A bit of a disclaimer before beginning this review, I am not a Minecraft fan. I did, however, appreciate Minecraft Dungeons, the light hearted Diablo-themed Minecraft Dungeons. So when I saw Minecraft Legends was on the way, it was fair to say I really wasn’t particularly excited for it.
Read More: Minecraft Dungeons review: Villager or Illager?
But having spent more time with it, I can say that Mojang and Blackbird Interactive have crafted a cracking game, if different from what fans may expect.
Time Out from Crafting
Like Minecraft Dungeons, Minecraft Legends takes the world of Minecraft and remixes it. This time with action-strategy to create something more in line with Nintendo’s Pikmin series than a resource-gathering sim.
It’s a very streamlined system at work that sees you building armies and battling a lot more than pickaxing for stone or wood. You battle to save the Overworld from invasion by the piglins from the Nether.
And this sees ALL the factions of the Overworld coming together to battle the piglin threat, but Action, Knowledge and Foresight – the creators of the Overworld can’t get involved in this battle.
Minecraft Remixed
So, it’s up to you as this world’s hero to rally the troops, build the defences, battle the piglin hordes and stop the evil forces behind it all alongside your mighty steed.
The tale is mainly told through a number of cut scenes and is pretty light and far from the main driving force, as when you clear the world of the piglin, you reset and do it all over again with a new randomly generated world.
New Gameplay Loop
Gameplay sees you free to roam the open world map battling hordes of piglins and bringing down their outposts and bases. But you’re only one small hero on a horse and you can only swing your sword so much. To turn the table in your favour, you can build spawn points to create a number of different units to help you in battle.
It’s here the Pikmin vibe comes in, for example each unit you spawn has different strengths and weaknesses against the piglins; like arrow golems are strong against enemies, but cobblestone golems are better at destroying structures.
Having the right golem for the task is often key as your army is limited in size as well, so getting the right balance hints at the games strategic depths.
Time Craft
However, nothing is ever more important than managing your time. During the day you’ll be taking the fight to the piglins and exploring for extra goodies. But at night it all changes as the piglins are now on the hunt. And this is where the more defence-focused gameplay comes in. You’ll have to reinforce pre-built villages and fend off the hordes attacks.
Controls take a bit of getting used to, as it’s really based on gathering groups and rallying them at targets and it can be easy to forget what each button does in the heat of the fight in the beginning.
But give it time and not only will it click and you be dividing your forces to attack different targets, plus you’ll get access to big better units, as well as upgrades to your structures. The game slowly ups the complexity of things as you get to grips with it and it’s very nicely paced.
Minecraft Multiplayer
When you have had your fill of the core campaign and have a real understanding of how the game plays you can jump into coop multiplayer. Here you can work with three other mates across a full campaign.
You share resources but are all free to do what you want to, so you can truly divide and conquer. It’s probably the best way to play the game with you all sharing tasks. For instance, coop play really cuts down on the time you have to give to gathering resources
PvP Minecraft
If you’re looking for a bit more of a challenge there is a PvP option. Minecraft Legends‘ competitive multiplayer sees two teams of two battling it out in epic sieges.
As you and your teammate share troops and resources this is where you will see some high-tier strategies unfolding. Teams that work together tend to get the upper hand in the battle and this only reinforces the strategic element.
An Impression
The game looks and sounds just like the core game, something which will make longterm fans feel right at home. Though it must be said there is bit more detail when you really look at it.
Oddly, we did find a few pathfinding issues at times. It’s not uncommon for units got stuck on out crops and edges of the environment.
Minecraft Legends is easy to pick up but hard to master. The game is a really interesting fusion of genres that just work. Legends may lack some of the features and depth that hardcore fans may expect, but come to this with an open mind and you’ll find a fun gameplay loop and tonnes of charm.