I don't remember when I first learned about Minecraft, but I have memories of watching some older family friends play one of its earliest versions. A few years later, as the game gained popularity, I asked for the game for my 12th birthday in 2012, right after the Pretty Scary Update was released. I remember seeing wither skeletons on the launcher and reading about witches. The first time I played, I climbed a mountain and made some kind of wood or dirt hut at the top to wait out the night and I was TERRIFIED the whole time. My younger brother was watching me and the monsters scared us so bad (a zombie and a creeper, of course). It was horrifying. I think I put the game down for a good number of months before I tried, but I'll never forget the mountains. I remember so vividly how the terrain mesmerized me, and that's stuck with me ever since.

Later into middle school, I was OBSESSED with Minecraft. Like super giga fixation level obsessed. I had the bedroom decor. My sketchbooks were filled with Minecraft. I wrote stories, I had my own server, I played practically nonstop. I loved Minecraft youtubers too. I could go on and on about my middle school obsession but I'll keep it to just this. Once I got to high school, I lost interest, but it was rekindled my senior year when a friend of mine started a realm for us and our other friends. I've been re-obsessed ever since! I don't play singleplayer except for some test building, and I play exclusively SMPs with my friends.

Minecraft is the ultimate sandbox. It embodies the idea of "if you can dream it, you can do it." The things I've seen people do in this game ASTOUNDS me. From vanilla to the endless amount of mods, people have made anything and everything in Minecraft. Minecraft has a shocking amount of replayability and long-term play in just singleplayer alone, and a single world can be hundreds of hours if you're dedicated and interested enough. Throw in SMPs, and you have an addicting new fun project with friends. Big servers like Hypixel? An essential experience for all Minecraft players. Mods, big changes or small? The game and its community offers endless gameplay. Minecraft's community is undoubtedly the game's backbone, and it's a giant and varied one at that. From building to grinding to redstone to adventure, Minecraft has something for everyone, gamer or not. I can't see the game losing steam any time soon. Even in its popularity dip (around 2015-2018) Minecraft didn't lose cultural relevance in the slightest. Minecraft is easily one of the most fun and unique games I've ever played.

Minecraft's "look" is an integral part of the game. The blocky style is noticeable at a glance, and often people will make Minecraft jokes when they see something similarly blocky. The style is unique- you know it when you see it. The blocks are charming, the colors are vibrant and varied beyond belief, and the terrain and generation of the game is outright beautiful. Terrain generation has always fascinated me, and the Caves and Cliffs rework makes me feel like I'm seeing all those hills as a kid again. The recent-ish texture rework has also helped to refresh the game's visuals, and anything they add, from mobs to blocks, never seems out of place.

Minecraft's OST is a classic. It's timeless, it's nostalgic, it's a masterpiece in its own right. The amount of people who hold nostalgia for the Minecraft OST despite not being gamers or not having touched the game in a decade always surprises me. C418's music for this game is wonderful. Lena Raine's additions fit right in, in my opinion, and her tracks strike a chord in my heart just as C418's tracks do. I am heavily biased- I have a lot of personal attachment and nostalgia for the soundtrack, but I think it's wonderful in its own right, and fits the game perfectly.

Other than the music, I think the sound design is wonderful and detailed for every block and practically every action. I love the amethyst block sound specifically. Not much to say here but it's done well!

This game has undoubtedly shaped me as a person. I love Minecraft beyond belief. It is easily my favorite video game of all time. The end poem by Julian Gough is such an incredibly moving piece of art. Play some Minecraft. :)

and fuck notch!