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"Grounded": "Darling, I've shrunk the children" is now a survival game
by Philipp Rüegg
"Minecraft Dungeons" is a "Diablo" light, but in a positive sense
27.5.2020
Translation: machine translated
Support: Luca Fontana
"Minecraft Dungeons" is not as complex as "Diablo", but still offers a surprising amount of depth. Only the length of the game is a bit lacking - for now. Luca and I slaughter our way through the blocks together from 1.00 pm.
Before you frown sceptically at the name "Minecraft", hear me out. Even if you're not a fan of the block-building simulation game, you might enjoy "Minecraft Dungeons". There is no digging or building. Only destruction. Zombies, spiders, golems or exploding green llamas. The motto is: always go for it. Because "Minecraft Dungeons" is an action RPG in the style of "Diablo" and its ilk.
Alone or with up to three other players, you explore a range of different areas, bludgeon everything in sight and diligently collect better equipment.
Build your own class
"Minecraft Dungeons" looks like a child's game at first glance, not least because of the blocky graphics. But you soon realise that there is much more to it than that. This starts with the design, which is surprisingly atmospheric despite the limitations of the "Minecraft" style. And from the different areas to the imaginative enemies to the creative equipment items, there is a surprising amount of variation in "Minecraft Dungeons".
This also applies to the gameplay. There are no classes. Your equipment determines your playstyle. You can choose between a melee weapon, a ranged weapon, armour and three special items. You can add enchantments to your weapons and armour. Each time you level up, you receive a new point to distribute. For example, you can choose whether to put three into the armour and only one into the melee weapon.
There are also special items that you have to actively trigger. There's everything from a companion who fights at your side to spirit bombs and firework arrows. Together with the different weapons and enchantments, you can create your very own character.
With your hero, you travel through dungeons in "Minecraft Dungeons", as the name suggests. You unlock them one by one. However, there are only nine to choose from for the time being. The overview map already states that new episodes will be added, but these will be subject to a fee. This is also my biggest criticism: there is no lack of variation, but there is a lack of quantity. At least it's worth playing the levels several times. There are three difficulty levels, whereby you only unlock the last two after the first playthrough. Each difficulty level can be further fine-tuned with six sub-levels. The more difficult, the better the loot. And after all, that's what an action RPG is all about.
The gameplay is motivating, despite the generic action RPG story: there is an evil tyrant who wants to subjugate the Minecraft kingdom. It's all about freeing villagers, finding keys that bounce back automatically if you get hit too often, or defeating bosses. But the latter are surprisingly tough, especially if your level is a little low. So it's fun.
All in all, "Minecraft Dungeons" is a well-rounded game, especially with friends. However, the lack of level selection is a little annoying. However, as the game is part of the Xbox Game Pass, it's worth at least trying out the free month.
At the moment, there is no cross-play or cross-save between the different platforms. But according to Mojang, the feature will be patched later.
"Minecraft Dungeons" is available for PC, Xbox One, PS4 and Switch and was provided to us by Microsoft.
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Philipp Rüegg
Senior Editor
Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.chBeing the game and gadget geek that I am, working at digitec and Galaxus makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop – but it does take its toll on my wallet. I enjoy tinkering with my PC in Tim Taylor fashion and talking about games on my podcast http://www.onemorelevel.ch. To satisfy my need for speed, I get on my full suspension mountain bike and set out to find some nice trails. My thirst for culture is quenched by deep conversations over a couple of cold ones at the mostly frustrating games of FC Winterthur.
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