Six reasons why Minecraft is the pinnacle of gaming excellence!
Some people say Minecraft is a silly game for kids. Well, we say, what a load of blocks! There’s a reason this sandbox masterpiece still racks up hundreds of millions of monthly players and has become a fixture of the world’s meme economy – there’s just so much to it!
The game’s charm knows no bounds, with cute creatures, endless possibilities for creativity, a staggering array of features and mechanics to enjoy, and those iconic blocky visuals that make it stand out from the crowd in the best way.
So, grab a pickaxe, whack on some diamond armour, and let’s get going. Oh, and no griefing!
Contents:
- Wildlife
- Horror
- Creativity
- Boundlessness
- Realism
- Combat
It’s got wildlife
The game has plenty on offer for the animal lovers out there, with a magnificent menagerie populating its various biomes, including real creatures we know and love (cows, bees, squids, and even axolotls), as well as no shortage of weird and wonderful made up beasts, some friendly (Mooshrooms and Allays), some not so much (Endermen, Creepers, Ghasts, Slimes, and many more).
Each and every one of these mobs has some unique function in the game. Chickens give you eggs, cows produce leather and beef, Creepers detonate themselves next to your favourite constructions undoing hours of work, and Endermen teleport behind you to treat you to the most horrifying experience of your life!
It’s got horror
One seriously misguided preconception about Minecraft holds that it’s for kids, and is an easy, light-hearted game you can switch off your brain and cruise through. Wrong, wrong, wrong! This game can be absolutely terrifying, despite its deceptively cute visual style.
There are few things as spine-chilling as finding yourself lost in a cave system, all out of torches, and hearing that familiar “hiss” of a creeper, meaning you’re about to lose every one of those diamonds you’ve been excavating, or the twang from the bow of a skeleton archer you can’t see or return fire at.
It’s got creativity
Probably Minecraft’s best-known aspect, the possibilities for creativity are practically limitless. With over 150 different types of blocks at your fingertips, hundreds of different crafting options; and even electrical circuits (in the form of redstone) bringing this wonderful world crashing into the age of modernity.
With all these options available, users have built some astonishing creations, from music boxes that play a range of popular tunes to working computers and calculators. However, that’s not all. There’s also a library containing actual literature (designed as a repository to be accessed by people in countries with restrictions on certain materials), and even a project to build the entire planet to scale, down to individual streets and houses. Just think, someone might be building your house out of blocks as we speak…
It’s boundless
Minecraft’s world is procedurally generated, which means it can essentially go on forever, expanding ahead of you as you travel towards its border. Not only that, but it’s fleshed out with no less than 14 different biomes – areas with unique looks, wildlife and resources. For example, Swamp areas are a great place to find clay, while if it’s melons you’re after, you’ll want to head to the Jungle.
Having such a vast expanse of land at your disposal means you will never run out of room to play in, although remember to keep your map on you. Otherwise, you risk losing that epic castle you built on some distant mountain forever if you fall victim to a spider you didn’t see coming and respawn half a world away.
It’s realistic
Again, upon first glance at the game’s blocky, cartoonish world, “realism” probably isn’t the first word that springs to mind, but Minecraft’s Survival mode is packed with features to make your journey as lifelike as is reasonable for a sandbox block creation game.
Your character gets hungry with time, so you’ll need to keep them fed; cooked food fills you up better than raw food (definitely worth keeping in mind in the real world); sprinting tires you out and makes you hungrier; land needs to be irrigated and ploughed before you can start planting those crops; and if you don’t bring a light source with you into a deep cave system, you won’t be able to see a thing. You’ll still hear all the creepy crawlies and undead nasties moving around you though… our advice? Never run out of torches.
It’s got combat
It’s not all about chopping down trees and building cute little homesteads. When a threat comes a-calling, you’ve got to protect what’s yours and that means going on the offensive! You have a range of weapons at your disposal, from classic favourites like the sword, shield and bow and arrow, to more spectacular items like a trident you can launch at anyone you want to really send a message to, or snowballs if you want to send more of a warning salvo.
There’s also the devastatingly destructive option of explosives if you’ve got more time to plan your assault. Nothing lets an enemy know you mean business better than digging a tunnel under their fortress, kitting it out with some underfloor TNT, and then sending it to kingdom come from a detonator stashed away in your own hut.