Those of you who didn’t pick up the DuckTales remaster on Steam have officially missed out, as Capcom has pulled the game from all digital storefronts. While there’s likely to be a few extra keys floating around cyberspace, they’ll likely come at a major premium. Of course, really dedicated Huey, Dewey, and Louie fans could track down an original NES cartridge and play that - or pick up a secondhand physical copy of the remaster.
However, fans of duck-based video gaming need not fret, as DuckTales has found new life in the form of one of Microsoft’s most widely-acclaimed gaming entities. That’s right, Scrooge McDuck will come as an optional skin alongside the T-800 from Terminator in Gears 5. It’s an ambitious crossover that’s bound to have major implications for the franchise as a whole.
Alright, not really.
However, the recently-announced DuckTales Minecraft crossover feels equally out-of-the-blue and unnecessary. Though the title’s child-friendly vibe suits the source material, there can’t have been much of a demand for this mashup. Seriously, the original cartoon only ran from 1987 to 1990, and the 2015 reboot… well, we’d be willing to bet that most people haven’t even heard of that.
Weird marketing strategies aside, what actually comes with this DLC pack? Or, more appropriately, how much bang do you get for your duck? Well, the official Minecraft site touts a new adventure map, 30+ new character skins, and 50 new collectibles. The adventure map claims to recreate many of the “iconic” locations from the cartoon, but you’ll forgive us for not remembering the City of Duckburg or Mount Neverrest with any real clarity.
Still, it’s nice to know that the devs went out of their way to accurately portray elements of the cartoon. Setpieces and events from certain episodes are actually referenced and recreated in-game, and the DLC almost feels like someone’s weird passion project. That’s not something we often see in the AAA space, and perhaps it’s exactly the sort of whimsical fun Minecraft needs right now. What’s more, for less than $7, even Scrooge McDuck himself would find it hard to complain
Those clamoring for new Minecraft content may be appeased, and the reception seems to be fairly positive so far. This, alongside the recent 1.15 Java edition update which introduced the bee neutral mob, feels like they were meant to distract players from the long-awaited cave update which isn’t coming until 2020. Minecraft’s cave generation system hasn’t been altered in years at this point. Although an update has been hinted at, players are still literally in the dark when it comes to solid details. Bees and cartoon ducks can only do so much to satiate the growing mob of discontented digital cavers.
Minecraft is now more popular than it has been in years. Stemming from a rally against the popularity of the johnny-come-lately battle royale genre and signal-boosted by major YouTubers like PewDiePie, the player base seems to be recovering from its mid-2010’s lull. At the end of the day, if DuckTales DLC will keep players coming back, well, more power to them.