Minecraft Dungeons II Gives Us a New Look at the Sift
Yesterday, during the annual Minecraft Live stream, we got a fresh look at Minecraft Dungeons II, with a handful of the developers jumping in to show off the sequel. While the brief gameplay showcase gave fans a taste of the new combat, mechanics, and Overworld zones coming to Dungeons II, it also gave us our deepest look yet at Minecraft’s newest dimension, the Sift.
Exploring the Sift
During yesterday’s Minecraft Live showcase, the developers showed off several of the brand-new mechanics arriving with Minecraft Dungeons II. Some of these are simple but impactful additions, such as new jumping attacks, changes to the armor system, and Trinkets. However, the biggest highlight was easily our first real look at the Sift.
From our brief trip into the Sift, we got to see several brand-new cosmetics, environments, mechanics, and enemies that make this dimension feel very different from anything we’ve seen before. One interesting detail is that the Sniffer, one of Minecraft’s newer mobs, is also in the Sift. Hopefully, its inclusion here gives the mob a little more relevance moving forward. The developers also deliberately hid how they reached the new dimension, meaning we’ll have to figure out how to get there ourselves when Dungeons II launches.
Secrets Within
Another major highlight is Ichor, a strange water source found throughout the Sift. Rather than simply damaging your health, Ichor also drains your souls, making it one of the more dangerous environmental hazards we’ve seen so far. This also supports the idea that the Sift is some kind of realm of souls within the Minecraft universe, so hopefully it plays a larger role in the game’s story.
Lastly, we got a brief look at a Sift boss: the Monarch. This late-game boss has a particularly interesting ability that allows it to conjure, or possibly separate, its own soul to create a clone of itself. It’s a pretty unique mechanic that we haven’t really seen from any other Minecraft mob before. While the developers described the Monarch as a late-game boss, we still don’t know if it’s the only boss found within the Sift. If it is, the Monarch could end up being one of the dimension’s major encounters, potentially putting it in the same conversation as bosses like the Warden or the Wither.