Originally set to release in April, the dungeon crawler will now come out in May instead
In an article posted on the official Minecraft Dungeons website, Mojang announced that the game will be released on May 26 instead of end April. With how the COVID-19 situation is currently, the studio was focused on ensuring the health and safety of its teams.
Earlier in March, the official Minecraft Dungeons Twitter account had a tweet mentioning that its team was working from home to keep them safe and as a result, their workflows have been affected. The tweet goes on to state that while they were working on releasing the game in April, there would also be a re-evaluation of the overall timeline for the game.
You can view the tweet here:
Based on the tweet, we should not be that surprised by the decision to delay the game’s release. If anything, I am glad that this happened as the health and safety of people should come first, especially as the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 continue to rise across the globe. The death toll from the virus is also increasing on a daily basis.
We should also remember that Mojang and its teams are not the only ones affected by the COVID-19 situation and other companies are also going through this.
What is Minecraft Dungeons?
Minecraft Dungeons is Mojang’s take on a dungeon crawler set in the Minecraft Universe, where players embark on a quest to defeat the evil Arch-Illager and his minions. Along the way, players will acquire items such as weapons, armour and artifacts that can aid them in their adventures.
As there are no character classes, these items will determine a player’s overall playstyle instead. Players will also be able to further define their playstyle through the enchantments that come with their equipment.
I like this approach as players are not tied down to a particular playstyle. Without predefined classes, players are free to experiment with different item loadouts to fit a playstyle that they want.
Missions in Minecraft Dungeons are comprised of a blend of procedural content and fixed elements where mobs, treasure, and paths will differ between missions, but some parts will not change as they are linked to the mission’s narrative and objectives.
Up to four players can play together in local couch and online co-op modes. However, there will be no online matchmaking as the game “is designed to be played together with your friends”. At launch, players will only be able to play with their friends who are on the same platform but Mojang has stated that they are looking to introduce cross-platform multiplayer in the future in a free update.
If you are interested in finding out more about what to expect in terms of gameplay, the developers did a deep dive on it in a video on the official Minecraft YouTube channel. You can watch it here, down below:
There are other videos that talk about other aspects of the game such as lore, environments and sound, which the developers have put together in a playlist on their channel.
The game will be available on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One and Xbox Game Pass. Players can either pick up the Standard Edition for $19.99 USD or go for the Hero Edition, which is priced at $29.99 USD.
Forking out the additional $10.00 USD for the Hero Edition will get you the Hero Pass and access to two DLC packs that will be released at a later date. With the Hero Pass, you will get a chicken pet, two player skins, and a Hero Cape.
My Thoughts
Compared to other dungeon crawlers, Minecraft Dungeons does seem to be a more straightforward affair. It feels like a game that you can easily pick up just to beat up monsters for a bit or play with your friends while talking about random things.
This should not be taken as a bad thing as sometimes, we just want to have a chill game that we can enjoy either alone or with friends. There can even be instances where Minecraft Dungeons serves as an introduction to the Minecraft universe or the dungeon crawler genre for some players.
As someone who likes dungeon crawlers, I will be keeping an eye on the game to see how it turns out when it releases in May. Who knows, my friends might pick it up and rope me in too.
Post published: 3 April 2020
Last updated: 10 April 2020
Update: Added a heading and a few paragraphs. Edited a paragraph for accuracy.
Writing With Biscuits 