It’s hard to imagine that era minecrafta sandbox game that featured crossover content between Star Wars and Hello Kitty and offered “Happy Gusts” as mobs, was scary. I remember being 11 years old and playing on an old PC that covered the in-game map with fog. There, the generation of broken worlds was not a bug, but an artifact left behind by those who came before me. It was so creepy that no horror mod could really recreate it.
I had an unrealistic fear of encountering Herobrine. Minecraft forums will spread the name and increase the myth over time. But it wasn’t just the fear of something different in my world, it was the fact that everything was new. I didn’t know what irons did, and I didn’t know the best way to get a full set of diamond gear. It was simple survival, and I was forced to brave the depths of the cave in order to become strong enough to live without fear. That feeling when you encounter your first cave illuminated by a pool of lava?Unparalleled to this day. It may just be a matter of nostalgia, but I don’t think modern Minecraft has the slightest bit of that atmosphere.
I was hoping that stepping into a new yet familiar world with Hytale would bring me back to that combination of childhood wonder and anxiety. Rather, it was more of an adventure, and the biggest fear was death and setbacks. Luckily, I managed to find my savior, a little-known gem called Vintage Story.
Let me say right off the bat that the vintage story is complicated. It is harsh and cruel in every sense of the word. If Minecraft is a sandbox game with survival elements, Vintage Story is one of the best survival games with sandbox mechanics, a more realistic experience with slower progression and more rewards.
When I first loaded into the world of Vintage Stories, I was scared. Granted, it wasn’t the kind of fear I had when I was 10 years old scared of Herobrine, but the mild sense of dread that comes with finding yourself in a vast, unexplored world. Fear of the unknown. Distant rain clouds drenched the grassy terrain and large mountains loomed overhead.
You can’t run up and punch a tree or create a working pickaxe in your first day. Instead, you’ll need to craft a makeshift knife using flint shards to mow the grass, make firewood, and get through the first night. While building the foundation for your first home is almost instantaneous in Minecraft, building a decent home with a functioning kitchen, forge, and pantry (yes, food does rot) is the main goal in Vintage Story.
It all sounds overwhelming, and it certainly can be. There’s a handy survival guide that gives you tips on how to progress, but it’s actually much more complex than Minecraft. Regardless of how stressful it can be, this is the great thing about Vintage Story: it allows you to step out of Minecraft’s giant shadow.
While Minecraft, and now Hytale, offer survival elements as a first step towards the creative freedom and adventure players truly desire, Vintage Story is more of a hardcore survivalist. That doesn’t mean there’s a lack of imaginative construction. That’s just a bonus. Carving out small blocks to create beautiful-looking doorways and arches feels more like a minor goal than the main goal.
Despite its seemingly cozy style, it lends itself well to a spooky atmosphere. At night, as expected, you have to deal with all kinds of threats. The enemies in Vintage Stories aren’t bright zombies or goofy skeletons, but creepy horrors crouching in your home. Temporary storms also bring periodic events that obstruct visibility, while monsters previously only seen at night appear and start hunting you.
I’ve played Hytale for about 12 hours since its release, but I quickly grew tired of it. But I’ve already spent a day at Vintage Story. I feel like I’ve seen everything Hytale and Minecraft have to offer, and I can’t wait to get through another brutal winter with Vintage Story.
Currently not available on Steam. However, you can redeem access by purchasing from Humble Bundle for $26.50 / £19.75, creating an account and installing the launcher. It’s worth adding the .exe to your PC, and you can always add non-Steam games to your library if you want to access them from there.
Given how few games have touched early Minecraft in my nostalgic head, I think Vintage Story deserves more praise and attention. If you like challenging and atmospheric survival games, this is for you.
