Ever heard of a little game called Minecraft? You know, super successful open world sandbox adventuring game? Here’s the thing – while Minecraft has been a uber-success for Mojang and Microsoft, the attempts to branch off with other games have been…well, let’s just start this party and go from there, yeah?
Minecraft Dungeons: Hit or Miss?
Another, albeit more successful, game spun off from the popularity of Minecraft is Minecraft Dungeons. This game took the player into the dungeon diving experience from the original game, but turned it into a dungeon crawler with RPG elements. Cool, right?
It actually kinda was, and had decent support for about three years. Think of it akin to Diablo, collecting loot, obtaining enchantments points per level up (think like runes from Diablo). It’s a fun little jaunt, albeit a little shallow. Great for the target audience of kids though!
With the base game, there’s plenty of DLC available to purchase to expand your experience. Each DLC pack adds new biomes, enemies and gear.
It wasn’t until September 2023 when the team announced the end of updates and support for the game. This means you won’t expect anymore content released, but the game is still playable on all major systems and platforms.
Verdict: HIT
Minecraft Earth: Hit or Miss?
Augemented Reality, or AR, games have been on the rise over the last decade. Starting with Pokemon GO back in 2016, it seems like every franchise has attempted some form of an AR, geolocation-based mobile game. Mojang Studios did too with Minecraft Earth, releasing fully in October 2019.
Honestly, it was a great premise of being able to build objects from items you gathered on screen. Interactions were brief but fun and it had the Minecraft name that should’ve given the game a long life.
But then COVID-19 happened.
With lockdowns hitting parts of the globe around March 2020, it was a massive hit to the growth of Minecraft Earth. So much so, that Mojang pushed the final update and build of the game in January 2021 before sunsetting it in June 2021.
Could this have been a true hit if circumstances didn’t say otherwise? Absolutely. But, a shortened lifespan, plus some issues with bugs and microtransactions make this one a miss.
Verdict: MISS (by circumstances)
Minecraft Legends: Hit or Miss?
I feel like every game franchise has that one red-headed stepchild that wreaks havoc on the family name. In my humble opinion, that would be Minecraft Legends.
The premise is cool enough – a real-time strategy game in the Minecraft world. This should be a hit. Instead, what the audience received was a half-baked strategy game with a veryyyy long tutorial and a failure on the devs for overpromising and underdelivering.
Of all of the spin offs, Minecraft Legends had the shortest turn around time on release to sunset. The game launched in April 2023, only to have its legs cut out from under it on January 2024.
You heard me right. Eight. Months.
What.
I don’t know how a game like this flops when it has the Minecraft brand behind it. This one is easy.
Should you want to have this experience for yourself, the game is still (somehow) available to purchase on all major platforms.
Verdict: MISS
What are your takes on the world of Minecraft spin offs? Are there any game genres you hope Mojang expands to in the future? Let us know through the comments below or tweet at us on X! Also, check out our article on the Steam Deck Pros and Cons – Steam Deck HQ has a quality article detailing how to get Minecraft up and running on the Steam Deck. Happy Gaming!
You must be logged in to post a comment.