Summary
- Minecraft Dungeons II builds on the original game with an all-new story, an emerging threat, an Overworld map, new gear slots, among many other tweaks and enhancements.
- With added mechanical depth and all of the approachable gameplay from the first title, it will be an excellent and accessible co-op game for a wide variety of players.
- Minecraft Dungeons II arrives on September 29, and will be available for XBOX Series X|S, XBOX on PC, cloud, and included with Game Pass. Play it on both console and PC at no additional cost with XBOX Play Anywhere. Also available on Steam, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2.
I’ve enjoyed ARPGs (action role-playing games) ever since discovering the original Diablo as a preteen, but they really clicked a few years later when Diablo II became the first game I played online with friends. The ecstatic flashing colors of exploding demon hordes combined with the drip feed of incrementally better loot cast a soothing spell that I find is best enjoyed with company. Later on, when I finally played Diablo III in couch co-op on a console instead of with mouse and keyboard, I understood: ARPGs are for chilling.
Having played a demo after its XBOX Games Showcase appearance, Minecraft Dungeons II understands this, and has clearly been built from the ground up to allow as wide a range of players as possible to jump in and have fun, from casual ARPG dabblers, up through more hardcore genre devotees.
The contemporary mainstream ARPGs out there tend to embrace complexity, particularly in their endgames, adding a profusion of new systems to tweak, customize, and enhance your character and extend the interest of their most dedicated players. That’s great when I want a puzzle to min-max, but when I’m not in the mood to spend an hour re-speccing my whole build around a new item, it can be too much friction between me and the actual gameplay.
Minecraft Dungeons II strikes a really smart middle ground between the first game and its genre peers by increasing gameplay and build expressivity, while keeping things decidedly friendly and streamlined. I can very easily imagine a younger Minecraft fan and an older relative that loves ARPGs finding common ground here and having a great time, which is a rare offering for a game. It’s the ARPG for everyone.
A Greater Sense of Place
Where the original Minecraft Dungeons had a more old-school structure of selecting discrete missions, the sequel dials up the RPG by setting the action in a contiguous, fixed and interconnected world, dotted with dungeons. This is one of many touches that really enhances the foundation of the original and makes it feel more alive. The newly added ability to jump is another, making your presence in the world feel much more tactile and enhancing the possibilities for exploration.
