I’ll open up with an observation my colleague Whippy made. “When you come to think of it, the boundaries with the Minecraft IP are limitless”. The more I thought about this the more I believe it to be true. I have avidly played Minecraft and Minecraft Dungeons, and now I get to play Mojang Studios’ and Blackbird Interactive’s, ‘Minecraft Legends’.

The Piglins have had enough of living in The Nether and have portalled through with a great army to the Overworld. The three spirit guardians, Action, Knowledge, and Foresight, watch on in dismay as their realm is overrun and corrupted. They enlist in a hero, a Steve-level hero, and this is where you come in and step up. Entrusted with the Lute of Gathering, Flame of Creation, and the Banner of Courage, you must build up and command an army to defeat your new swine foes. The story is pretty solid at the beginning but wanes off as you approach the Piglins from your own angle.

With an endearing and comprehensive tutorial, you will soon master the controls and gameplay. The game is very much a real-time strategy, tower defence style that utilises the D-pad the most. The Lute of Gathering will send out Allay, fairy-like sprites to collect resources and to build any structures. Their Flame of Creation will give you blueprints for structures such as turrets or spawners for your mob allies, and more importantly, your new friends that will help along the way.

The Banner of Courage will direct your mobs to you or in a direction you would like them to go. This can be a very simple method on your buttons or a more comprehensive version that will single out categories such as melee, ranged, or even legendary mobs, enabling you to send them in certain directions.

The map, while not huge, is very detailed though, with villages that need protecting using turrets and buffing structures, and Piglin encampments that need to be demolished using your newly formed alliances. There is a vast range of enemies too, with varying degrees of difficulty to take down, and it’s so charming as you team up with Creepers, Zombies, and Skeles who were once your enemies for a common cause. At the Well of Fate, you will have access to songs and ‘Towers of Improvement’ from the spirit guardians that will build buffs for you, like access to more resources, storage, Allays, Power Towers, etc.

Most of this relates to their Campaign, which is also Online Co-Op compatible, however, there are also quite a lot of extra features to keep you entertained. Versus Mode allows you to host or join a game of 4 v 4 where your team must protect your inner base from the opposing team. This requires building up resources and defences while attacking the enemy. Unfortunately, due to pre-launch access, I queued multiple times over an hour and didn’t find anyone to test this mode out with.

Lost Legends and Myths is a mode where you can download free and possibly paid challenges to test your skill and earn items. There is also a Marketplace to buy skins in typical Mojang style, but these are just cute little add-ons and not a necessary part of gameplay.

The graphics are pretty brilliant, it all feels so Minecraft but with some really next-level design. Rays of light blast through the clouds, water ripples and glistens, and embers fall through the sky as you pass through areas inflicted by the Nether. You really get lost in the fact that they are only boxes – the environments and NPCs are that detailed. The cinematic cutscenes are also top-notch, rendered to movie quality, and as interesting and energetic as you would expect. Everything is so glossy and magical to look at.

The voice acting is also impressive, with each guardian being voiced with such enthusiasm and charm. The superb voice acting balances out well with the grunts of the mobs and your own silence as the main character.

If you want a true commendation, I was almost late submitting this review as it was that addictive to play, and it had me wanting to progress that little bit further. Mojang knows that Minecraft, in itself, is a winner, but as they branch out to different genres, Minecraft Legends shows the true skill and passion behind these teams. I look forward to seeing how they keep the game fresh with extra content in the future.

Written by: Stacey