It’s been a long time since I played the original Minecraft Dungeons during the COVID lockdown in 2020, but I remember it fondly.
The ARPG gameplay style of Diablo with Minecraft’s cutesy aesthetic? What’s not to love? I enjoyed my time with it while playing with friends, but the game quickly grew old and familiar with its somewhat shallow take on the genre.
Those issues are basically all gone now in Minecraft Dungeons 2, which is a meaningful expansion and progression on the spin-off sub-franchise that I think most people are sleeping on right now, and they absolutely should not.
Sift through the rubble
Believe it or not, there is an overarching story in the Dungeons games, albeit nothing groundbreaking or too interesting. MD2 picks up where the original left off, with the people of the world living in harmony. And then, not so much.
Dungeons 2 adds Minecraft’s first new dimension in almost 15 years. It is called the Sift, and Rifts into this mysterious new world have begun popping up all over the place. Some nefarious Villagers find their way inside and begin to meddle with a power they do not comprehend, and it’s once again up to you to save the day while ranking up and getting better loot along the way.
The Sift is a unique new area for the franchise, filled with unknown new creatures and a somewhat fluorescent color scheme that shines with the game’s Unreal Engine 5 overhaul. It feels markedly different to explore, offering a fresh new experience compared to the Overworld, the Nether, and the End that players have come to know. Its debut in Dungeons 2 comes ahead of its addition to the base game of Minecraft Bedrock and Java in 2027, and
The mystery of the Sift and those who dwell within it are the driving force behind the story’s events, and it was interesting enough to keep me focused on powering through story missions while getting better gear, upgrading it, and chasing down new Enchantments to help fend off the increasing difficulties of the enemies within.
These Sift Rifts feel underutilized at first, basically amounting to a different kind of dungeon that you can find in the Overworld, but it ends up being a genuinely exciting new addition to the franchise that I hope its most hardcore fans are happy with. And I think they have every reason to be. I’m not sure what the future holds for it in the base game, but it makes for some fun exploration and encounters in this specific go-round.
While MD1 was quite a short game at around six hours to finish the story, with not a lot else to do at launch, the sequel has a lot more meat on its bones thanks to how it’s presented. Gone are selectable missions from a home base, replaced instead by an openly explorable Overworld map that you can freely travel throughout on foot, or use mine cart fast travel stations to teleport around.
The map is populated with all sorts of enemies, dungeons, side quests, minibosses, and chests filled with loot and currency you need to continue leveling up, so it’s worth going off to explore and getting distracted while on the main story path. And once the story ends, you unlock Soul Storms, which are reminiscent of Diablo 4’s Helltides, where parts of the map are marked and overrun with higher-tier enemies and loot for you to grind out RNG for your perfect build.
Leveling up across the board
As an action RPG in the same vein as games like Diablo and Path of Exile, Minecraft Dungeons 2 expands and improves on the original game in just about every way imaginable, and the new open and interconnected world map is just the start.
Combat and traversal feel better, especially with the addition of the ability to jump. This adds some unique platforming opportunities throughout the game, but also enhances combat with a jump-attack that feels very strong, and I found myself using it constantly, both on offense and defense.
Buildcrafting is deeper than the original game, varying by things like power, rarity, RNG abilities, and more. Armor now includes four separate pieces to further power up and customize, and Enchantments further the player expression by providing powerful abilities to add on top of each piece of gear you wear.
There’s a fun amount of variety of weapons, too, with everything from swords and hammers, to crossbows and daggers, to warhammers and battle staffs. But for the most part in my playthrough, I found myself settling on a pair of Wolverine-like claws that I Enchanted with lightning to create a burst of electricity every time I executed a jump attack or finished a combo. I supplemented the close-range melee with a Unique and powerful bow that was Enchanted with Piercing to fire through multiple enemies to keep them at bay. Bringing it all together to shape my playstyle was a very satisfying experience.
The different weapons and armor pieces you can find, along with their different ability rolls, combined with several Artifacts (different abilities on top of just plain attacking) and Talismans (rare and powerful passives), leave you in control of how you play and how powerful you feel. The loot chase for a perfect roll on a weapon type you prefer will keep some players coming back for more for quite some time.
All of these additions make the original game feel like a “proof of concept” in comparison, and MD2 is now the real deal. New Endgame content and additional DLC campaigns are also already confirmed in the pipeline, so there’s a fair amount of gameplay hours ready for you if you’re up for it.
The powers you accumulate and stack on top of each other do make for some visual clarity problems at times (especially when playing in co-op), as powers swirl around you, enemies swarm, and elements take shape, but that’s a relatively minor gripe in what’s otherwise a very enjoyable ARPG, especially when you factor in that it’s just $30.
