MyMMO demon Cortyn played Minecraft Legends – and has a clear opinion on it. The game could have been many things, but unfortunately, it is none of those.
Minecraft has fascinated me for ages. I played the base game in beta – long before there were things like “the Nether”, “Endermen”, or even colors to dye armor. Therefore, my interest in Minecraft Legends was quite high. A “real-time strategy game” in the Minecraft universe was interesting for me as someone who grew up with Command & Conquer and Warcraft III.
So I soaked up the trailers for Minecraft Legends, looked forward to the release, and played it on the day of release.
To make it short: I am disappointed. Minecraft Legends is not what it could have been – and I’m not even so sure if the developers really knew who their target audience is.
What is Minecraft Legends?
To summarize the game briefly: In Minecraft Legends, you play an unnamed hero who unites the “Overworld” of Minecraft to stand against an army of Piglin pushing in from the Nether, wanting to devour everything. You not only recruit friendly wildlife but also former enemies like skeleton archers, creepers, or zombies.
The hero also acts as an anchor point for the troops. They follow the character but can also be sent a few meters away to attack while you fend off the Piglins with sword strikes.
In addition, resources must be farmed in the game world to build new units or buildings with stone or wood. These are mostly defensive structures like towers or walls, but can also be bridges to overcome abysses.
Minecraft Legends lacks what made Minecraft so good
The “normal” Minecraft is, in my opinion, so successful because it appeals to very young people, as well as being interesting for adults. The creative expression, large building projects, and even quite complex mechanisms like redstone circuits ensure that Minecraft has something to offer for both young and old. Minecraft is child-friendly without being childish. Encountering a creeper or warden is exciting and sometimes eerie – regardless of whether you are 9 or 29 years old.
And this overarching, connecting element has been missed in Minecraft Legends. Minecraft Legends does not feel like a game that children should play – it feels as if it was made exclusively for children. The heavily simplified style of the creatures is only part of the problem; the really exhausting part is the 3 NPC narrators who comment on everything all the time.
Not even these NPCs seem to take the Piglin threat seriously, laughing at every inappropriate moment and commenting on every little thing in an exaggerated friendliness, making it difficult to endure as an adult.
To put it loosely, I sometimes felt like I had arrived in Teletubbyland.
Minecraft Legends feels like a game that has only children as its target audience – and that’s a shame considering how well the original Minecraft was able to appeal to all age groups.
A strategy game without strategy
Minecraft Legends calls itself real-time strategy – yet strategy is virtually not necessary. It almost doesn’t matter which units are used to attack an enemy camp. The differences between the creatures are quite minimal. As long as you have melee and ranged fighters, it actually doesn’t matter which ones you take.
In most cases, you simply run into the enemy base, command your units to attack a tower or barracks, and run around a bit yourself to prevent the Piglins from killing your troops. Really planned action is not necessary at least in PvE.
The death of units feels completely meaningless anyway, as you can simply ride back 10 meters and spawn more troops right away.
This unfortunately also leads to the fact that the game simply becomes boring after a short time. What is still fun in the first few minutes quickly turns into a monotonous repetition that simply cannot convince. There is too much missing to really generate excitement or interesting gameplay.
A particularly major point of criticism for me is the controls, because they have annoyed me so much at times that I’ve rolled my eyes. It’s fun for the first few hours to drag a horde of creepers or golems with you, but being able to give them just one command each time before you can collect them all again is incredibly tiring.
Building is similarly cumbersome. If you want to quickly build a bridge to cross a gap, you first have to select the bridge in the building menu, then determine the starting position with a click, “pull” the bridge while holding the mouse button, and in the end – instead of simply letting go of the mouse – release it and click again. That feels unintuitive and you also do it wrong after hours because you’re used to it being simpler and more straightforward in other games.
In PvP mode, it’s of course a bit more tactical. However, this mode has entirely different problems, such as matchmaking or the lack of ability to communicate with teammates. Also, the fact that friends are sometimes placed in the enemy team feels strange. Unfortunately, I couldn’t enjoy that.
A campaign that does not deserve its name
A final point is the more than meager campaign. I finished it after about 4 hours. Presumably, much more focused players will complete it even faster. The replay value of the campaign is virtually non-existent. I for my part have no incentive to run through the game world again.
Especially since much in the game can simply be “cheesed”. Anyone who wants can simply build hundreds of turrets to make enemy attacks completely trivial. That’s often even the most efficient strategy, but it takes away every (already low) challenge from the game. The fact that it is even possible to clutter everything with towers is, in my opinion, a clear fault of the game. Yes, it is a freedom – but one that does not improve the game.
The game world also could not convince me. I can hardly put it into words, but the world just feels … incredibly boring. There is little to discover and the exploratory urge that usually characterizes Minecraft is virtually non-existent. Everywhere, you simply place chests for passive resource collection. Nothing in the world tempts you to travel over the next hill. There are “secrets”, but they are so monotonous that they hardly deserve the name.
All in all, Minecraft Legends is a bitter disappointment for me. It feels like the developers lost sight of the goal halfway and did not consistently think through the mechanics. In my opinion, it ultimately is a title – significantly overpriced at 40 euros – that is only ripe for early access.
What is even more shocking is that the foundations have already been laid to purchase numerous skins and DLCs with real money. And that this has a particularly disgusting undertone for a clear children’s game, I probably do not need to elaborate.
Perhaps Minecraft Legends will be good someday. But currently, I can only advise against purchasing it.
