We're less than a day from Minecraft Dungeons 2 releasing into the world, yet reviews for the game have quickly begun spreading like wildfire.
At first glance, this sequel to 2020's completely unexpected action-RPG take on Minecraft is enjoying an above-average, positive reception, with an overall Metacritic score of 76 and an OpenCritic score of 85.
But how does it fare compared to the first game, and is it worth your time and money? Here's what some of the most popular review sites had to say about Minecraft Dungeons 2:
Minecraft Dungeons 2 Reviews
- IGN (6/10): "Minecraft Dungeons is a beautiful and fun dungeon crawler with a simple but tried-and-true set of systems in place. It plays it extremely safe, though, without bringing anything mining or crafting spins to the genre to accompany Minecraft’s signature look and feel. Still, it's just so damn charming, and so fun, it's hard to fault it for going the safe route. With tons of loot, secret areas to uncover, and progressively more aggressive difficulty levels to unlock, Minecraft Dungeons has a fair amount of replayability beyond its relatively short six to eight-hour story mode. But who plays Minecraft for the story, anyway?"
- Destructoid (9/10): "A hallmark of excellence. There may be flaws, but they are negligible and won't cause massive damage. Expanding and improving on the original game in most conceivable ways, Minecraft Dungeons 2 is an excellent advancement in this ARPG spin-off for one of gaming's most beloved and iconic franchises."
- Gamespot (7/10): "Where Minecraft Dungeons was a charming introduction to the dungeon-crawler genre, Dungeons 2 builds a deeper action-RPG within the same familiar, blocky framework. While it doesn’t completely escape the limitations of its predecessor, Minecraft Dungeons 2 is a more ambitious sequel that finally gives its loot, builds, and world the depth that was missing, even if a few rough edges remain."
- Gamesradar+ (7/10): "Minecraft Dungeons 2 scores zero points for originality and feels very much like its predecessor, but when you're trying to perfect a formula, it's not the time to add wild new ingredients. The result is a polished and enjoyable dungeon crawler that children and adults alike can enjoy whether solo, online, or next to each other on the couch."
- Gameinformer (7.3/10): "Minecraft Dungeons II proves this spin-off franchise can stand on its own and improve with subsequent entries at a time when Xbox is refocusing on its biggest IP. There’s plenty of room to expand, improve, and let me reach that endgame feeling of satisfaction much sooner, though. Right now, Minecraft Dungeons II is simply a straightforward, entry-level action-RPG."
More of the same dungeoneering, but better Minecrafted
The consensus of Minecraft Dungeons 2 seems to be that it doesn't try to reinvent the ARPG genre, but rather refines the elements that players and critics enjoyed in the first Minecraft Dungeons (which we gave a 4.5/5 review score many years ago).
Character-build variety is more diverse, combat and traversal feel more in-depth and nicer to control, there's a wider interconnected world to explore, and plenty of post-game activities to keep players busy for a while after the credits roll.
Some critics noted that Minecraft Dungeons 2's gameplay can get repetitive after a while. Plus, it has a bloat problem regarding the amount of loot you can obtain, and there are a fair number of bugs that force players to reset the game in order to progress.
Either way, it appears that Minecraft Dungeons 2 sounds like a fun weekend romp for the whole family and a decent entry-level ARPG to introduce young kids to the genre before moving them up to more intimidating titles like Diablo or Path of Exile.
Minecraft Dungeons 2 is set to release on September 29, 2026, for Xbox Series X|S (with Xbox Play Anywhere support), Xbox Game Pass, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam and Windows.
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