TheMinecraftfranchise has come a long way in recent years. Having spawned several games across various genres, the brand has been expanding upon its universe and continuing to create new, unique experiences for all gamers to enjoy. The upcoming release ofMinecraft Legendsin Spring 2023 represents yet another exciting new direction for the franchise.Minecraft Legendshas multiplayer options that may prove to be some of its most significant features and ensure its longstanding appeal.
Being developed with the help of Blackbird Interactive,Minecraft Legendsis a third-person action strategy game, similar toOverlordorPikmin. Players will recruit and lead allies to aid in the battle against piglins, who have placed Nether portals to invade the Overworld. It will feature an expansive, procedurally-generated open world with dozens of mobs to defeat and also fight alongside. The setup of the story is intriguing enough and expands theMinecraftlore while adding brand-new friendly and unfriendly mobs for players to discover. Multiplayer, however, is arguably one of the most important areas that could make or breakMinecraft Legends, and so far it looks very promising.
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Minecraft Legends' Multiplayer Has Major Potential
Similar toMinecraft Dungeons,Legendswill offer cooperative multiplayer, but it will also include competitive play. This will be an official feature by Mojang, so players won’t need to rely on community-made servers to experience PvP, as is the case inMinecraft.Combining competitive multiplayer with the strategic aspects ofMinecraft Legendscould prove to be a potent mix for a unique multiplayer experience. What’s more,Minecraft’scommunity has always been devoted and passionate. If the multiplayer offers enough depth without sacrificing too much of its accessibility, it has the potential to keep those players coming back for a long time.
Little has been announced at this point regarding co-op, but from the brief gameplay and hints given so far, it seems players will work together and join in their own unique worlds to battle piglins and help stop Nether corruption. Some aspects of the gameplay forMinecraft Legendsshown thus far includesworld traversal, resource gathering, building, Allays, and combat, and all these seem present in co-op. Effective team play will seemingly come down to how well players will fulfill certain roles to provide continual support for resources, mobs, and structures.
Competitive Multiplayer Offers Surprising Unpredictability
Competitive multiplayer inMinecraft Legendswill be somewhat familiar to fans of traditional RTS games likeStarCraftorWarcraft, but with uniqueMinecraftelements thrown in the mix. The objective in PvP will be to destroy the other team’s base, but there are many components that play a role in the outcome. Resource management will be crucial to maintain structure and mob progression, allowing players to gain the upper hand in a battle with the risk of structures being destroyed by enemy players. Up to four players will be allowed on each team and the piglins from single-player will be present in multiplayer as well.
One of the more unique aspects ofLegendsthat sets it apart from other RTS games is that the multiplayer arenas will be procedurally-generated, so no two matches will be the exact same. Because of this, strategies will need to be constantly adjusted to account for varying resources, terrain, and possibly even environmental hazards. Even with these unique features, however, it is still unknown for sure if this game will provide more depth thanMojang’s previous multiplayer featured inMinecraft Dungeons. One thing that’s clear, though, is that players will be encouraged to adapt their play style depending on the environmental hand they’re dealt.
In the same way thatMinecraft Dungeonswas an attempt at the hack-and-slash action RPG genre,Minecraft Legendsis a step into the action strategy/RTS genre that looks to appeal to a wide audience. Given that this franchise has featured cross-platform play and cross-progression in its other titles, it’s expected thatLegendswill offer those same features as well. At the core ofMinecraft, the franchise has always featured resource gathering, building, and growth.Minecraft Legendsappears to be no different, embracing those elements in new ways for the multiplayer experience.
Minecraft Legendsreleases in 2023 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
