This streamlined gameplay might not be for those who want the simple life of a wood cabin atop a hill, but that's what traditional Minecraft is for. Instead, you just collect a bunch of resources from a given area, and can build ramps, walls, archer towers, and more in a matter of seconds. Through these tools, especially the lute, you don't need to spend hours punching trees and taking the time to build bases block-by-block. The gameplay here marks another major departure from the Minecraft formula, as your traditional tools of a pickaxe, sword, axe, and shovel are traded for your lute, which you use to send allays to go collect materials for you, your banner to control your units and your fire to summon them. You can also take the offensive in Minecraft Legends and take out Piglin outposts to stop further attacks. Early levels mostly consist of you and your army of golems travelling to different settlements, stopping a Piglin invasion, and setting up better defences for the next time the adorable, evil critters come running.

It is an excuse for you to roam the world and fight the Piglins.

The narrative for Minecraft Legends - at least in the first hour or so - isn't anything special, but it has no need to be. When speaking to the developers, they described this not necessarily as a canon Minecraft story, but rather a myth that could exist in the world, a story that villagers could tell before they sent their children to bed. There's a clear narrative here of you being the hero, rather than just making up your own tale in a survival world. A fairly simple set up, but one that also comes with a lot of information on how this legend differs from the usual Minecraft experience, with the first major separation being in this 'legend' aspect of Minecraft Legends.

In Minecraft Legends, you take on the role of a hero who is brought into a world in order to save it from a Piglin invasion. For everything that is familiar, there is something fresh in this new RTS spin on the blocky formula we know so well. The third-person view might be a bit odd at first depending how you play regular Minecraft, but there are plenty more changes that are immediately noticeable in Legends, too. As soon as you saddle up your horse and take your first steps in Minecraft Legends you will immediately recognise your surroundings.

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