Hytale Is Becoming What Minecraft Used to Be

So, Hytale has finally been released to the public after several years of development hell. From humble beginnings as a competitor to Minecraft, being bought by Riot Games, to being cancelled, then revived. This game has gone through a rollercoaster to bring it to this point. And now, you're probably wondering: is it worth jumping in at the very beginning?

Well, I have to admit, after putting in a few hours, it’s safe to say that… it’s definitely in development. By that, I mean that the foundation of a great game is here; it just needs more meat. However, I still spent my own money to delve into this day one, and I don’t regret it.

Hello, world.

I had little to no interest in Hytale at first. I just remember hearing about it and maybe seeing a screenshot or two, and thinking that it just looked like every other game that tried to emulate the success of Minecraft by making their own block-based games. I was correct about that last part, as the original idea was for the developers (known for the Hypixel Minecraft server) to have a standalone game they have more freedom over. It seemed cool, I thought, but my focus was on other titles. I barely even realised that it was taking its sweet time until the news broke out that the game was cancelled… after nearly 10 years of development.

That must’ve been devastating for those invested in finally playing this game. It looked like it had promise, but, unfortunately, it seemed that Riot Games wanted way too much out of it to the point where it broke under the weight of feature creep.

So, what made me support Hytale all of a sudden? I admit, yeah, it was because I wanted to support the developer managing to save the game, but also to check it out because it seemed like a fun time, especially since its main inspiration isn’t exactly currently being treated all that well…

This fight was tense!

Ever since Mojang and the Minecraft IP were purchased by Microsoft, there have been some… choices made that haven’t gone over well with the community. For example, there's an increasing emphasis on the Marketplace, where you can purchase add-ons that mod your game… in one of the most easily modded games in recent memory, which you can generally do for free.

Heck, there was a time when the Marketplace replaced the Settings menu before that was rolled back, but it’s increasingly clear how much Microsoft wants to monetise the highest-selling game in history. It feels pretty scummy to me, especially since there are tons of kids who play the game who will be pressured into getting the latest and greatest. Then there are all the debacles such as the Mob Vote, interesting features getting cut, and Merl the Minecraft AI who has no idea how to play Minecraft.

But that’s enough about my rambling complaints about a game I don’t even play anymore: what about Hytale? Well, it’s just… refreshing. Not a survival game, but a crafting-focused RPG adventure. Upon creating my own character and loading into a new world, I just felt… good playing this. For a moment, I felt like I was playing the Beta for Minecraft again. There's no wiki to guide you, nor are there countless speedruns showing you the best strategies to kill the final boss. I was going into it without anything more than cursory knowledge of what’s in the game.

There was a sense of wonder and fear I haven't felt in a while. The world was vast and colourful, with some impressive structures and exciting discoveries. The monsters are surprisingly scary, too, as fighting them unprepared will leave you scrambling for safety. However, it also made the combat that much more satisfying as I fought enemies I ran away from only hours ago. This felt new, and that’s what kept me playing.

Oh... my... Cubes...

There are definitely issues I’ve experienced, which is a given considering it’s an early access build, and there isn’t that much to warrant spending more as the Standard edition is more than enough, but ultimately… I’m just excited to see where Hytale goes from here, maybe becoming a new virtual platform for various multiplayer games, mods, and all other fun stuff. I see it leaning more towards Terraria than anything else! It will be several years and many updates until it’s really ready, but I went through this before; I can do it again.