Minecrafthas always put player-freedom and creativity at the very forefront of its design, but that creativity is still limited by a few big factors. One of the biggest limitationsMinecraftputs on its players is the environments in which they can forge their creations. WhenMinecraftfirst released, players were limited to just a handful of biomes, with the main one being its iconic woodland area. While more have been added over the years, there are still places that players simply can’t go.
WhileMinecrafthas been a trendsetter in countless different ways, it might be time for it to actually start taking inspiration from other popular games, andThe Legend of Zeldafranchise may be the perfect place to look. ThroughoutZelda’s history, players have been able to explore tropical islands, shadowy forests, majestic castles, and underwater temples, to name just a few, and whileMinecraftoffers a lot of similar biomes, there’s one location it doesn’t, and that’sThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s sky islands.
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Minecraft Should Borrow Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s Sky Islands
WhenMinecraftfirst released back in 2011, its survival mechanics played a pivotal role in the gameplay loop. Whenplayers first hopped intoMinecrafta decade ago, they were more focused on finding quick shelter, weapons, and food to survive their first night as opposed to building some impressive architectural creations. A big emphasis ofMinecraft’s original core gameplay loop was, as the name implies, mining. Players were encouraged to dig down, find materials, and craft better gear, and repeat the process, getting a little better each time.
As time has gone on, and its player-base has become more accustomed to the game’s difficulty,Minecrafthas focused more on letting players create whatever they can think of, as opposed to forcing them to simply survive. And over the last decade,Minecraft’s updates have continued to reinforce this more creative approach, with new blocks, items, vehicles, and mobs being added to aid the player in their building. Some ofMinecraft’s biggest updateshave also added brand-new biomes to the game and fleshed out those already there, again giving players more choice in how they approach building on specific terrain. But through all ofMinecraft’s updates, a sky biome has never been added.
While players can build tall towers that reach into the sky, and can technically create floating structures by exploiting some of the game’s mechanics,Minecraftoffers no official way to create anything in its skybox, at least not in Survival mode. WithMinecraftalready exploring the underground through a plethora of updates, more surface land biomes being added, and even the sea getting its own content refresh, it’s about time thatMinecrafttook players to new territory, and there’s nowhere better than the sky.
For inspiration,Minecraftmay want to look toThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. One of the biggest selling points of Nintendo’s long-awaited sequel is the ability to not only travel across the entirety of Hyrule once again, but explore a kingdom above it. Along withHyrule Castleitself, a number of islands have been lifted into the sky, and it’s up to Link to travel between them all and see what they have to offer.Minecraftshould take a similar approach and introduce a series of islands set high in the sky. To reach them, a set of vehicles and blocks should be introduced, maybe imitatingTears of the Kingdom’s Fuse mechanic.Minecraftshould also add a few new mobs to go with this hypothetical sky update, including friendly animal mobs like birds that players can use to reach the sky, and additional enemy types to battle once they’re up there.
Minecraftis available on Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and legacy platforms.
