After 10 years since its release, Minecraft’s long-awaited return has finally arrived. Everyone remembers playing with their friends in fourth and fifth grade, and after distant memories flashing in and out, the game is finally making its comeback. Youtube’s second most subscribed channel, Pewdiepie, is the one who sparked its return. Known for hating Minecraft and for never playing “trending” games, it shocked everyone to see him playing and enjoying the game. His fans were ecstatic to see an anticipated series, which has now grown to be a 72 episode series, with many more to come.

Ironically, Pewdiepie started to play Minecraft because its popularity diminished, but since he’s been playing, the game’s success increased so much that every teenager, younger and older, knows about Minecraft and enjoys playing it.

“I played Minecraft since Beta came out,” South Forsyth senior Anthony White commented, “my friends got me into it and I loved the game ever since.” Minecraft’s first popularity buzz started almost as soon as it was released.

Many teenagers, back when they were in fourth-sixth grade, would use Minecraft to meet new people and make friends. “I used to play when I was a kid,” Corey Hurd, a junior at South, said, “I used it as a way to escape the world and just build random things or go on adventures.” 

Mojang (the developer of Minecraft) has made some drastic updates to their game which drew many old fans and new people into Minecraft. People began to publish their gameplay on social media, raising more than enough attention to the game.

Corey Hurd, a frequent player, clarified further, “I found it was popular again because many people started making more  Youtube videos and such on it.” He gives an example, “Pewdiepie, who started playing Minecraft, may have also increased popularity.”

Minecraft not only allows players to express their creativity through building but also provides different “settings” of how one can play. Minecraft Realms is another version of a Minecraft server, where players can create, upload, or download worlds and play with up to ten friends at a time. Although, in order to make your own Realms world and be the main operator of it you have to buy a Realms account; anyone the account owner adds can play on it for free.

While Realms is an awesome option for people who want to keep their gameplay personal yet socially comfortable, the multiplayer game mode is another option where players can meet new people and play advanced games such as minigames on the popular server Mineplex, which includes many plug-ins for a fun, unique experience. Most servers also allow more than ten people at a time; however, it can usually range from one hundred to ten thousand players!

Singleplayer is another option for people who prefer to experience their own world privately. Although Singleplayer players aren’t able to include cool features and plug-ins that multiplayer players get, playing solo has its perks. Being able to go into Creative, Survival, Hardcore, Spectator and Adventure mode creates a lot of interesting game perspectives. Players experience a world of surviving from monsters, hunger, drowning, burning, and falling. With Creative, players can build worlds of unlimited blocks with an infinite amount of structures. Singleplayrs can also experience the life of being in Survival, but without respawn or Hardcore features. There’s also the world of a “ghost,” where a player cannot interact in the world but can go through structures and observe. The last available game mode is Adventure, where there are maps players can join; however gameplay is limited (i.e. players aren’t able to break blocks).

Minecraft is one of the best classic, fun and interactive video games out there. Players young and old can all play; furthermore, it’s not too complex and easy to learn. Recommended by many and still frequently played by previous players, it’s a great game to play with friends or while alone and bored. It’s extremely entertaining and in some ways relaxing; that is, if the player isn’t being bombarded by mobs!