Minecraft Dungeons | PS4 Review

June 25, 2020 Bob Villareal

This one is just flat out fun. Minecraft Dungeons from Mojang Studios and Double Eleven is by no means a long game. You are placed in a world with nine different biomes, all with different levels and secrets based on that biome’s theme. Difficulty is adjustable, although it naturally increases as you progress (level up) your character.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Minecraft Dungeons is more of a “dungeon crawler light” than anything else, but it gives a good perspective for those without any Diablo-like experiences. There are plenty of gimmicks within the “mines” that keep things entertaining like exploding pillars/mines, lava tiles, pit falls, and Indiana Jones-like traps coming out of floors and walls. If you’re a Minecraft vet, you’ll also notice a few similarities with enemies like skeletons that do their range damage with bows, and creepers that get explodey in melee range. Newer enemies like witches throw poison potions and enchanters buff other enemies in punishing ways. Differing on the difficulty for your current run, there will be a number of random enemies either increasing in size or difficulty. There are also mini bosses throughout the level and final bosses near the end.

Working for a Living

There isn’t a class system within Minecraft Dungeons, nor are there skills trees. You will level up only through experience gained, but what you do have to play with are weapons and armors that can be modified by enchanting these items with randomly rolled perks. Enchantment points are earned when leveling up. As you progress, you’ll find newer, stronger items that will not only increase the power level of your weapons and armor, but also of your artifacts. These artifacts can’t be enchanted like regular items, but they have a lot of neat tricks, which when used properly, can make the fight easier or just a whole lot more fun.

Take On Me

One of the best parts of this game is being able to roll with a crew of up to 4 total fighters, wizards, or whatever you want to have your character be. There are plenty of interesting ways to play this game, and it only gets more interesting after you beat it. It’s short for sure, maybe 5-6 hours to beat if you have some companions, don’t die too much, and have a little luck on your side. But after beating the final boss, you open up new difficulties, new enemies, and many new challenges all around. There are also some expansions being planned, the first of which should be expected sometime in July 2020.

The Final Countdown

All in all, this isn’t an overly difficult game, but the simplicity and sheer fun of it all is what gives Minecraft Dungeons its charm. I’ve played for hours and lost all track of time trying to mine for some solid weaponry with my son. The only downfall here is that a good number or people will try getting into this game expecting to be playing a Gauntlet-like Minecraft, but you won’t find that here. You can’t break through walls or find crafting materials and make better weapons or armor with them, but you’ll still find the rollover aesthetics more than pleasing for a Minecraft loyalist. This game isn’t perfect, but shows immense promise for things to come. I’m not as big into the original as my kids are Mojang Studios and Double Eleven, but you most certainly made a fan with this one.

To hear more discussion about Minecraft Dungeons, be sure to check out Episode 297 of The Gaming Outsider Podcast. The crew talks about the game around the 1:14:04 time stamp.

This review is based on a purchased copy of Minecraft Dungeons on PS4. It is also available on Xbox One (including via GamePass), Nintendo Switch, and Microsoft Windows.