Minecraft Dungeons 2 Review: Fun for an Afternoon, Forgotten by Dinner

Minecraft Dungeons 2 is a brief, shallow ARPG that's easy to pick up and just as easy to forget. The Sift realm and new jump button are nice, but don't expect much depth.

Ever finish a game in one lazy afternoon and struggle to remember much about it the next day? That's pretty much the Minecraft Dungeons 2 experience in a nutshell. It's a brief, forgettable ARPG that's as thin as they come, from its barebones story to its shallow gameplay, and you can see almost all it has to offer in the span of an afternoon.

Now, simple and easygoing action is kinda the whole point here. There's nothing actively offensive about this humdrum adventure — but there's also very little worth getting excited about. If you're just looking to spend a mindless night or two swinging swords with your friends, you could do a lot worse. Just don't come in expecting Diablo-level depth.

If you missed the first one, here's the pitch: Minecraft Dungeons 2 takes the pixelated items and goofy mobs from Minecraft and throws them into an extremely light (and noticeably less gory) version of Diablo. You'll delve into dungeons, smack around swarms of monsters, and tackle big ol' slobbery bosses while hoovering up loot. But where most ARPGs lean hard into dizzying skill trees and stat-heavy gear, this one strips most of that away for a much simpler framework. That makes it more approachable and, almost equally, less interesting.

The sequel does make some welcome improvements over the original. You get more customizable characters, the ability to jump, and armor slots bumped from one to four. That jump button adds some needed platforming and light puzzles, plus a new jump attack for dropping on enemies. There are also more enchanting options for weapons and armor, unlocked by conquering dungeons and completing quests, along with new artifacts that offer passive buffs like increased ranged damage. All decent steps up — but the moment-to-moment gameplay remains largely unchanged, and smacking samey zombies and Illagers runs thin quickly.

Buildcrafting is where things get frustrating. Since there's no class system, how your build feels is largely at the mercy of the RNG gods. One reviewer wanted to play a rogue-type but kept finding big swords and tank items, ending up as the crew's default melee fighter. And it barely matters anyway — every player has the same dodge skill, base speed, and weapon options, and you won't find a shield for blocking or anything like that. The few equipment slots offer perks like increased DPS, better healing, or fireworks that explode and damage everything nearby, and weapons each have just a single attack pattern to spam. Enchantments like faster movement after a kill or piercing ranged attacks are neat, but they don't shake up the hollow hacking and slashing.

The best part of the whole package is the new area called the Sift, a magical, soul-powered realm filled with goat things, poisonous water, and more teal landscapes than was previously thought possible. It adds some fresh color and creatures to the Minecraft universe. The roughly seven-hour story has your unnamed hero squaring off against an evil cabal of Illagers who gain access to the Sift — and honestly, that's about the whole plot. Cutscenes and conversations are basically a vague outline that sends you to and fro to kill things and save the world.

So if you didn't play the first one and want a mindless co-op night, this could scratch the itch. Just know what you're getting: a game that often feels like it merely wears a thin Minecraft skin. Will you be picking this up, or are you waiting for something meatier?