Creativity and Beyond

Outside of Survival, there's also the new Creative mode. With the ability to fly, place an infinite number of blocks of any type, and destroy any block in a single hit, this low-stress building mode lets you dabble to your heart's content. The creative freedom is fun, but I still found myself spending the most of my time in Survival mode, which feels a very new experience. Major changes to the game's beautiful blocky landscapes and biomes alone make exploring feel fresh, and the underground realm is vastly improved by 1.8's subtle tweaks. There's a little more waiting in-store before 1.9 delivers the next round of thrilling adventure-oriented content, but this latest update offers plenty of reasons to lure you back into Minecraft's expansive depths.