Review: Minecraft

The time has come to deliver the review of one of the biggest phenomena in independent gaming in recent times, Minecraft. The game reached its final version after a period of open development with the community. The result is a very fun game that most people already knew, now packed with even more developed content. Check out my complete review right here! 🙂

Minecraft became world-renowned as an “infinite game” because it was released to players during its beta phase, allowing them to purchase it at a discount and participate in its development by offering suggestions to the creators. The game was constantly updated, and new features—creating exciting new possibilities—were regularly added.

Nowadays, the game is evolving for the better, now in version 1.8, which is the version we will analyze in this review. Since the creators have already stated that they intend to continue updating the game with various new features, it’s possible that any criticism we raise now might eventually be fixed in future updates.

Minecraft offers two modes, in addition to multiplayer. There is Survival—the main adventure mode—and Creative (on PC), where you can simply build whatever you want without any challenge. In Survival mode, players create a world and start playing in it. It’s possible to create different worlds and maintain multiple save files.

In this fantastic “blocky world,” you can interact by breaking blocks—such as trees, dirt, and stones—and then rebuilding them as you wish. Some blocks can be used to construct whatever the player desires, from houses to castles, while others become raw materials for tools that help you perform these tasks more effectively.

The game starts by placing you in the middle of nowhere, and from that spot, you must secure shelter to spend the night and gather food, as eventually your character will get hungry and might become debilitated if they don’t eat. Moreover, when night falls, monsters emerge—and it wouldn’t be very interesting if you ended up as their special meal.

One striking aspect is the contrast between day and night in Minecraft. During the day, you enjoy ample lighting, everything is very peaceful, and players can invest their time in productive activities that continuously improve the game’s core features.

However, at night, monsters suddenly appear anywhere on the vast map; when it’s dark, it’s easy to say that being outside isn’t safe. Minecraft succeeds in establishing that sense of fear when venturing out after dark—something that most games manage only with difficulty, and seldom in a pixelated format.

The enemies in Minecraft are impressive in their own right, exhibiting a wide variety throughout the generated map. Some can be defeated easily, while others require a bit more strategy or additional elements to overcome.

Among the enemies, two stand out: the Endermen, creatures that teleport and present a significant challenge in battle, and the notorious Creepers—monsters that explode when they get close to you, and are infamous for destroying your cherished, hard-built constructions when you least expect it, so be sure to protect yourself.

Initially, Minecraft was just a game without any defined objectives, meaning that players could do whatever they wanted. However, the full version introduced the hunger bar, forcing players to hunt for survival, in addition to a complete adventure with enemies and other elements.

The premise of Minecraft starts simply—build a shelter, feed yourself, and fend off the monsters at night—but it evolves, allowing you to create massive constructions, complex mechanisms, your own farm and livestock to ensure food, forge stronger armor and weapons, and even use magic to become even more powerful.

There are countless possibilities in Minecraft—nothing is strictly mandatory—so players can dedicate themselves solely to what truly captivates them. Once they start mastering the game—and this will inevitably happen—it becomes essential to venture into another dimension.

However, it is worth noting that there is a “Creative Mode,” which, as the name implies, grants players access to nearly everything in the Minecraft world. Through Creative Mode, you can experiment with everything Minecraft has to offer, from textures and constructions to water supply systems, and much more.

Minecraft’s gameplay is very straightforward, with most of it being controlled by the mouse; the keyboard is still used, but to a much lesser extent than the traditional peripheral. In this setup, you simply click to use items and hold a button to perform a specific action—like breaking a stone with the appropriate pickaxe or cutting down a block of wood with an axe.

Graphically, Minecraft stands out by being highly creative and innovative in its “blocky” representation of everything around you, whether it’s buildings, blocks in general, or other elements. Some players who have never experienced Minecraft before might initially find the visual style a bit odd, but over time, gamers quickly adapt.

The audio sets the perfect tone for the adventure. The sound effects are remarkably distinctive—the sensation of hearing a Creeper’s hissing before it explodes, or hearing monsters lurking behind walls as you dig, creates an atmosphere that is truly unique.

With such versatility, Minecraft has also become hugely popular within the gaming community, as players can create servers and play online with others—accomplishing even greater feats in the process. There are so many online servers, each with its own rules and innovations, that a player might end up spending more time on them than on the main objective.

This widespread acceptance by the online community also means there is an abundance of modifications and, consequently, extremely personalized maps available for Minecraft. We must not forget to mention that you can find many fascinating mods on the Internet, which add even more features to the game. These additions inject more excitement and effects into the game, whether by enhancing textures or introducing new missions and objects.

And what do you think about Minecraft?