Notch, the legendary creator of Minecraft, would have no idea how far his creation would go. Since its official launch in 2011, Minecraft has grown into a franchise that rivals the biggest in the video game industry. Minecraft is not just its amazing solo adventure or emerging gameplay, it is its own art style and setting as recognizable as “anime style” or “The Simpsons”.
Mojang Studios and Blackbird Interactive wanted to explore this setting and the unique nature of Minecraft to take it to a new level. After exploring isometric and dungeon crawling games with Minecraft Dungeons, now comes Minecraft Legends. A real-time strategy game that completely changes the gameplay of Minecraft without losing its characteristic essence.
Piglins, those damned sons of pigs
It all starts with an almost World of Warcraft situation that approaches the homage to the legendary Blizzard game. In a peaceful and idyllic Minecraft world, some villagers are living peacefully when a portal to another world opens. Orcs won’t get out of there, but much worse: Piglins! The piggies that inhabit the Nether open an obsidian portal and begin to invade the world of villagers who say “um?” The poor little villagers are not alone in this, some cosmic entities called action, clairvoyance and knowledge will try to help them survive.
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Then the three friendly creatures search for the hero leading the villagers’ revolution. In a playful nod to classic Minecraft, a player is digging underground for the precious diamond when asked to help rescue the villagers. From here our special mentors will give us a horse and some helpers and send us on an adventure.
The game is fully translated into Spanish and dubbed, which is a pleasure to enjoy its few dialogues and tutorial phases. The story, although not complex at all, is friendly and funny, even with a background that takes us to Pixar or Disney films. Piglins represent the industrialization ending the idyllic natural surroundings of the villagers. We, advocates of peace, must expel them with the help of all the inhabitants of the common world of Minecraft.
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me my armies
As we have already said, Minecraft Legends is a strategy game. The main goal is to create armies and gather enough troops to destroy the Piglin bases. To do this we will have mechanics that will take us back to the base game at any time. Don’t think for a second that the “farming” thing is over because this isn’t classic Minecraft. The main way to collect troops is neither more nor less than creating them, and for this we need materials. The armies are made up of very cute creatures called golems, which represent their abilities depending on their composition.
For example, wooden golems fire arrow-like projectiles, while stone golems hit melee fighters. As we progress in the campaign our knowledge will increase and we will unlock other types of golems that we can create with different skills. Also, due to their material, these little creatures have their own defensive properties, so we advise you not to let your wooden golems near the lava.
The management of the armies is very simple and can be summed up in two actions: “Come with me” and “Go there”. From here, our mission is to gather the golems in a concentric circle around us and get them to follow us to the goal. At this point we have to point out that the AI of our soldiers is very good and they are rarely left behind, despite the sometimes large distances that we have to cover. As we get used to this mechanic, we will also learn to select specific units and send them to carry out precise tasks. For example, some golems are more useful than others depending on the structures.
One of the most positive points was the experience with our character. Although we can do little more than run and jump with the horse, we also have a diamond sword (which does not wear out). As if we were the Cid Campeador of Minecraft, we can destroy rows of pigs with a clean sword. In our experience, sending the golems to structure while keeping the piglins at bay with the sword can be a very good strategy.
Gathering resources is always the worst
As we told you before, in Legends we have a couple of assistants who will help us with farming. But the truth is, Minecraft Legends is so immersive when it comes to combat that you forget about gathering materials. We must be very attentive to our surroundings and spend a little time planning this if we don’t want him to let us down in full attack.
Picking up stone and wood is the best, they’re all over the map and you’ll always have enough. The problems arise when other materials such Red stone or the unbelievable Hiero they become necessary. Whenever you see a beta of things like this, stop because you’ll appreciate it in the future. Luckily the game knows we didn’t come here to prick like damn. So the helper system will allow us to let them do their job while running halfway across the map with our golem army.
The attack, a world of possibilities
Minecraft has always been characterized by offering its users infinite possibilities to perform any action. The construction mechanics could not be missing. In Minecraft Legends we can build structures thanks to the helpers. These structures range from buildings that help us improve our bases and crafting knowledge to authentic siege engines that destroy the Piglin bases. Everyone has their own style when it comes to fortress attacks, so we’ll have to decide which one is ours before we get down to business.
The ability to team up with the squad to build raid bases and siege engines makes our teeth grow weary as we envision cooperative play. When you’re out with a handful of friends dedicated to attacking and others dedicated to building, fun is 100% guaranteed. The bad thing, of course, is the materials. Forget about building towers and ramps if you haven’t spent time gathering materials.
Management on consoles and map navigation
We were able to play Minecraft Legends on an Xbox Series S and the experience was exceptional. The game runs perfectly on this console and we didn’t experience any frame rate drops or glitches at any point (except one with the prancing horse that happens sometimes). But while we really enjoyed Minecraft Legends on console, it’s noticeable that handling it with a controller can be complex. All the actions we perform are done with the trigger set and the crosshead, which can be tricky, especially in the beginning. So we are sure that the keyboard and mouse experience will be perfect.
Of course, as you move around the map, these inconveniences disappear. Moving the controller through the different biomes in Minecraft Legends feels smooth and comfortable. Sometimes the walk is so enjoyable that you’ll hate having to save the villagers from the damn piglins instead of wandering around. Both the soundtrack and the artistic setting help a lot, which recreates the best Minecraft we’ve seen so far.
The game takes place on a closed map full of villages and fortresses, we must defend the former and attack the latter. In addition, the map will show points of interest that we must investigate in order to improve our skills, which will give you a specific exploration point, which although not much is a pleasant surprise, although considering that it is it , comes up short about Minecraft. For those who don’t like hiking, there are also teleportation points (we can even create them) that will speed up our movement around the map. Something very important, especially in Piglin attacks.
In short, an entertaining strategy game that will delight those who approach the genre for the first time, although it may not be very innovative for lovers of the genre.
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