Ever sinceMinecraftfirst made its debut, there have been countless clones trying to copy the success of the game. These clones often had very similar graphics with a few uncanny designs if you were accustomed to the art style of Minecraft. Some of these clones became cheap alternatives that offered an added element to the game to spice things up.
Later on, Minecraft clones would stop trying to copy the game on a surface level and instead focus on using the formula of building your own world to enhance the gameplay. In fact, some games became honorary clones as they became popular after the success of Minecraft.
Terraria is often considered a 2D version of Minecraft. Rather than having a 3D world to explore, Terraria encourages the player to keep digging deeper and discover new biomes. You have all your iconic Minecraft staples, such as building a pickaxe out of various materials and using it to dig, gather resources, and fend off enemies. You can even punch trees.
Where Terraria stands out the most is the main goal of the game. Minecraft is mostly a survival game with one big hidden boss. Terraria, on the other hand, has multiple bosses that appear when certain conditions are met. There is also more focus on collecting special items, such as grappling hooks, wands, and other weaponry that you won’t find in Minecraft.
If you weren’t playing Minecraft during its early years, then there was a chance you were on its cheaper and edgier alternative, CastleMiner Z. This game copies the Minecraft aesthetic from the blocks to the crafting elements. However, it has a somewhat more realistic texture, making the world seem darker and less friendly.
This is the main draw that made Castle Miner Z such a draw, despite being a clone. The tone shifted more towards horror, with darkened skies and monsters roaming in the overworld that were not made out of blocks. The game also added guns and grenades, instead of focusing on the more medieval weapon choices of Minecraft.
Lego games often focus on retreading the plot of movieswhile giving them their own little comedic spins. Lego Worlds, on the other hand, focuses on Lego as an aesthetic while borrowing elements that made Minecraft such a successful game. Dropping you in as a Lego minifigure, you have a tool that lets you reshape the world as you see fit.
This means copying structures that you find throughout the overworld, digging through the ground by removing Lego studs, and completing quests to collect golden bricks. The more you discover, the more options you will unlock, giving you access to new tools and pieces. you may even build structures brick by brick if you don’t feel like copying and pasting.
The Minecraft formula and art style is truly the golden goose of video game design. So much so that even Dragon Quest borrowed some elements for the spinoff series, Dragon Quest Builders. Dragon Quest Builders 2 is a sequel that blends the blocky aesthetic and crafting elements of Minecraft with the RPG and dungeon elements of Dragon Quest.
Dragon Quest Builders 2 is an RPG at heart that allows you to tackle dungeons, level up, and farm for resources. The Minecraft elements show off the most when it is time to do some construction. you may use the resources you find while battling monsters and digging through caverns to bring old towns back to life. You can even switch between a first-person and a third-person camera.
Roblox is often considered a Minecraft clone, but in reality, it was around long before Minecraft came out. Roblox originally debuted in 2006 but failed to become the juggernaut that it is today. While it had plenty of its own elements that made it unique, it wasn’t until after the success of Minecraft that Roblox started catching fire, which caused confusion.
Roblox took creativity to a whole different level. The character designs may seem familiar with their blocky appearances, but you’re doing more than just creating structures. Instead, you are creating games that are playable on the platform, from shooters to simulators, and learning about coding along the way. In fact, this is another similarity to Minecraft that makes it an honorary clone.
Starbound isa 2D-pixel gamethat has its lineage rooted within the Minecraft family tree. It takes inspiration from Terraria, which took its own inspiration from Minecraft. It is proof that video game ideas evolve over time to create new experiences. This time, Starbound takes you to the deepest corners of space, where you need to get beamed down to the surface so you may start mining for resources.
This has many elements of Minecraft, such as building houses out of wood, exploring dark caverns, and slowly upgrading your arsenal. This helps you survive against the many mobs that spawn on the planets and keep moving toward new worlds.
2Cube World
An Ambitious Minecraft Clone
Cube World may not be the first Minecraft clone that you gravitate toward, but it has plenty of unique properties that help it stand as its own experience. While Cube World retains the blocky template of Minecraft’s world, the textures are smoother, giving youthe illusion that you’re playing in a toybox.
Cube World also has more of a focus on combat since you can do more than just swing your sword around at enemies. You can dodge enemy attacks, perform combos, or even use the skills that come with the four unique classes. Choose the kind of character you want to be, whether it’s a Warrior, Ranger, Mage, or Rogue, then use your special skills to become more powerful.
1FortressCraft Evolved!
Minecraft Meets Tower Defense
FortressCraft Evolved mixes two different genres together to produce a brand-new breed of game. On one side, you have the exploration, voxel style, and crafting elements that made Minecraft so popular. On the other side,you have a bit of automation, tower defense, and structures that will provide you with benefits the more you invest in them.
If you ever wanted to build more contraptions in Minecraft but feel like the redstone system just isn’t enough, FortressCraft Evolved has machines that will collect resources for you. Other systems include panels that allow you to harness the power of the sun to power up other machines in the game. FortressCraft Evolved provides a more complex system that not only gives you a sense of ramping progression, but can be eye candy for those who love watching machines at work.
