Minecraft Dungeons common epithet of ‘Diablo for kids’ may sound like a jibe, but it is a description that comes with a lot of merit. Building a co-operative action role-playing game for all the family is not an easy task at it seems, meshing hack and slash fantasy brawling and the constant improvement that comes from loads of lovely loot with an accessible kid-friendly veneer. In this, Minecraft Dungeons is a clear success.
It has a headstart, of course; my 7-year old son is already aware of Minecraft’s blocky creepers and mobs splashed across many of his t-shirts. That familiarity is a boon and developer Mojang’s penchant for castles, mystical temples and pixelated battleaxes makes Gauntlet style dungeon-crawling an easy fit. Its story is simple; a lone villager has been corrupted by wicked magic and has sent villainous monsters into the world. Your job is to track down this ‘Arch-Illager’ and bring an end to his reign of terror. Largely by smacking zombies around a bit and getting nice new gear as reward.
Its combat is delightfully simple, stabbing the A button wields your melee weapon, while the right trigger fires off an arrow. It’s all you need to start with, the game easing you into its core loop which proves itself to be intuitive and satisfying. Minecraft Dungeons’ smartest trick from then on is assuming its audience is new to the wiles of loot, layering on complexity in a measured way to keep things interesting. Soon you will be unlocking axes and spears with special buffs, crossbows that fire off a clutch of arrows in an expanding fan and a sweeping collection of magical ‘artifacts’ assigned to the face buttons that add to your repertoire.
If this is all sounding a little gritty for a family-friendly jaunt, then fear not, it is wrapped in blocky charm while artifacts will often have a Minecraftian twist. You can summon llamas to help you in battle or, my personal favourite, load up firework arrows that explode across the screen in a whoosh of sound and colour. There is still an edge to it –the appearance of dark ghoul the EnderMan always brings a frightening frisson (even for grown-ups)– but it feels like an apt introduction.
