Block Story

While Minecraft wasn't the first game to integrate roleplaying elements with a voxel based and highly mutable environment, it's the game that set the bar for the genre. For better or worse, similar games are going to inevitably draw comparisons to Minecraft, and while Block Story does some interesting things with the formula, it doesn't do enough to stand outside the shadow of its progenitor. Still, the developers seem to recognize that being another Minecraft look-a-like isn't enough to succeed in this busy market, and they have the good sense to emphasize elements of the genre that Minecraft let by the wayside. Where Block Story sets itself apart from the competition is in its focus on the roleplaying elements of the genre. Most open world games like these place an emphasis on building and player-driven sandboxes over storytelling and concrete objectives, and Block Story creates a nice middle ground for users who love the basic design of the genre but prefer a bit of structure in their adventures. These come in the form of quests, with over two dozen available to enterprising players. While the story underpinning these quests aren't anything to write home about, they do a pretty effective job of engaging the player while also teaching them the basics, a much appreciated component for players who may have been lost in the vast settings of similar games. This intuitive approach to player engagement shows itself again in the inclusion of a recipe book. With worlds as vast and settings as dense as these, it can be difficult to know exactly what you can and cannot do. A cottage industry of online resources has risen up with the rise of this genre, but Block Story ensures that you can spend less time pecking through online guides and recipe spreadsheets and instead just focus on immersing yourself in the game. Because, at its base, Block Story is all about the crafting. The core gameplay loop still involves mining materials to create better pieces of equipment which allow you to delve deeper into the setting to continue the process over again. To Block Story's benefit, their equipment development trees are deep, offering basics like swords and daggers as well as more advanced armaments like guns and shields. From a design front, Block Story also takes measures to distinguish its own unique perspective. Whereas a lot of its brethren rely on muted grays and browns for their color palette, Block Story's environments are lush and inviting, promising a richer fantasy world. Of particular note are the lighting effects. With the presence of a day and night cycle and deep and labyrinthine caverns, carrying a torch becomes a necessity for adventures, and some of the best moments in the game come from the way the setting's minerals reflect brilliantly against fire light. The beautiful setting is complemented by a wide gallery of monsters that run from mundane threats like snakes and rats to massive beasts like hydra and dragons.