Haleetron takes us back to Minecraft…
Granted, Minecraft isn’t free (even if the price is your precious time spent illegally downloading it), but once it’s yours, the self-rule and independence felt in this game is unique. One of the greatest challenges in most games is the lack of control- the physical barriers that allow you to only walk on one path, the inability to go where you want to go and do what you want to do. MineCraft is truly an escape from reality into your own fabrications of reality, and in a truly rare environment.
The visual format of the game is reminiscent of 8-bit, inducing some level of nostalgia and an immediate sense of joy and comfort. Every object, from clouds to stone to foliage, is shown as a single block of color and limited textural information, and every ounce of it can be destroyed, collected, and rebuilt into whatever your heart desires. I, personally, spent my first three hours playing Minecraft making small sculptures out of sand and wood.
If you would like to do whatever you’d like in the realm of construction and deconstruction, this game is for you. Normally, this game is played by a younger crowd, but I believe that a dive into this game at any age will inspire a deep intuition for curiosity and creativity. Beyond simply having fun killing cows and trying to mount horses, one can become intentionally lost in the lonely universe of Minecraft and explore endlessly. It feels remarkably similar, on an emotional level, to wandering into the woods as a kid- everything feels foreign and full of potential. Forts are made, tools are forged, and you shout with joy when you find a long lost ore. It’s as exciting as finding that Pokemon card you had been searching for for months, or a rock with a little seashell fossil in it. More importantly, it permits you to indulge in a long lost child-like wonderment in things that really deserve very little wonderment.
On a similarly visceral note, Minecraft gives you a nice fight-or-flight thrill customary of video games, but the sensation only applies at night, which both increases the rush of adrenaline when your attacked by vicious green creepers as well as intensifies the relief of daybreak. Never before have I been so happy to see a little square sun come over the horizon and never before have I been so afraid of such a low-res video game monster. The little bastards have a way of appearing everywhere- in your house, in holes in the ground, hanging around in trees- it’s actually terrifying.
This game is beautifully simplistic and caters to all of your cravings for creativity and creation, and in a unique cubist way, it is also a visually beautiful game. All together, Minecraft is the game for anyone looking for something new and freeing.
-Haleetron