Minecraft Dungeons 2 Review: Bigger, Bolder, Still No Mining

Still no mining. Still no crafting. So is Minecraft Dungeons 2 even a Minecraft game? According to the review, the dungeon-crawling side of things is going great guns — bigger, better, and impressively streamlined for younger players. If you're after classic video gamey fun, this one's aimed right at you.

The story kicks off fast: three Illagers have opened a portal to the Sift, an all-new dimension in the Minecraft universe. That means genuinely new scenery — even if it looks a bit cellophaney, like 1960s Star Trek. The Sift also brings time-limited, global modifiers called 'Sift Tides', which throw harder mobs, decreased cooldown timers, or stop passive soul generation entirely. It affects your magic, though the reviewer says it still feels the same to actually play.

New enemies show up too, which matters because the Overworld's mobs look way too familiar if you played the original. And then there's the headline addition: you can jump. Yes, really. It opens up basic 3D platforming with forgiving collision detection, fun new jump attacks, and even modifiers that turn jumps into special moves that scorch the ground ahead. You can hop over some boss projectiles, which makes everything feel more arcadey — and that old school vibe is exactly the point. Movement is super-solid, with only a few slowdowns on Xbox Series X at a Storm Tower, and it's noticeably easier to see what's happening than in the first game.

Co-op is where things get really fun. You can play locally, online, or a mix of both — though characters created as 'offline' can't go online and vice versa. Currency splits 50/50, and loot drops for specific players, so a newbie can't swipe a Level 100 pickaxe; they'll get their own low-level drop instead. A veteran might have to revive the rookie more often, but the review says it works really well. Expect shouting matches about healing up and NOT EATING THE FOOD UNTIL WE NEED IT. OK?!

There's so much loot that you'll spend almost as much time in menus as in dungeons. Armor now splits into chest, legs, and head for extra depth, and you can non-destructively disenchant gear. A new quick inventory lets you swap without the full screen, though you'll probably take turns going full screen anyway because sharing great gear is half the fun. The main story runs around 10 hours — a little longer than the first campaign — but the reviewer still wished it lasted longer, and says it gets a bit samey after five hours.

Endgame brings Soul Storms in random, time-limited locations with harder mobs and three damage-sponge storm towers. Best tackled in co-op, they get rough when prior bosses spawn mid-maelstrom, and the forthcoming DLC promises even greater tests. But greater difficulty can breed frustration, and combat shifts from skill-centric early on to keeping your health above zero while alternating magic attacks. There are also bugs: getting stuck in scenery by jumping where you shouldn't, keys disappearing, and followers vanishing. Quitting and reloading fixes it, but you might waste time wondering what you're doing wrong.

Despite the irritations, Minecraft Dungeons 2 is called a classic example of how the first game should have been done — impressively balanced, rewarding experimentation and careful enchantments, while still feeling like Minecraft. There's depth for those who seek it, and younger siblings will have just as much fun spamming attack and screaming when an Enderman randomly shows up. It launches September 29, 2026 on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch 2, and Nintendo Switch. Will you be picking this up?