We explore everything there’s is to know about Minecraft Dungeons in today’s post. Let’s get started…
Minecraft Dungeons follows the same aesthetic as the main Minecraft game, but it’s going to be a completely different experience than the open-world blocky world we’ve been used to since Minecraft launched in 2009.
Everything that we know about Minecraft will be in the back of our minds as we explore this dungeon-crawling roleplaying game that only shares the Minecraft name and almost nothing else as far as gameplay is concerned.
However, before we go into Minecraft Dungeons, we need to look back at the history of Minecraft and how its success has brought us to where we can enjoy Minecraft Dungeons in 2021.
What Is Minecraft?
You can’t throw a ball into a crowded room without hitting someone who has heard of Minecraft. Minecraft is an extremely popular game where the basics of the gameplay is breaking blocks in an almost endless world.
What you do with those blocks is almost completely up to the player. You can also use the blocks to build giant creations. There are a couple of different modes when playing Minecraft. One mode in Minecraft is called Survival mode and the other is Creative mode.
Survival is the basic game mode in Minecraft where, in order to build resources, you need to collect resources first. You would need to collect resources to build everything from structures to keep you safe at night to resources to craft weapons and food to survive against monsters and other environmental obstacles that get in your way.
In survival mode, there are an almost endless number of caves, villages, and dungeons for the player to explore. The player starts by breaking down trees to craft their first tools. From there, players can upgrade their tools by breaking stone, iron, and other resources. In survival mode, the player builds chests to keep materials in.
They also need to start off with a crafting table where they can make more advanced recipes. Of course, Minecraft also has a day and night cycle that comes with a different set of monsters the player encounters during the day and ones that only spawn at night.
The monsters that spawn at night can also appear in dungeons and underground caves. They can also survive in the shade under trees or can survive when it is raining, so the player needs to make sure they’ve crafted a sword and other tools used for defense.
After the player builds the basics in Minecraft, the player proceeds to go spelunking in caves or ravines where they can look for more valuable minerals such as gold or diamonds. The player then takes the resources back to their home, smelt them down, or uses them directly to craft recipes to make tools or better armor.
Diamonds are the best resource that a player can find because diamonds are more durable for tools and diamonds. Having diamond tools allows the player to go deeper underground and fight off even stronger monsters. Diamond tools also allow the player to collect obsidian that is used to bring users to a part of the game called the Nether, where they can collect even more resources.
The Nether is a scary place in Minecraft as it comes with new, scarier threats than the player has experienced in the over world, such as Ghasts and Zombie Pigmen. Zombie Pigmen themselves aren’t aggressive unless the player is aggressive towards one. After that, all the Zombie Pigmen in the area will attack the player. The purpose of the Nether is for the player to find resources they cannot find outside.
The player must locate a Nether fortress where they find a monster called a Blaze that they can kill to make potions at a brewing stand—having potions helps the player get to the end game of Minecraft once they find the End Portal. However, finding the End Portal could take days or weeks, depending on how often the player plays and how lucky they are to find resources.
The player needs to face off against the Ender Dragon to officially “beat” the game. Since the release of Minecraft, survival mode has added bigger and badder bosses, such as the Wither, that the player can face, but what if a player wants to build without the pain of collecting resources or fighting monsters? Well, Minecraft also has a survival mode.
Minecraft also has a creative mode where players who don’t want to play the survival mode can create magnificent structures without having to worry about running out of resources or running into monsters. Players in creative mode also don’t have to worry about their health or eating food to keep their hunger bar up.
In survival mode, the player would need to break blocks and, depending on the quality of the tool, it would take a while to break certain blocks. However, in creative mode, the player can destroy a block instantly. The best part about creative mode that is not available in survival mode without playing in the options is flying.
Simply double-tapping the jump button allows the player to fly through the air, through water, or underground while instantly breaking away blocks. Players who are playing creative mode cannot die either. These players can sink into lava, and even though they have the burning animation, they are not actually taking any damage.
Minecraft also has an educational edition for children. Minecraft created a version that is only for a classroom that can be used for by teachers for educational purposes. This helps children build projects under the supervision and guidance of a teacher and also helps build confidence among children.
The combination of gameplay and accessibility are reasons Minecraft has become so successful, but why else is it successful? How did its success bring upon many spin-offs, including this upcoming Minecraft Dungeons title? Let’s take a look at what made Minecraft so successful.
What Made Minecraft So Successful?
No matter the age, many people have played Minecraft. In fact, over twenty million people have played Minecraft across all of the platforms that it is available on. Having a game with blocks isn’t necessarily a new concept, so why did Minecraft soar with such a basic concept?
One of the biggest reasons Minecraft became so successful so fast was how easy it was to use. Players could play in survival or creative mode and be as creative as they want. It wasn’t just about using blocks to build structures; the addition of Redstone allowed players to build circuits and other working electrical devices in the game.
Keeping a player busy is another reason why Minecraft has become so popular. Players could play for hours and still have so much to do. Minecraft is almost never-ending. One could essentially play for days and be nowhere near where they want to be in Minecraft.
Some people take years to build their projects. There’s just too much to do in the world of Minecraft, and that’s why. The spin-off title we are especially interested in is Minecraft Dungeons.
What Is Minecraft Dungeons?
Minecraft Dungeons is coming late in May and is being co-developed by Mojang. It’s also going to be a dungeon crawler game, which makes it a lot different than the original. People who love the dark tunnels of a dungeon crawling game will especially love Minecraft Dungeons.
The Dungeon Crawling game genre is not new for those familiar with games like Diablo. It’s basically a roleplaying game where you move through different map layouts and get loot.
One of the fun parts of a dungeon crawler is fighting off hordes of enemies by yourself or with some friends. Oider dungeon crawlers like Diablo often had your character or you and your friends fighting off endless waves of enemies.
The whole point is going through each and every dungeon, so you keep leveling up your character so you can take on more and more waves of enemies. Dungeon crawling has found its way into a lot of games because of how fun and popular a dungeon crawling aspect can be.
Finding loot after defeating a lot of monsters makes games fun for some people. That’s why Minecraft Dungeons is entering that genre.
Minecraft dungeons will be using Unreal Engine 4 and takes a lot from Diablo 3 as far as dungeon crawling is concerned. You can go at it alone or you can explore the game with friends as you level up your characters.
Minecraft Dungeon had some gameplay shown at a recent Minecon that let players see some of the monsters they were familiar with from the original Minecraft game, such as skeletons and zombies. The gear in Minecraft dungeons and the enchantments are similar to those found in the survival mode of the original Minecraft game.
Of course, what is a new game without new elements to the game? It isn’t just going to be a top-down version of Minecraft. There is going to be new stuff, such as having a llama companion.
Minecraft Dungeons also looks to have a basic story since it’s mostly marketed for children. The story for Minecraft Dungeons will also have a lot of humor since that’s what Minecraft has been known for across multiple media platforms, such as its movie on Netflix, which allows you to play through the movie and make your own choices.
Mojang focuses on the combat and story progression to connect the player with the character they’re playing as they move through waves of monsters.
One of the best parts about Minecraft dungeons is that you can also play with others. There is also a rumor that Minecraft dungeons will have some couch co-op, a cooperative mode that hasn’t been around much since the advent of online gaming.
Of course, the more people you bring in to play with you, the more difficult the game will be, as it will force you and your friends to cooperate with each other.
However, you’re not going to be able to punch down a tree and get started in combat. It’s going to be much like Diablo in the way of combat, where you can choose a mix of different playstyles to take down big waves of enemies. You can choose a hammer, sword, axe, bow, or even crossbow to fight off enemies.
You could also make use of abilities that cost resources to use. Some abilities were shown in trailers similar to magic used in Diablo. Mojang has confirmed that there will be over 60 different types of weapons in the game, so there will be a high level of customization.
These weapons, artifacts, and even armor can be upgraded with enhancements. As you progress through the game, you get different enhancements as you would any dungeon crawler.
Unfortunately, those who are familiar with Minecraft will be sad to learn that there won’t be any building or mining in the game, despite its name. You need to keep progressing through the game and fighting off any monsters.
However, Mojang has confirmed that there won’t be any microtransactions or loot boxes in the game. Everything that you get in the game can be looted off of chest or enemies as you progress through the game. This is welcoming news for those who are tired of the microtransaction aspect of newer games.
Every dungeon is procedurally-generated, from the monsters that spawn in dungeons to the layout of dungeons and even where you find the loot. Even though the dungeons are procedurally generated, there is some semblance of a story. You’ll be able to visit a hub-style area between each dungeon that won’t be procedurally-generated.
Every dungeon in Minecraft dungeon will feel like it’s a new dungeon that is procedurally generated to make each dungeon feel like it’s not the same as another dungeon. Mojang has also talked about letting players create worlds that they could play in, much like the randomly generated seeds found in the original Minecraft title.
Minecraft Dungeons will release on Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and the Nintendo Switch on May 26th, 2021.