Review: LEGO Minecraft Dungeons 21163 The Redstone Battle

Today we take a quick detour through the world of the Minecraft video game with the set 21163 The Redstone Battle (504 pieces - 54.99 €), a product derived from the variation of the classic game in Dungeon crawler : the aptly named Minecraft Dungeons launched last May.

I did my homework and played Minecraft Dungeons a bit before putting together the game-inspired set. It's fun, you don't have to have an encyclopedia on hand to figure out how to handle it. his character and we have fun with the added bonus of a little ultra-pixelated Diablo side that should appeal to the most nostalgic.

The LEGO set overshadows the thing a bit by offering a very nice presentation on the packaging: it's colorful, immersive and we find the red and black tones of the Redstone mines. Do not get carried away, the contents of the box are much less sexy, no decor is provided. Too bad we'll be satisfied with what LEGO offers us, even if at 55 € the derivative product I think the manufacturer could have provided a piece of wall and a lava flow.
As this set is directly inspired by a video game, it is therefore important to check that its content is faithful to the digital version. With Minecraft, this is generally the case, with biomes, animals, objects, and characters being as cubic as LEGO bricks.

Here we get four heroes of the game with their characteristic outfits and faces: Hex, Hal, Hedwig and Valorie. From a distance, we can consider the LEGO versions to be generally very successful, the torsos reproducing in detail the patterns seen on the screen. But one detail spoils the picture a bit: The legs of the different minifigs are desperately monochrome and do not match the textures seen on the different characters in the game. We could also discuss the interest of pad printing the sides and the upper face of the heads. Seen from the back, the different figurines look a bit like an assortment of Apéricubes.

The bangs of Hedwig would also have deserved to be molded on the head of the minifig, it is a characteristic attribute of the character and its absence simplifies the LEGO figure a little too much. For a derivative product sold at a high price, it is a real shame not to be able to obtain a little more accomplished figurines.

The two creatures that haunt the Redstone Mines, The Redstone Golem and Redstone Monstrosity are however very faithful to the digital versions. We can just regret here too the lack of textures on some pieces while others are very nicely pad printed. It smacks of the savings of a candle light at LEGO and the result is a bit bland in places despite the alternation of gray tones which compensates a little.

It was enough, however, to provide a few additional copies of the play Medium Stone Gray pad printed used on the torso of the Redstone Golem and on the feet of the Redstone Monstrosity and then it would have been possible to dress the Golem's arms and legs a bit. Even with an identical pattern on all copies provided, a simple change in orientation of the piece would suffice to texture the creature a little more.

The two creatures are really only usable from the front, their backs being much more sketchy. The limbs of the two golems are connected to the torso by Ball Seals which allow very dynamic staging without breaking everything. So there is plenty of fun with the different heroes provided and the two creatures to face.

LEGO also provides a Piggy bank, the pig with a chest on the back which contains some green pieces symbolizing the emeralds of the game. Here too, some patterns are missing at the bottom of the pig's legs and LEGO could have made an effort to offer us a new version of the chest more similar to that of the game. As it stands, we once again feel the will not to invest too much time and money on this project.

The base camp table with its map and candle is also provided in this box, it will be difficult to put into context, the set does not even offer a piece of wall. LEGO still provides us with a health potion, that's always taken, and regulars of the range will find here in two copies the Tile 2x4 colored Tan with two studs already seen in other boxes.

As you will have understood, not seeing a sheet of stickers among the photos presented here, the ten or so elements (excluding minifigs) bearing patterns are pad printed.

LEGO is however not stingy with various and varied weapons in this box and there is something to equip everyone with two copies of the crossbow already seen earlier this year in the sets. 21159 The Pillager Outpost et 21160 The Illager Raid and a bag containing swords, a hammer, a flail, a katana, a scythe of the cold and a pair of prongs "last laugh"I find these weapons really successful and although they are all monochrome, they are well in the spirit of the game.

In the end, I think that LEGO offers us a derivative product that is generally successful but which unfortunately overlooks too many aesthetic possibilities. The lack of decor, even basic, and the savings made on the printing of the pieces are felt while the public price of the set is relatively high for what this box really has to offer. The fact remains that this set is in my opinion a nice gift to give to a fan who wants to decorate his office with emblematic characters and creatures of the game.

Note: The set presented here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at July 13, 2020 next at 23pm. 

Update : The winner was drawn and was notified by email, his nickname is indicated below. Without a response from him to my request for contact details within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.