Game profile
Minecraft
In a procedurally generated block world, you can build, explore and survive with almost no limits, alone or with friends. It's the best-selling video game of all time and stays relevant thanks to constant updates.
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What kind of game this is
At its core this is Sandbox / Survival, set in a fantasy world. Visually it is built on pixel art, and the overall tone stays light and upbeat. The world is open, so wandering off and ignoring the main path is part of the deal. It rewards long uninterrupted stretches more than quick check-ins.
Difficulty stays forgiving, so progress rarely depends on your reflexes. There is no story to speak of, the systems carry everything. You can play it with others cooperatively or go head to head. It is available broadly, on 5 platforms. It sits in the mid price bracket.
What stands out
- Boundless creativity
- Best-selling game of all time
- Huge modding community
This fits you if
- you would rather build something than be told what to do
- exploring for its own sake is the point for you
- you want to wind down rather than be tested
- you can sit down for a proper long stretch without interruptions
- you like getting lost and ignoring the main objective for hours
- cutscenes annoy you and you just want to play
Look elsewhere if
- you need real difficulty to stay interested
- you play mainly for narrative
- you want a game with a clear ending you can reach
- you only ever get short bursts of play time
How long is Minecraft?
This one has no finish line. It is built to be played for years, in whatever rhythm suits you.
How the rating ranks
Critics settled on 93 out of 100, which puts it above 95 percent of the 1276 games here and at rank 50 overall. That is a strong score, comfortably above what most releases manage.
For comparison, Sandbox averages 81 points across the database, so this one sits 12 points above its own genre. The figure rests on 582 collected ratings.
Released in 2016, so it has 10 years behind it. Usually cheap by now and the rough edges are long fixed.
The facts
- Release year
- 2016
- Genres
- Sandbox, Survival, Adventure
- Playtime
- Endless game
- Difficulty
- Relaxed, forgiving
- Story weight
- None, pure gameplay
- Play with
- Solo, Co-op, Competitive
- Setting
- Fantasy
- Visual style
- Pixel art
- Price bracket
- Mid price
- Platforms
- PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, Mobile
- Critic rating
- 93 / 100
Direct comparison
| Genres | Release year | Playtime | Critic rating | Price bracket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minecraft | 2016 | Endless game | 93 | Mid price |
| Terraria | 2011 | Endless game | 81 | Budget |
| No Man's Sky | 2016 | approx. 60 hrs. | 74 | Mid price |
| Astroneer | 2019 | approx. 30 hrs. | 81 | Mid price |
If you liked this, try these
- 81/100 Terraria Shared: Sandbox, Survival, Fantasy
- 74/100 No Man's Sky Shared: Sandbox, Survival, shorter
- 81/100 Astroneer Shared: Sandbox, Survival, shorter
- 80/100 RuneScape: Dragonwilds Shared: Sandbox, Survival, Fantasy
- 80/100 LEGO Fortnite Shared: Sandbox, Survival, Fantasy, shorter
- n/a HumanitZ Shared: Sandbox, Survival