What it's about a blocky world and nothing you have to do
Minecraft drops me in a world made of blocks and doesn't tell me what to do. I cut down trees, collect wood, craft tools, dig, farm crops, build a shelter and meet the animals wandering around. In this review I'm only talking about the solo adventure. I've played a bit on Survival, on Easy and on Normal.
How I got into it fifteen years late
I first found out about Minecraft 15 years ago and played it on my student MacBook. It was a lot of fun, but life got in the way. A game this popular for this long is impossible to ignore, and in the end I gave in and got it for the Switch.
I held this review back until the Switch 2 upgrade came out. I was expecting mouse mode to make the controls less frustrating, and I wanted to see that before I wrote anything. I'm playing the Switch 2 Edition that came out on October 27.
How it looks light, water and a lot of birch trees
The difference on Switch 2 is very noticeable. The game is a lot prettier and a lot smoother. Mojang calls it Vibrant Visuals and it's the default on Switch 2: better lighting and shadows, reflections on the water and some fog in the distance.
My worlds are full of birch forests with yellow and blue flowers, and lakes with oak trees on the shore. The sun going down over the water between the trees looks great.
How it sounds soft music and noises that keep me alert
The music was always one of Minecraft's strong points. It's soft and it adds to the general vibe of the game, which is calm and still.
The sounds are another story. The little noises that make me think an enemy is about to get me are always a tiny bit stressful. Until you know how to recognize each noise, you have to be on alert all the time.
The story and the people no story, but company
In the solo adventure there's no story to follow. What I get is the world, and the animals wandering around it. The sheep are the ones I run into the most, and having them there is a big part of why the game feels so cosy.
After work: effort and challenge how much it asks of a tired brain
This is the cosy chill game by definition, and it's going to stay one of the cosiest games there is. It's the calm and the stillness, the atmosphere, the music, the repetitive but satisfying jobs and the animals. Depending on the mode I choose and how I play, the experience changes, but I can make it the cosiest game in my life if I want to.
Three kinds of sessions come up, and each one fits an evening after work:
- A day phase, about 10 minutes. I explore the surface, farm crops, cut wood and build. I can save and quit at any time here.
- A night phase, about 10 minutes. Enemies spawn all over the surface. I don't save and quit while I'm surrounded, because I'd load back in exactly there.
- A mining trip, usually 20 to 45 minutes. I go deep underground into the caves to gather minerals. It's safe to save and quit, but whatever is down there will still be there when I come back.
Any of these is fine after work, and they combine well.
The first few hours are the hard part, because I didn't know anything. Enemies pop out of nowhere. At one point I was digging for shelter, went outside because it was daylight, and when I went back to my cave it was full of spiders waiting for me. The controls on Switch are annoying and hard to get at first, and with almost no tutorial it's a bit frustrating. Little by little I learned and adapted. After I put the game down for a while, getting back to the controls takes a little time.
Docked vs handheld TV or in your hands, and my pick
Handheld is the one I pick. It works nicely, it's a game to chill with, and I even play it in bed sometimes. The controls are the same docked and in handheld, and building can be frustrating in either. In handheld the touchscreen works as well.
What gets in the way the real annoyances
- The controls are hard to get at first, and there is almost no tutorial.
- Getting back to the controls after a break takes a little while.
- Building can be frustrating with the sticks.
- The mouse mode I was waiting for isn't in the game at launch.
- In the first hours the enemy noises keep me on alert.
On Switch 2 what changes and what it costs
The Switch 2 Edition came out on October 27. It costs €29.99, so check the eShop price in your country. The upgrade is free for digital owners only, and only until January 31, 2027. Worlds carry over. If you own the cartridge you have to buy the Switch 2 version, and the game offers a discount on the Ultimate Collection.
On top of the Vibrant Visuals, loading is a lot faster than on Switch 1. As far as I can tell mouse mode isn't there at launch, and that's the thing I was waiting for.
Verdict should you play it?
Minecraft is a great game, there's no doubt about it. It isn't at its best on Switch, because the controls get in the way of the smooth, calm game it's supposed to be. It's a chill game once I'm used to them, and mouse mode would make it a lot more comfortable.
There's nothing about Minecraft that hasn't been said already. It's a solid game, it's worth having, and it has its place in any standard collection of games. It's almost a classic.
For an evening after work I'd say yes: a 10 minute day phase or a longer mining trip, in a world that's calm and quiet.
