When Notch released its first build back in 2011, Minecraft took the world by storm. Since then, the game has become synonymous with the likes of Mario and Zelda, in the sense that just about anyone, gamer or not, has at least a passing familiarity with it. Yes, Minecraft is a cultural pillar that transcends the gaming medium, making it nearly impossible to surpass.
But that doesn't mean that others haven't tried. While Minecraft continues to reap the benefits of its cultural ubiquity and best-selling status, other developers, big and small, have tried their hand at similar casual, crafting-and-survival-focused gaming experiences, but few have managed to get even a taste of Minecraft's popularity. Games that take direct inspiration from Mojang's breakout hit include Dragon Quest Builders and LEGO Worlds, and while these certainly have their fans, they aren't typically viewed as genuine contenders for Minecraft's throne—no one's grandparents are buying them Dragon Quest Builders merchandise for Christmas. But why exactly is Minecraft so tough to beat?
One Silly New Minecraft Mod Makes The Case For a New Form of DLC
A crafty Minecraft player has created a hilarious mod that could serve as a blueprint for a full-blown DLC inspired by their work.
Minecraft Is a Perfect Storm, Impossible to Stop
Minecraft Competitors Are Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place
While Minecraft has had countless expansions, crossovers, and new features added over the years, it still excels by virtue of its simplicity: the game is a building sandbox with survival features, and can be as complex as the player desires. Like so many beautiful things, this simplicity is what gives way to Minecraft's appeal, as anyone can hop into the game, intuit the basics, and learn the more complicated elements from there.
This puts games looking to compete with Minecraft in a tough position. This sense of pick-up-and-play simplicity is central to the Minecraft experience, but if a competitor attempts to replicate such simplicity verbatim, it will wind up being a clone of the original, which is hardly attractive to consumers or enthusiasts. By the same token, if these games add new ingredients to the pot, as it were, then they wind up becoming more cumbersome, losing the elegance that makes Minecraft so popular.
This conundrum is what makes it so hard for "Minecraft-likes" to stand out and succeed on their own. Unlike, say, soulslikes, which can often benefit from added layers of complexity and more radical changes to genre conventions (see: Lies of P), games that draw upon Minecraft for inspiration are hogtied by simplicity, unable to differentiate without sacrificing widespread appeal and accessibility.
None of the above points constitute a critique of any particular Minecraft-inspired game. Rather, these issues may help explain why such games don't attain the cultural status of Mojang's seminal work.
Minecraft Is Too Big to Fail
Minecraft's sheer popularity and cultural relevance fill up the entirety of its genre space. As previously mentioned, Minecraft has gone beyond the realm of gaming, becoming a cultural touchstone represented through clothing, home decor, and film, to the point where its influence is nigh-unstoppable. Minecraft isn't something that's only for hardcore, lifelong gamers: it's an accessible, foundational experience specifically designed to cater to the broadest audience possible. And, of course, one cannot overstate the impact that corporate giant Microsoft, which bought Minecraft in 2014, has had on the game's ever-expanding relevance.
Perhaps the day will come when another game challenges Minecraft for its crown, though it will be a David versus Goliath situation. After all, it's not necessarily a fringe opinion that Ghost of Tsushima has outdone Assassin's Creed, or that Stardew Valley is better than Harvest Moon. These games capitalized on the shortcomings of their main inspirations, offering a fresh and much-needed alternative. The same could very well happen to Minecraft down the road.
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 90 /100 Critics Rec: 84%
WHERE TO PLAY
Minecraft is a game made up of blocks, creatures, and community. You can survive the night or build a work of art – the choice is all yours. But if the thought of exploring a vast new world all on your own feels overwhelming, then fear not!
Minecraft has no set goal and can be played however you’d like! This is why it’s sometimes called a “sandbox game” – there are lots of things for you to do, and lots of ways that you can play. If you like being creative, then you can use the blocks to build things from your imagination. If you’re feeling brave, you can explore the world and face daring challenges. Blocks can be broken, crafted, placed to reshape the landscape, or used to build fantastical creations.
Creatures can be battled or befriended, depending on how you play. The world of Minecraft allows for epic adventures, quiet meditations, and everything in between. You can even share your creations with other players, or play in community worlds!
- Engine
- LWJGL, PROPRIETARY ENGINE
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op, Online Multiplayer
- Franchise
- Minecraft
- Number of Players
- 1-4
- Split Screen Orientation
- Vertical or Horizontal
- Platform(s)
- 3DS, Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Wii U, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PS Vita, Xbox One, Xbox 360
- Genre(s)
- Sandbox, Survival
- How Long To Beat
- 129 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- No
- File Size Xbox Series
- 1.42 GB (August 2024)
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
