One Minecraft feature that has been missing in spin-off titles

Minecraft's success has led to multiple spin-offs, and while the most notable offshoots of the sandbox game are quite different (Dungeons being an action RPG and Legends being a strategy game), they both lack a core component that makes the original game so successful. Specifically, both Legends and Dungeons fall short when it comes to building and overall creative freedom and expression.

This isn't to say that building is completely absent from some of Minecraft's major spin-offs, but it isn't captured in the same form the base game enjoys. This is understandable since the spin-offs are very different genre-wise.

Still, creative building is one of the essences of Mojang's original sandbox game, and not having it as a focus may explain why Legends/Dungeons' popularity tapered off.

NOTE: This article is subjective and reflects the writer's opinion.

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Why the lack of creative freedom in Minecraft's spin-offs have hampered their popularity

Building in Minecraft Legends is essentially relegated to spawning pre-fab structures. (Image via Mojang)

When it comes to Minecraft's spin-offs, both Dungeons and Legends are much more focused on combat overall. Building does exist in Legends, but it mostly involves the creation of pre-fabricated structures to spawn armies, ward off attackers, and so on. Players can make interesting creations nonetheless but do so by using the structures provided within the game's pre-fab framework.

Meanwhile, building in Dungeons is left out in favor of creating skill and equipment loadouts for the player character to help them explore dungeons and battle mobs and bosses. The structures found in this action RPG spin-off already exist in the world and exist to be visited by players. Creating different character builds is fun, but it can't always compare to the base game's creative freedom.

Even though Dungeons and Legends are two very different games when compared to each other and the original game, they still carry the Minecraft name. When that name is evoked, fans think of the ability to create just about anything they can imagine, and every player expresses their creativity in different ways, which is what helps make the original game so incredibly successful.

Put plainly, there's only so much enjoyment to be found by progressing through Dungeons/Legends' content before it gets a bit repetitive. Even with multiplayer modes in both spin-offs, players are relegated to the gameplay framework that the games have set forward without much wiggle room for players to make structures and builds that they can uniquely call their own.

Minecraft Dungeons is much more combat and character-build-focused instead of emphasizing building. (Image via Mojang)

Minecraft's near-unlimited potential for creativity makes the game immensely replayable, but the same can't exactly be said for Dungeons and Legends. After defeating countless mobs, exhausting multiplayer options, creating several character builds or base designs, and sampling all the content that the spin-offs provide, a lack of building limits the games' replayability.

The Dungeons and Legends spin-offs are still enjoyed by plenty of players, but compared to the millions that continue to play Mojang's original sandbox title monthly, they simply can't measure up. While that's often the fate of spin-offs, offering more creative freedom during gameplay may have gone a long way for fans of Dungeons and Legends and the lifespan of both games.