Was It Worth It is a series here on Aggregator Reviews where we look at a given product and let you know whether you’re going to get your money’s worth from it. It can be hard to decide which items are worth your time, and most importantly, your hard earned cash. In Was It Worth It, we provide an overview, some tips and tricks (if applicable), and our personal brand of irreverent commentary. We finish off with an overall determination on whether the subject is actually worth it. With that said, let’s look at whether Minecraft Dungeons was worth it.
Disclaimer: Aggregator Reviews is open to sponsorships and strives for transparency, and our policy is full disclosure when we receive a product at a discount. Through savvy shopping, we were able to get the game for an incredible discount!
Don’t freak out at the subtotal – that’s Argentinian Pesos. The total in USD was $6.22.
I played this game shortly after release and got to apocalypse difficulty, and then shelved it until the DLC dropped. I’m glad that I did, because the DLC brought a slew of QoL changes that really improved my play experience.
Table of Contents
Back to the Blocks
Minecraft Dungeons is a dungeon crawler with the familiar trappings from the Minecraft universe. There are several levels, most of which sport alliterative names – Pumpkin Pastures, Creepy Crypt, etc. Each level generally has its own theme, which probably hearken back to Minecraft biomes.
It’s important to note that despite the obvious Minecraft trappings, this is not in line with the main game.
Let’s be realistic: this is a basic dungeon crawler with a Minecraft skin.
There is no crafting, and the only survival aspect is making it through the aforementioned dungeons.
Gearing Up
There are a variety of weapon types to choose from: Swords, Pickaxes, dual Sickles, Scythes, and so on. You choose a melee weapon, an armor, a bow (or crossbow), and three artifacts.
Your items have enchantments, which are passive effects. Enemies can also have enchantments, and can be a real pain. I’m convinced that the worst enemy I’ve ever faced is an enchanted Creeper with Quick and Deflect. Sometimes the enchanted enemy is just downright silly in its uselessness, but the other times enchanted mobs are enough of a threat to keep combat fun.
Artifacts are items on a short cooldown with a variety of effects. Some artifacts summon critters to help you fight, like a llama or an iron golem. There is an item level that generally dictates the effectiveness of an item, but synergies between enchantments on weapons and armor exist. The devs are still actively adding in new enchantments to strengthen certain builds. Incidentally, it seems as though the acrobat archetype is getting a lot of support.
An example of the synergy between enchantments and other gear is how “arrow” artifacts can proc the enchantments on your bow. I briefly used Flaming Quiver and was also generating poison clouds. Other options include the roll builds, in which you can trigger multiple effects as often as you can roll.
Stay topped off!
Kiting mobs and sidestepping arrows is only so effective. On higher difficulties, enchanted mobs and high number of enemies rushing you will mean that you can’t always get away. Wait until you run into an enchanted creeper that has gravity pulse and you’ll see what I mean!
Your potion can be used infinitely, but realistically you aren’t going to use it more than once per “encounter”. There’s no shame in waiting between mobs for cooldowns to reset, but if this is your strategy then you’re underleveled or need better gear. The levels are long enough without taking a breather between every skirmish.
Long Levels
Personally, I felt that the levels were a little too long, and I think that the game would have benefitted from shorter stages to run. This becomes evident very quickly in the DLC stages, which are fun, and arguably quite stout. I was playing on the Switch, and it started to chug a bit on the larger jungle and winter maps.
There are more DLCs planned, and hopefully the devs will take that into account, and add some short levels you can breeze through or even some arena challenges.
Was Minecraft Dungeons Worth It?
As I mentioned earlier, I got the game for an incredible discount, and have definitely gotten my money’s worth. HowLongToBeat pegs the game at a brief 5 hours, which isn’t really indicative of how long you’ll actually play it. At its core, the game is meant to be a multiplayer experience, and the loot system, while simple, stays fresh without getting repetitive.
The vanilla version of the game costs 19.99. Currently, there are two DLCs out, and you can grab them as a bundle for 9.99 as the hero pass, which also comes with some cosmetic items. The physical copy that just released is the base game with the hero pass, for 29.99.
So, is Minecraft Dungeons worth playing?
I’m a big fan of dungeon crawlers, and I enjoyed it. This is obviously made for the younger crowd, and hopefully “baby’s first Diablo” can give the genre some more exposure. If you come in expecting more of the classic Minecraft experience, then you’re going to have a bad time.
As far as dungeon crawlers go, this one is very simple, which isn’t a bad thing. Items and enchantments are intuitive and it feels very satisfying when you find a build that works for you.
There are a lot of dungeon crawlers with needlessly complicated or janky mechanics, and thankfully, that’s not really the case here. In Minecraft Dungeons, you literally just go into a dungeon and kill everything in front of you. It’s very refreshing compared to awkward systems like the jaras in Snack World.
If you’re on the fence, then keep in mind that this game will likely go on sale on Black Friday or Cyber Monday.
There’s also no harm in waiting, since a big (and free) update in November will add crossplay functionality. There are also more DLCs planned. Datamines have revealed that new DLC will likely be regarding Nether,and mobs like the Dragon and Ghast have been mined. Howling Peaks, the third DLC, is confirmed to be a mountainous region, and will release in December alongside an update that will add more difficulty levels. There was also recently a Halloween event, that added some content, though I didn’t have time to play it.
If you’re looking for a similar experience that’s more focused on crafting, then I would suggest Dragon Quest Builders II. With that said, I do think that Minecraft Dungeons is worth it, just make sure you know what kind of game you’re buying.
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