Minecraft Legends Review

ign.com:

A good strategy game is ultimately one about choice. Which units to create, where to allocate resources, which strategies to implement. The right decisions lead to victory, while the wrong ones force you to adapt and adjust or else suffer bitter defeat. I found myself at the crossroads of these decisions time and again as I played Minecraft Legends, Mojang and Blackbird Interactive's simplified take on an action-RTS. It doesn’t always do a perfect job opening the door of this often intimidating genre to a wider audience, but the way it largely manages to streamline things without losing most of those important tactical moments is what makes Minecraft Legends work.

Simplicity is one of Minecraft Legends greatest strengths. Evil Piglins from the Nether are invading, because that's what evil Piglins do, and it’s your job to build up the forces needed to drive them back. You’ll do that by exploring a procedurally generated continent for resources, allies, and secrets to discover, destroying Piglin bases and defending friendly settlements from the invaders as you do. There are no levels, and the minimalistic story is mostly just cutscenes announcing the arrival of larger Piglin forces. Once you’ve cleared all the Piglins out, victory is yours, and you can start another run from scratch on a brand new map.

Minecraft’s iconic blocky style has been well established across its many spin-offs and adaptations by now, but it's still extremely well implemented here. The entire world looks like it was pulled straight from the main Minecraft series, with landscapes, NPCs, and blocks of ore that are identical to their counterparts. It all looks great thanks to a vibrant color palette and some excellent lighting – as is Minecraft