Minecraft Dungeons II Review Round-Up: Critics Settle on a Solid 'Good'

The first Minecraft Dungeons is the game that finally got my nephew to stop asking me to "just do the hard bit" for him. He'd charge in swinging, I'd trail behind picking up the loot he ignored, and somehow it worked for both of us. So of course I've been refreshing the review aggregators all week for the sequel.

We've already published [our own Minecraft Dungeons II review](/en/news/minecraft-dungeons-ii-review-bigger-smarter-a-bit-padded), so I won't walk you through the new features again. This one's about the bigger picture: what the rest of the critics think, and where they disagree.

As of October 2, Metacritic lists a Metascore of 75 for the Xbox Series X version, which has the most reviews (31 so far). The user score there is 8.2, from 39 ratings. On OpenCritic, the Top Critic Average is 77, and 73% of critics recommend it, across 37 reviews.

If you saw higher numbers earlier this week, like a 76 on Metacritic or an 85 on OpenCritic, those were snapshots from a smaller first batch of reviews. More reviews came in and the averages settled a little lower. Still good. Just not quite as shiny.

Where the critics split

The average hides a surprisingly wide spread. Destructoid loved it and gave it a 9/10, calling it an excellent step up from the original in almost every way. GameSpot landed on 7/10, liking the deeper systems but noting some rough edges. IGN was the coolest of the big outlets with a 6/10, mostly because it thinks the game plays things too safe. GamesRadar+ came away positive too, describing it as a family-friendly take on Diablo. Honestly, that's the most accurate one-line pitch I've seen.

Metacritic's breakdown tells the same story: 58% of critic reviews are positive, 42% are mixed, and not one is negative. Nobody's calling it a masterpiece, but nobody's calling it a mess either.

Why I'm not worried about the mid-70s

The gap between critics and players makes total sense to me. This is a co-op game with drop-in, drop-out play, priced as a smaller release ($29.99 on the North American eShop), and it's on Game Pass from day one. That's a "we've got an hour before dinner" game. It's a first action RPG for a kid who already knows every creeper by name.

So here's my gentle take. If you're a hardcore ARPG player, IGN's 6 is probably your number and you'll get bored. If you're picking something to play with a little one, or you just want something cozy and colourful to switch your brain off with, a mid-70s average might undersell what it does for you.

Me? I already know what we're playing this weekend. He'll charge in, I'll collect the loot. Some traditions don't need reinventing.

Image: Xbox México / CC BY 3.0, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Minecraft_Creeper.png