Mojang’s sequel improves gear, movement and co-op, but critics report a shallow loop plus technical trouble on Switch 2 and online.
About this review roundup: GAME MODE has not playtested this game. This is original analysis of the credited reviews and official information below, researched October 18, 2026. The displayed 6.5/10 is the equally weighted average of these two critics’ scores, converted to ten and rounded to one decimal. It is not a GAME MODE playtest score or a comprehensive review aggregate.
Released: September 29, 2026. Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, Nintendo Switch 2.
Into the Sift
Mojang Studios’ action-RPG spinoff is back for a sequel, developed with Double Eleven and published by Xbox Game Studios. The official Minecraft site introduces the Sift, a new dimension reached through rifts opening across the Overworld, and explains that Minecraft Dungeons II supports couch co-op, online cross-play and mixed co-op, which combines local and online players. It’s available on Windows, Steam, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. The Steam listing gives a September 29 release date and describes parties of up to four players.
Plenty to like in the Sift
Ken Talbot’s Nintendo Life review gives the Switch 2 version 6/10. Ozzie Mejia at Shacknews awards 7/10 after playing on Xbox and considers it a substantial improvement on the first game. Between them, they credit:
- a steady flow of loot, with enchantments, artifacts and new Talismans that support build experimentation (Talbot);
- co-op that felt seamless and much more entertaining than playing alone (Talbot);
- the new jump, satisfying combat and a bigger world (Mejia);
- an engaging endgame and a gear system that lets you keep leveling favorite items at shops (Mejia).
What breaks, and where
Talbot: a thin loop and uneven Switch 2 performance
Talbot believes the move to an open world spreads the formula too thin: builds are mostly used against the same enemies in similar locations, and the main story lasts around 12 to 15 hours. He also reports uneven performance in both docked and handheld modes, plus bugs that included invisible, invincible enemies requiring a hard reset.
Mejia: unstable online play
Mejia’s frustration was online play: disconnects that sent him back to the hub and forced him to restart dungeons, rubber-banding during boss fights, and characters that can’t move between online and offline modes. His advice is to play with everyone in the same room.
A couch game first
Both reviews agree on the core appeal: Minecraft Dungeons II is an accessible loot game that comes alive in co-op. They disagree about where it falls down. Talbot’s concerns are the shallow loop and Switch 2 performance, while Mejia enjoyed the game itself and found local play great fun but ran into online instability. Talbot also describes mixed local and online co-op as seamless, so platform and timing may shape your experience as much as the design.
Our reading is that this is a family-friendly co-op game first and a deep action RPG second, and the average comes from two critics who found real strengths alongside real problems. Mojang has since released a Steam hotfix that fixes a range of client and server crashes. We have not verified whether it resolves the Switch 2 performance or the online problems described above.
The buying call
If you want a light action RPG to play on the couch with kids or friends, Minecraft Dungeons II has a clear audience, and its $29.99 standard price on Steam keeps the risk modest. Two groups should pause first:
- Solo players looking for a deep build-crafting challenge may be disappointed.
- Switch 2 owners and groups that mainly play online should check recent patch notes before buying.
Cited scores and sources
- Nintendo Life: 6/10 (Switch 2).
- Shacknews: 7/10 (Xbox).
Calculation: (6.0 + 7.0) ÷ 2 = 6.5/10, rounded. These are selected reviews, not every published score.
For a wider view, OpenCritic listed a Top Critic Average of 74 for the game when we checked on October 18, 2026.
Official game information and artwork source. Artwork: Mojang Studios / Xbox Game Studios.
The Verdict: Mixed reception
Average of the cited critic scores, normalized to 10. See the methodology and individual scores above.
