Minecraft Dungeons

 Switch
User Score
6.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 91 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 56 out of 91
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 91
  3. Negative: 22 out of 91
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  1. LasseVK
    May 26, 2020
    5
    The game is not there yet on Switch. Although I feel the game is good enough as a game, having also played it on PC, on Switch it is marred by a very poor port that struggles to keep the framerate up. Having played Diablo 3 on Switch, which maintained a competent 60fps most of the time, coming to Minecraft Dungeons which is locked at max 30fps, and struggles to even go in to the 20s inThe game is not there yet on Switch. Although I feel the game is good enough as a game, having also played it on PC, on Switch it is marred by a very poor port that struggles to keep the framerate up. Having played Diablo 3 on Switch, which maintained a competent 60fps most of the time, coming to Minecraft Dungeons which is locked at max 30fps, and struggles to even go in to the 20s in dungeons, it does not bode well for this game. On PC, playing 2 people, adds a lot more mobs on the screen and I just don't see how the Switch will be able to cope in that situation seeing as it struggles so much with just one player.

    The game is a good 8 from me as a game, but the Switch port drags it way down.    … Expand
  2. Big_Naka
    May 27, 2020
    5
    A fun game , but getting frame rate issues and the switch gets extremely hot while playing this game , it needs better optimisation ...
  3. Kchewz
    Sep 6, 2021
    7
    Context: I played through the entire main story with a few side missions, Nintendo Switch Edition during the August 2021 free game trial. I have experience playing dungeon crawler RPGs such as the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series, Hades and Cadence of Hyrule. I have not played much Minecraft by Mojang and have only played PixelJunk Shooter Ultimate and Goat Simulator by Double Eleven. IContext: I played through the entire main story with a few side missions, Nintendo Switch Edition during the August 2021 free game trial. I have experience playing dungeon crawler RPGs such as the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series, Hades and Cadence of Hyrule. I have not played much Minecraft by Mojang and have only played PixelJunk Shooter Ultimate and Goat Simulator by Double Eleven. I completed the base game in 15 hours, dying about 20 times and had 3 wipes or game overs, two of them being boss fights I was not prepared for.

    Minecraft Dungeons acts as a gateway game into the dungeon crawler RPG genre. For those unfamilar with the aforementioned genres or games, Minecraft Dungeons is a game where you explore linear dungeon layouts, meaning the map will be the same everytime you replay a level, enhancing you character via random loot drops. I say it acts as a gateway to these genres because of the game's simplicity. There are no classes, everyone is the same character that can be visually customized. There are no stats, abilities, perks tied to your character. Your character only grows via the random items you pick up and equip. This does imply you will sometimes get shafted and get the items that you are either hoping to get from said dungeon or get any items that improve your character enough such that you can take on the next dungeon with getting rekt.

    You have three slots for equipment (one melee weapon, one ranged weapon, and one armour), as well as three slots for artefacts (which have their own as unique powers) Shoutout to the bees, they are so good. Each weapon, armour, and artefact has a unique level and set of abilities that influence damage, defense and health. In addition, each piece of equipment has one to three enchantment slots and can be used to grant one of a few additional powers. Only one of these skills per slot can be enchanted with enchantment points (given for progressing up). Even if you have identical items, the enchantments on them can be different, providing you a plethora of options for personalising your gameplay. As you continually upgrade your gear, the system encourages you to try out new playstyles. While I would have liked to see a little more depth in the system, I like that I can switch things up on the go.

    Minecraft Dungeons is a simple game at start, but as you progress, the game adapts to your abilities. You might even be struggling by the conclusion of your first playthrough. Despite playing in a very different way than Minecraft, Dungeons preserves a lot of the aesthetic that has made the game so popular. The levels are littered with classic foes such as zombies, skeletons, and creepers, each of which is based on a particular environment. There are three primary difficulty levels, but you must first complete the previous one before moving on. You can fine-tune your experience along a spectrum within each difficulty. While each level is set to a particular difficulty level based on your current equipment loadout, you can alter it in either direction. The higher the difficulty, the better the equipment you can be rewarded with. This element alone can drastically increase ones play time, grinding levels to achieve new gear instead of doing a single playthrough like I did in 15 hours.

    The main issue, however, is how the game is played. Minecraft Dungeons gameplay is often smooth but when its not, lord have mercy do the frames drop. Im talking 1-2 frames per second, it was headache inducing. These framerate dips were not consistent either, whether it was a loading screen, boss fight or simply exploring a dungeon, the performance drop would occur and last several seconds. Speaking of which, load times were also ridiculously long for a game that is not complex in design. Definitely some optimization spaghetti code under the hood.

    Minecraft Dungeons has local and online multiplayer. We are in the middle of the Covid 19 pandemic as of writing this review so I could not try out the local multiplayer but the online multiplayer required to login to a Microsoft account which I found ridiculous on a Nintendo Switch and refused to do so.

    All in all, Minecraft Dungeons is a fun and quick game. If you like Minecraft and want a different experience in a familiar setting, this is the game for you. For those looking to try a dungeon crawler or RPG without sinking hundreds of hours grinding or learning the mechanics, this is your game.    … Expand
  4. Romulos
    Dec 17, 2020
    6
    Minecraft Diablo - not great, not terrible, but fps-drops on switch are annoying.
  5. Globex
    May 29, 2020
    5
    I would easily give a 9 for this game if it weren't for some odd quirks and frequent crashes with the current (release day) version.

    The game mechanics and play are very fun and rewarding, and the dungeons are well designed and keep the feel of the Minecraft universe. Music and sound effects are great, and graphics are well done keeping in mind that this is the Minecraft universe.    I would easily give a 9 for this game if it weren't for some odd quirks and frequent crashes with the current (release day) version.

    The game mechanics and play are very fun and rewarding, and the dungeons are well designed and keep the feel of the Minecraft universe. Music and sound effects are great, and graphics are well done keeping in mind that this is the Minecraft universe.

    On the Switch, however, things start to fall apart a bit when it comes to performance, grouping with friends online, and random game crashes.

    If you plan to play online there are several things you should know. First, you need a Nintendo Online subscription, which should be expected and is inline with most other games. However, you also need a Microsoft account, basically Xbox live, and you and your friends must link and use this account to play over the internet. Your Nintendo friends list is entirely ignored. This feature would make a bit more sense if cross platform were supported, but at this time it is not and I haven't seen any official statements from Microsoft that this is the plan.

    The next issue I have experienced multiple times is the game tends to randomly crash, sending you to the Switch home screen and all unsaved progress is lost. Future software updates will hopefully fix this, but currently the game feels more like a late beta release.

    While playing online with a friend there seems to be a common issue when starting or ending a dungeon where the internet connection becomes unstable and the game either freezes or drops to the main menu. Items seem to be retained but reconnecting takes roughly 5-10 minutes before you are back in the action. This seems to happen roughly 30%-40% of the time, which is unacceptable for any post beta game.

    My final notable con is the overworld. In many competing games like Diablo 3 there is more of a connected world feeling where you can run through a map without any load screens unless teleporting. In Minecraft Dungeons there is an overworld map but there is always a load screen when going from the camp to a dungeon, or vice versa. This feels a bit outdated, but overall doesn't take away too much from what makes the game great.

    In conclusion, if/when the first three issues listed above are resolved in potential future patches, I feel that this game will be a solid 9/10, and with the forthcoming DLC's I wouldn't be surprised if I would change that to a 10/10.    … Expand
  6. KrakenOfPepsi
    Jun 1, 2020
    6
    An overall disappointing experience - seems like a lot of wasted potential. The game at best is a pretty good Diablo clone, and at its worse its a Minecraft spin-off that has almost nothing to with Minecraft apart from the title.

    There are no mechanics carried over from Minecraft - no crafting, no destructible environments, no ability to build structures - and many features such as The    An overall disappointing experience - seems like a lot of wasted potential. The game at best is a pretty good Diablo clone, and at its worse its a Minecraft spin-off that has almost nothing to with Minecraft apart from the title.

    There are no mechanics carried over from Minecraft - no crafting, no destructible environments, no ability to build structures - and many features such as The Nether, Mushroom Bios, Ice Bios etc are absent as well. Also, only a few items such as the pickaxes and fishing rods are real items from original Minecraft, every other item is a new item made for this game, it doesn't feel like Minecraft, just feels like a Minecraft re-skin of a game totally irrelevant to the source game.

    The core game has a lot of polish, don't get me wrong. Game is a lot of fun to play, and the enchanting system allows for lots of diverse play-styles and customisation. Levels although repetitive are fun, the loot system is well balance, good variety of enemies, great visuals and music etc. However, the game is tiny, the story is almost non-existent, the gameplay is not good enough to warrant a second play through and the fact that there is DLC already despite the small size is a real low blow as well.

    I'm kind of just confused as to why this exists? If you're not going to bring anything from Minecraft except a superficial reproduction of its exterior then why even bother? I can't help but feel this is a cheap cash in rather than a creative spin-off title. Not a bad game by any means, but not worth purchasing I'd say.    … Expand
  7. MorbidFable
    Jun 19, 2020
    7
    Performance isn't perfect, but its not bad, just spotty at rare times.

    Cut scenes are fantastic, and don't ruin what minecraft is at all. Don't think of it as a minecraft game, think of it as a story and game told through the context of minecraft.

    Haven't finished it, I'll likely update my review according to how I feel by the end but so far its rather enjoyable.
  8. lowfps10
    Jun 9, 2020
    7
    The gameplay is really fun, and I believe Mojang nailed this. However, there are several issues that prevent me from rating the game any higher, which are: the geat and artifacts being completely random, lack of content, the complete inability to pause the game, and the lack of crossplay at launch. Crossplay is coming soon, but there is literally a glitch that allows people to doThe gameplay is really fun, and I believe Mojang nailed this. However, there are several issues that prevent me from rating the game any higher, which are: the geat and artifacts being completely random, lack of content, the complete inability to pause the game, and the lack of crossplay at launch. Crossplay is coming soon, but there is literally a glitch that allows people to do crossplay, which means the only reason this game doesn't have it is because it was specifically coded so that crossplay would be impossible. Just release it already. The framerate isn't the best but is definitely good enough. A lower graphics option with better fps would've been nice.… Expand
  9. JonathanNavarro
    Jul 22, 2020
    6
    Minecraft: Dungeons is a good game, with a bad story that have's at least great cutsecenes and a lot of replayability. But it is still a short game with not enough loot, and way less content than the Diablo Franchise. And the game has amazing battle mechanics but a weird Skill mechanic that I don't enjoy a lot. But in the end, the game doesn't satifies me, but I still enjoy it.
  10. KarakMan
    Feb 28, 2022
    7
    I tried it when it was free on Nintendo Switch Online and i liked it, it's the first game I've tried of this genere, but I didn't finish it.

Awards & Rankings

28
#28 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. Everyeye.it
    Sep 21, 2020
    70
    The facts must be established: Minecraft Dungeons for Switch is the worst version you could get your hands on.
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  2. Multiplayer.it
    Sep 17, 2020
    70
    Minecraft: Dungeons is now complete, and also available in physical version on Nintendo Switch.
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  3. Switch Player
    Jul 29, 2020
    80
    Minecraft Dungeons is a great game for newcomers of the genre, the series, and veteran players alike. Only slightly held back by its lacklustre graphics in handheld mode, this dungeon crawler is definitely worth a go.
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