'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Minecraft is a game that has been praised for its infinite sandbox world and the huge amount of activities one can undertake in the game. Building, exploration combat in Minecraft have never been better, and they are the primary reason behind Minecraft’s success. However, there is one area in which Minecraft lags behind other video games: graphical quality.
Realism is an evolving phenomenon in video games, especially in this day and age. Most games focus on depicting the highest possible amount of realism with their graphics. However, Minecraft has always chosen to stick with the pixel-graphics style of visuals. The following article will guide players on how to make Minecraft look as realistic as possible.
How to transform Minecraft’s graphics to look realistic (2021)
As mentioned above, Minecraft’s graphics are a core example of the pixel-art style of game visuals. Everything in Minecraft is represented by blocks and pixels, from water droplets to fire particles. To make Minecraft look realistic, there are a few tools that will have to be utilized. This includes shaders, mods, and resource packs.
Improving the look of Minecraft: Optifine
Optifine is a mod for Minecraft, which serves as the parent mod for countless other mods, shader packs, and resource packs and is required to run them. Essentially, it makes Minecraft support HD textures and gives the game many customization options. In addition, it also provides an FPS boost and makes the game smoother to play, reducing lag spikes.
Optifine can be downloaded from here.
Improving the look of Minecraft: Shaders
Shaders totally revamp the lighting and shadow effects in a game, and they are no different in Minecraft. There are a plethora of shaders available for Minecraft out there, with each having both free and paid versions. Each shader has its own set of customizations, effects, and features that it brings to the game. Post-processing effects like motion blur and anti-aliasing are common features among shaders.
Some of the most popular and effective shader packs include the Sildurs Vibrant Shaders, the SEUS PTGI shaders, the SEUS Renewed shaders, the BSL shaders, and the Continuum shaders. While most shaders consume a lot of PC resources, some are designed to decrease the load on the player’s PC while providing significant improvements brought by the shader pack.
Some shaders for low-end PCs can be found here.
Improving the look of Minecraft: Resource Packs
Resource packs replace the textures and even sounds of most items and blocks in Minecraft, essentially upscaling their resolution. This upgrades block textures from the vanilla pixel-art style to sharp, refined, and high-resolution textures. Cobblestone, wood, and even dirt look more realistic with resource packs applied. Resource packs are marginally different from texture packs, as the latter only changes the textures of entities.
There are a plethora of resource packs available for Minecraft. These can be downloaded from their respective websites or from curseforge. Like shaders, resource packs are also available in free and paid versions and are come in various sizes and capacities for resource consumption. Popular resource packs include Ultimate Immersion, RTX Beta Resource pack, Faithful and Helheim.
Some resource packs for low-end PCs can be found here.
Combining shaders and resource packs gives the perfect blend of realism and the vanilla vibe to Minecraft. One of the best resulting changes to the game includes water texture and physics. The game looks incredibly upscaled and can compete with the best-looking games of its generation.
