Minecraft's core experience does not revolve around it's underlying story

When players first enter a new Minecraft world, they will spawn in a massive world with loads of biomes, creatures, terrain generations, and more. The first dimension that they will explore will be the Overworld. They can then head into the Nether and finally the End. All three dimensions are necessary to enter and explore to complete the game's underlying story.

Even though the game has a unique and mysterious story that players can complete, it is not necessarily the entire core experience of the sandbox title.

Note: This article is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinion.

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Minecraft packs much more than its underlying storyline

Players do not necessarily have to complete Minecraft's story to enjoy the game

There is a lot to do apart from completing the underlying storyline. (Image via Mojang Studios)

Minecraft's basic story is that a builder (player's character) goes on a journey to conquer all three dimensions: Overworld, Nether, and End, freeing the third and the last realm from the Ender Dragon's reign.

In the beginning, however, the game does not tell anything about the threats or the story. It will teach players the basic mechanics and let them explore and play the game freely. It does not force the player into the narrative or set them on a particular path.

After starting a new world, players can do whatever they want in the game. They can remain in the Overworld, interact with certain mobs, and live in peace.

Since building is a massive part of the game, some players spend hours creating some of the most stunning structures in any of the three dimensions. Some try to create some of the largest in-game structures in the community without even entering the End realm.

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Mods and mod packs offer loads of unique community-made features

Mods can completely change the game's look and feel. (Image via CurseForge)

Even before Minecraft was officially released in 2011, its budding community started making third-party features and adding them to the game as mods. In 2024, the game's modding community is extremely massive.

While the vanilla version is still recommended since it teaches the game's basic mechanics, new players can directly jump into modded Minecraft and enjoy different experiences and storylines.

Mods add a set amount of features to the game, while mod packs are collections of several mods that create a completely new and unique experience for the player base.

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The only plus side of finishing Minecraft's storyline

Players can get more blocks and items if they continue to explore and complete the story. (Image via Mojang Studios)

While players don't need to complete the game's core storyline, they can most definitely benefit from it.

As players progress forward in the journey and explore different dimensions and structures, they will obtain new blocks and items that can be used to their advantage.

Nether and Overworld can be explored easily since players can return from the former through a portal. However, to explore and obtain resources from the End realm, players need to complete the story and defeat the final boss of the game: Ender Dragon.

Resources like end blocks, purpur blocks, shulker shells, elytra, chorus fruit, etc. can only be obtained after the game's story is complete.