Last week’s showcases were full of surprises, from huge reveals like theResident Evil 4 Remake, to smaller, more hidden gems likeTime Flies. Xbox and Bethesda’s Showcase had its fair share of both, withMinecraft: Legendscoming smack-dab in the middle. While it may not have carriedthe same relentless hype asStarfield,Minecraft: Legendswas still a neat reveal, and the game’s lengthy trailer gave fans a good look at what they can expect upon its 2023 release.
Minecraft: Legendsis taking the beloved block-building franchise and giving it an adventure-strategy makeover. Based on the reveal trailer, it seems as though players will be creating their own villages as a base of operations before setting off to defeat some Nether forces, using both their own abilities and the abilities of their companions, who they’ll be able to command on the battlefield. WhileMinecraft: Legendsis the first time the series has ventured into the realms of strategy, it isn’t the firstMinecraftspin-off, but it does have the potential to be the best.
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What Minecraft: Legends Should Learn From Past Spin-Offs
Being one ofthe most popular entertainment franchiseson the entire planet, it’s no wonder thatMinecrafthas received a few spin-offs over the years. WhileMinecraftwas an instant success upon its full release in 2011, with a lengthy beta phase building immense hype before it, it took quite a few years before the franchise would receive any type of spin-off.
The firstMinecraftspin-off wasTelltale’sMinecraft: Story Mode. Much like the rest of Telltale’s library,Minecraft: Story Modeis a point-and-click adventure game, released episodically between October 2015 and March 2016. For those that have never played a Telltale game before, gameplay inMinecraft: Story Modeboils down to picking up objects, solving some light puzzles, and having conversations with characters, most of which lead to key decisions that impact the narrative.
WithMinecraftnot exactly being known for its narrative-rich story, Telltale’sMinecraft: Story Moderaised quite a few eyebrows at the time. WhileMinecraftcertainly has some lore, most of it revolving around its enemy characters, its inherent creative gameplay has never really allowed for an official story. Telltale had a pretty difficult task ahead of it, and according to most critics, it just about succeeded.
The critical reception toMinecraft: Story Modewas fairly unanimous, but it wasn’t all great. Most outlets gave the game a score between 6 and 7, with the majority of critics praising the game’s great voice work, fun script, and engaging storyline, but stating that the game’s simplistic gameplay and lack of significant interactivity let it down significantly.
Flash forward about four years, andMinecraft Dungeonsis released, with critics saying essentially the same things. Swapping outMinecraft’s creative sandbox gameplay for an isometric,Diablo-like dungeon crawler,Minecraft Dungeonsfirst released in 2020 for the PC, Switch, PS4, and Xbox One. Much likeStory Mode,Minecraft Dungeonsreceived a pretty mixed reception, with scores again ranging from 6s to 7s.
Thecriticism forMinecraft Dungeonswas pretty similar toMinecraft: Story Mode’s, with outlets praising the game’s presentation and charming characters, but lamenting its simplicity. Though critics had fun with the gameplay, the general consensus was that there just wasn’t enough depth to combat or the gear system, leading to some boredom after a few hours.
Minecraft: Legendsneeds to take its predecessors into account and learn from their shortcomings. The biggest area of weakness in the franchise so far seems to be its lack of complex gameplay mechanics, so to rise above its predecessors,Minecraft: Legendswill need to provide a more unique and compelling experience. It should be able to achieve this fairly easily through its use of boththe adventure and strategy genres, as mixing these two types of gameplay should give the game a unique identity and provide players with plenty of mechanics to get their head around.
Minecraft Legendsis set to release in 2023 for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
