bosses full of aggression.
A title within everyone's reach
From a technical point of view, Minecraft Dungeons relies on Unreal Engine 4, resulting in better animations and a smoother graphic rendering in the edges without giving up the traditional cubed style. With the few graphics settings to the maximum, the title performed very well on our configuration, without ever showing drops in fps or stuttering phenomena:
- CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K @ 4.0 GHz
- GPU: Gigabyte NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB
- RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16GB DDR4 @ 3200MHz
- Monitor: Acer Predator 1920x1080 144Hz with active G-Sync
However, its relative light weight and good optimization also make it suitable for lower-mid-range PCs, allowing most gamers to enjoy it smoothly without having to meet exaggerated hardware requirements.
As for the localization, the game is dubbed in English but the lyrics are completely in Spanish; given the very few dialogues, however, there is no need for a local dubbing. Finally, the music that will accompany us in the adventure and the sound effects are well made, paying attention also to secondary sounds such as the wind that moves the trees.
Final comment
Mojang's experiment of dressing the Minecraftian universe with the elements of a dungeon crawler has resulted in a good result, without making any particular claims. Minecraft Dungeons offers a very enjoyable and replayable gaming experience, especially if played in the company of friends. The immediacy of the gameplay makes it suitable for any audience, although the absence of traditional crafting mechanics is an important lack, leaving a bitter taste in the mouth of those who expected to explore the areas several times in search of materials. to create your own equipment. There is no doubt that he will not even remotely collect the success of his older brother, but in his small way he still manages to defend himself discreetly by keeping busy for tens of hours. This, of course, as long as you see it for its true nature, that is a grinding game focused on high replayability and not on the simple completion of the story.
