The kids yearn for the mines. It is no April Fools’ Day joke: Children at my native McDonald’s have been streaming out the door on Tuesday with the brand new Minecraft-themed Pleased Meal containers after I drove as much as strive the brand new providing. It is all a promotion for A Minecraft Film, which opens Friday, April 4, and it attracts inspiration from the favored online game obtainable throughout platforms together with Xbox, Nintendo Swap and cell phones. So, after all, I needed to strive all the things they supplied and report again. And I feel my tongue remains to be burning days later. That Nether Flame Sauce isn’t any joke.
Learn extra: McDonald’s Launches Minecraft Pleased Meals, Plus a ‘Nether’ Sizzling Sauce for Nuggets
Pleased Meals: 12 toys, digital recreation, Creeper field
You realize what a Pleased Meal is. It is a boxed children meal with a toy, the place the child can select between a hamburger, cheeseburger, or 4-piece or 6-piece hen McNuggets. Fries, apples and a drink additionally include it.
The Minecraft Film Meal, on the fitting, has extra meals, and an even bigger field than the Pleased Meal.
For this promotion, even the Pleased Meal field is Minecraft-themed. Personally, I feel the Pleased Meal containers are a lot cuter than the themed containers that include the grownup Minecraft Film Meal. My Pleased Meal field seemed the acquainted inexperienced Minecraft monsters referred to as Creepers, however this Creeper has type of a furry look, prefer it was a cousin of Sesame Avenue’s inexperienced Muppet Oscar the Grouch
Nevertheless it’s the toy, sorry — “figurine”, that can have children making a number of journeys to their native McD’s. There are 12 totally different toys. Mine was marked “#1, grass block and llama.” While you open the field the toy is available in, you may suppose the llama was left behind, as a result of the toy itself is a closed inexperienced grass block. However you’ll be able to open the block and inside is just a little llama figurine, completely hooked up to at least one facet of the block.
I imply, it isn’t the world’s most recognizable llama, however it’s Minecraft, what would you like? The toys that include the Minecraft Pleased Meals are extra acquainted from the sport, and 6 of them are available little puzzle cubes.
The field my toy got here in exhibits the opposite choices you may get. There are six totally different block-and-creature toys, just like the one I acquired, and 6 barely larger collectible figurines that do not come inside a block. And the partitions of the block are type of like puzzle items. You’ll be able to take the block aside and lay its partitions flat and join them. So should you get extra toys, you may make just a little playmat of all of them, and even connect the six barely larger figures, as a result of their bases match the “puzzle.”
The little toy field in every Pleased Meal additionally comes with a scannable code on one facet to unlock a digital recreation the place gamers can full a quest within the Minecraft Film world. I attempted it, and it is really extra enjoyable than a free mini-game from a quick meals eatery has any proper to be. Good job, Ronald.
Minecraft Film Meal: McD-themed toys, in-game bonus merchandise, Gold Block field
McDonald’s additionally was sensible sufficient to know that adults like collectibles too, and that they may have larger appetites. So the quick meals chain can be providing a Minecraft Film Meal — type of like an even bigger Pleased Meal. Select a Massive Mac or 10-piece Hen McNuggets, with fries and a drink.
The toy within the Minecraft Film Meal comes with a card that offers you a code for an in-game matching merchandise.
The containers for these meals are like bigger Pleased Meal containers. However as a substitute of being Creeper-themed, the one I acquired was designed to appear like a Minecraft gold block. Whereas I choose the Creeper, it is sensible that the grownup meal and child meal containers are themed otherwise.
After which, the toy. The grownup meal toy was a giant letdown in comparison with the Pleased Meal toy choices. Whereas the Pleased Meal toys have been precise Minecraft characters, those within the grownup meals are McDonald’s mascots created with that blocky, Minecraft look. The collectible figurines have a little bit of a twist — with the toys together with a Grimace Egg and Zombie Hamburglar. Mine was referred to as Birdie Wings, and is predicated on Birdie the Early Fowl, a mascot McDonald’s launched in 1980 to advertise its then-new breakfast objects.
Every determine, together with my Birdie Wings, comes with a shiny card with that determine’s picture. You scan the QR code on the cardboard to unlock an identical merchandise in Minecraft: Bedrock Version.
Nether Flame Sauce is sizzling, sizzling, sizzling
Perhaps essentially the most enjoyable a part of the McDonald’s-Minecraft promotion is a brand new hen McNugget dipping sauce referred to as the Nether Flame Sauce. It is named for the Minecraft underworld, and I feel it is the most well liked sauce McDonald’s has ever used. You do not have to purchase the Minecraft Film Meal or Pleased Meal to get the sauce. If you wish to strive it with fries or one thing else, you’ll be able to order the Nether Flame Sauce with any buy.
The Nether Flame Sauce will be ordered with any meals merchandise.
I am a fan of sizzling sauces of all types. Whereas Nether Flame Sauce is not one of many hottest sizzling sauces I’ve ever tried, it is undoubtedly the most well liked McDonald’s dipping sauce I’ve ever tried, and I virtually made a profession out of reporting on the Rick and Morty Szechuan sauce.
The Nether Flame Sauce is sizzling, by McDonald’s requirements.
There is a particular kick to this sauce, which appears to be like like Thai purple chili sauce however is much less candy and extra spicy. The ingredient record on the sauce packet says it contains chili peppers, cayenne peppers, vinegar, sugar, garlic, apricot focus and extra. I had an additional sauce packet, and my husband devoured it with leftover French fries.
Remaining Minecraft-McDonald’s ideas
Though I don’t know if the upcoming A Minecraft Film is any good, I really feel snug grading this McD-Minecraft promotion with a giant fats “A.”
I am not reviewing the non-Nether sauce meals within the meals. It is McDonald’s. You realize what it tastes like.
The containers are cute. There is a meal for teenagers and one for adults. The toys are inventive and enjoyable, although in my thoughts the tiny Pleased Meal toys are way more enjoyable to gather than the McDonald’s mascot ones that come within the grownup meal.
And better of all, the Nether Flame sauce is a enjoyable, spice-filled change of tempo for these of us who do not thoughts a fiery dipping choice.🔥
