I’ve seen Minecraft Legends gameplay and I’ve been wrong about almost everything I thought about it

Minecraft Legends is the new game from Mojang and aims to blur the lines between different genres. The game is slated for release in 2023 on PlayStation, Xbox, PC, and Switch. At gamescom, MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus was able to see real gameplay for the first time and was surprised by what Legends really is.

When Minecraft Legends was announced, there was only a small trailer for the game. It was strongly reminiscent of the action RPG Minecraft Dungeons that had already been released, since you control a hero in both games.

Accordingly, I was convinced that Legends would just be a kind of Dungeons 2 with a few new ideas – like wave defense or tower defense, so that it can be called a strategy game. Although I love Diablo, the idea didn’t really appeal to me, even if the trailer was enormously popular when it was released.

At gamescom 2022, we were invited by the creators, Mojang, to take a closer look at the game. The developers, Creative Director Magnus Nedfors and Executive Producer Dennis Ries, showed me live gameplay and answered a few questions.

And now I have to say: Minecraft Legends looks so good that it will probably be the biggest surprise of gamescom for me.

We have the trailer ready for you again here:

Not an ARPG, but a real RTS

I was wrong about this: Minecraft Legends has little to do with Dungeons except for a similar look. I was wrong about pretty much everything I thought of the game so far:

• Legends is a true strategy game, not an ARPG.
• The core of the game is not looting and leveling or defending against hordes, but actively attacking enemy bases.
• The hero isn’t the focus as a ‘hero’, he’s just the commander – a special unit of the army, if you will.
• The world is procedurally generated and random, but not as expansive as vanilla Minecraft. This creates more focus on the action.

The only thing that has really come true is the connection to Minecraft. And even that is rather thin. There are still life points and resources, but you don’t build them up yourself. If you need stones, wood and more, send allies to gather for you.

The huge construction aspect is also eliminated. You don’t build buildings block by block, but in the form of finished buildings, which you use to strengthen and expand outposts. There you train units and attack enemy bases.

What is the gameplay like now? In Minecraft Legends you only play the commander of an army that you build and lead into the field. You set up outposts with buildings to repel the Piglins attacking the overworld.

If you find one of their bases, you can set up a base outside, where you then recruit units: melee fighters, ranged fighters and healers. They follow you, the commander, and you can give them orders, such as attacking certain buildings.

As usual for a strategy game, the units can even be grouped. Only the perspective is unusual, because you are much closer to the action than in Age of Empires. As a commander, you even fight yourself, for example to keep attackers at bay from your servants.

As you progress, you don’t upgrade your hero, you learn to construct new buildings and summon units, and you increase the capacity of your army. So you can deploy your troops in a variety of ways. However, as is typical of RTS, units cost resources – so there is a limit here due to your income.

There was also a new trailer for gamescom:

A new type of strategy game for up to 4 players

Is there a multiplayer mode? Minecraft Legends can be played in co-op on the new consoles and PC with up to 4 players. Older platforms like the Switch still support 2 player co-op.

Each player leads his own army and you can agree on who attacks with which units, flanks or divides you into several Piglin bases.

There is also a PvP mode, which I haven’t been able to see live in action yet.

When and where will Minecraft Legends be released? Minecraft Legends is slated for release in 2023 on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC and Nintendo Switch. If you want to see more about the game, check out our recording on MonstersAndExplosions. There I talk to our host Michael Obermeier about the game in more detail.

The interview with the bosses, in which the two were able to answer some exciting questions for me, will also be published shortly on MeinMMO.

All new games and 36 trailers of gamescom 2022 Opening Night Live

Disclaimer: Webedia Gaming (GameStar, GamePro, MeinMMO) accompanies the games fair 2022 as the official media partner of gamescom.