Minecraft Dungeons (Download) (Xbox One/SX)

Minecraft Dungeons is missing conspicuous parts of what gave the namesake its identity--most noticeably, breaking through walls to explore underground caverns and using the found materials to craft. But because it's such a successful departure from its predecessor, Dungeons shows how flexible the franchise has become.

Minecraft Dungeons’ padded-out midgame is repetitive even among its grind-heavy peers.

Minecraft Dungeons could easily have been “My First Dungeon Crawler”, but it’s so much more than that. It does a great job of taking the genre’s hooks – the waves of enemies, the pervasive drive for better loot – and making them palatable and approachable for a wide-ranging audience.

Simple and fun to play, Minecraft Dungeons is a good entry-level dungeon crawler, but it doesn't dig too deep.

Still, Minecraft Dungeons is undoubtedly entertaining, and despite all my gripes I find myself being pulled back in, drawn to take on ever-more difficult challenges as I grind toward better gear. In particular, I’m eagerly awaiting my friends to join me. It’s just a shame there isn’t more content for us all to dive into together when the time comes.

Although Minecraft Dungeons might not have the depth that a lot of hardcore dungeon crawler fans are looking for, it's an easy game to pick up and play at pretty much any point: solo or otherwise. Minecraft has proven itself to be quite the enduring and endearing IP over the past decade, and Dungeons is now partially responsible for that legacy.