Nintendo has revealed when Minecraft’s Steve (and Alex as an alternate skin) will be coming to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The legendary blocky explorer arrives in the game on October 13. If you thought his move-set was going to be simple, you are in for a surprise.
Steve’s taunt includes eating a steak, and his standard jump is too short to get up to most platforms. However, he can also build blocks to get to these, and his midair jump is high enough to reach them, as well. He can even block characters from recovering after getting knocked off the side.
Steve’s regular attacks include a swinging sword move, as you might expect. Holding the button down will let you walk forward and backward while swinging, which is useful for defending yourself in tricky situations, but it has pretty short reach. His side smash is a sweep attack that only exists in Minecraft’s Java Edition, while his axe is used as an anti-air attack and to juggle enemies. The pickaxe is used for mining from the ground and for a dash attack that quickly closes gaps. It looks like Steve will excel and controlling space, regardless of the map. If you do manage to get in close, however, he could be in trouble.
Just like in Minecraft, you can even upgrade your weapons to increase them from wood to iron and even diamond. They can break, too, leaving you without some of your attacks. You can craft using resources gathered from the ground and walls, and these differ depending on the surface unless you’re playing on a Battlefield or Omega stage. On the Minecraft-specific stage, you’ll find the same resources located on the same spots on the ground, regardless of the biome you’re playing in. Even if there is snow, you will find stone and wood to harvest and use for your weapons and gear. It’s important to keep track of resources when playing as Steve, but not as necessary to always know where your crafting table has gone. It can be summoned nearly instantly when you need it.
Steve has an attack similar to PK Fire that lets him set the ground alight, which should help with preventing fighters from dashing in, while his magma block works as another anti-air attack. You can even use the magma block to hit fighters on platforms above you. A minecart ability lets you quickly close distance on enemies and run them over for use damage, and a powered version is even faster.
As noted above, both Steve and Alex are playable as alternate skins of the same character, and each has three color variations. Two other skins, Enderman and Zombies, are also available.
Steve/Alex are part of Fighters Pass Volume 2, representing the second character to join the game as part of it, following Arms’ Min Min. Alternatively, Steve/Alex can be purchased as a piece of standalone DLC that also includes the Minecraft stage and accompanying music tracks.
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