20 best Minecraft texture packs for 1.20 and 1.21 (2024)

Minecraft texture packs
A texture pack can improve the aesthetic value of your Minecraft world (Image via Haimcyfly)

Minecraft's default look is certainly iconic in its own right, but it may not align with the preferences of every player. This is part of the reason why the fan community has created countless Minecraft texture packs to change the appearance of in-game blocks, mobs, and more. If you are tired of the sandbox game's traditional appearance, installing a texture pack may be the remedy.

The only issue is the massive amount of options that you have when it comes to Minecraft texture packs. The answer will differ depending on your preferences, but it doesn't hurt to begin with some popular texture packs. By starting with the most popular choices, you will either find a texture pack right away or narrow down your options.


20 best Minecraft texture packs worth trying in 2024

20) Excalibur

A Minecraft castle rendered within Excalibur (Image via Maffhew/CurseForge)
A Minecraft castle rendered within Excalibur (Image via Maffhew/CurseForge)

If Minecraft fans love the overall aesthetics of medieval architecture and game worlds, then Excalibur might be worth a look. It replaces about 99% of all textures with 3D textures with a medieval flair while keeping the vanilla charm intact. Though it looks great all around and brings a little more realism to the game, medieval builds and villages thrive when this pack is installed and active.

This texture pack should be light on performance costs, as it doesn’t upscale resolutions substantially. Players can even find randomized mob designs with this pack installed if they have also installed the Optifine mod.


19) Visible Ores

Diamond ore in the visible ores texture pack for Minecraft (Image via Techy69/CurseForge)
Diamond ore in the visible ores texture pack for Minecraft (Image via Techy69/CurseForge)

Although X-ray texture packs for Minecraft are fantastic, some players would prefer not to use them. This is where a pack like Visible Ores comes in, adding a border to the borders of ore block textures and allowing the ores and their new borders to glow even in pretty dark spaces. This can help players find ore blocks underground at a solid distance, even ones they might have overlooked beforehand.

This won’t be every player’s cup of tea depending on how challenging they want Minecraft to be, but it can be particularly helpful in the event that fans want to collect ores quickly for their builds.


18) Faithless

Faithless isn’t as far from vanilla Minecraft as one might think (Image via StitchSprites/CurseForge)
Faithless isn’t as far from vanilla Minecraft as one might think (Image via StitchSprites/CurseForge)

Being inspired by vanilla Minecraft while presenting it in an entirely new way, Faithless overhauls the game’s presentation from block textures to the user interface and much more. Complete with 3D textures, pixel art backgrounds for workstations, and revised item sprites that have a pixelated and nostalgic feel, Faithless keeps the game’s personality intact while providing a new way to experience it visually.

No matter where players go in their adventures or which game mode they’re playing, Faithless provides a unique and pixel-perfect visual presentation that can easily become a fan’s favorite.


17) Dandelion X

A dark oak forest in Minecraft rendered in Dandelion X (Image via Xerotrinity/CurseForge)
A dark oak forest in Minecraft rendered in Dandelion X (Image via Xerotrinity/CurseForge)

A continuation of the original Dandelion texture pack for Minecraft, Dandelion X blends simplistic texture compositions with eye-catching colors to keep the game visually pleasing while providing an alternative to vanilla graphics. Textures connect and flow together without any asymmetry, and the color palette, while nice to look at, utilizes a small range of colors to ensure visual consistency.

If players want a new presentation in-game that keeps things minimalist without draining color or charm out of their world, Dandelion X might be worth a look.


16) ModernArch

ModernArch brings Minecraft’s visuals into the modern era (Image via Designio_graphics/CurseForge)
ModernArch brings Minecraft’s visuals into the modern era (Image via Designio_graphics/CurseForge)

Minecraft players who are looking for high-resolution and realistic textures won’t find much better than those provided by ModernArch. Based on real-world modern architecture, ModernArch uses photorealistic assets and upscales game textures to 128x128, complete with PBR support for interactivity with lighting provided by shaders. It may have been intended for modern builds at first, but this pack has blossomed into one of the most popular available.

It should be noted that due to its 128x resolution upscaling and PBR interactions, ModernArch can cause performance impacts on lower-end PCs in some situations. It may be worth trying out the pack to see if it runs well first before booting up a whole world and playing it with ModernArch active.


15) Realistico

Realistico keeps Minecraft’s default textures in place but gives them a realistic touch (Image via Texturizzo/CurseForge)
Realistico keeps Minecraft’s default textures in place but gives them a realistic touch (Image via Texturizzo/CurseForge)

This Minecraft texture pack, while similar to ModernArch when it comes to realistic visuals, offers a different perspective. Realistico keeps the original Minecraft textures in mind, upscaling them to 128x128 while giving them a 3D finish and a more realistic presentation. This pack is for fans who love the game’s original textures but want to give them a more photorealistic overhaul, and it pulls off the task quite splendidly.

Like ModernArch, there are performance impacts to consider, but players who have the hardware to run Realistico can get a ton of enjoyment out of it.


14) Reimagined

Reimagined aims to make Minecraft feel more vibrant and alive (Image via Reijvi/CurseForge)
Reimagined aims to make Minecraft feel more vibrant and alive (Image via Reijvi/CurseForge)

Reimagined is much more than a standard texture pack, as it also brings mob variations, animated blocks/items, and block variations to Minecraft. The pack aims to make the game world feel more alive with its animations and variety, making every block, item, and mob feel more unique to the player experience. Dozens of other features also make their way into Reimagined, so much so that it can make Mojang’s sandbox game feel entirely new.

This pack shouldn’t be particularly harsh when it comes to performance impacts, though the animations may cause issues on considerably low-end machines. Nevertheless, it’s worth a try at the very least, as Reimagined truly lives up to its namesake.


13) Brixel

Brixel brings Minecraft into the world of Lego (Image via Wabbabrick/CurseForge)
Brixel brings Minecraft into the world of Lego (Image via Wabbabrick/CurseForge)

Minecraft has long been compared to Lego due to its blocky visuals, and Mojang has even worked with Lego to create building sets for the game. Nevertheless, Brixel is a texture pack that can reinterpret the game world with bricks and studs as if they were made of Lego bricks themselves. This extends not only to mobs but also to mobs and items as well, completely enveloping the game in a fun and brick-filled aesthetic.

It should be noted that this Minecraft texture pack upscales textures to 512x512, so performance impacts can happen. However, players can’t argue with the incredible results this pack creates.


12) Default-Style Halloween Pack

This Minecraft texture pack is perfect for fans who love Halloween all year long (Image via Futureazoo/CurseForge)
This Minecraft texture pack is perfect for fans who love Halloween all year long (Image via Futureazoo/CurseForge)

Minecraft’s Halloween celebrations are fine, but some players need a bit more spookiness from their in-game textures. This is where the Default-Style Halloween Pack comes in, adding a little creepiness to blocks, mobs, and items that embody the spirit of Halloween. Players can carry their stuff in candy containers shaped like pumpkins, see various mobs in a collection of Halloween costumes, and use candy in lieu of dyes.

This Minecraft texture pack won’t necessarily appeal to everybody, but for fans who can’t get enough of Halloween, it’s certainly worth a download.


11) Invictus

Invictus provides a clean upscale of various vanilla textures (Image via _ForgeUser12929090/CurseForge)
Invictus provides a clean upscale of various vanilla textures (Image via _ForgeUser12929090/CurseForge)

Upscaling Minecraft’s textures up to 64x64 and removing pixelation commonly seen in vanilla, Invictus is a texture pack that’s clean, minimalist, and unique. Utilizing textures previously seen in the Soartex pack, Invictus can meet a wide range of building themes and is also fairly compatible with most devices since the 64x upscale shouldn’t cause a particularly sizable performance hit.

Invictus ensures that Minecraft still feels like itself, but in a crisper and more graphically pleasing way. With thousands of in-game textures, this pack will overhaul nearly every facet of the game’s visuals in an instant.


10) Xali's Enchanted Books

This texture pack adds new look for all enchantments (Image via Curseforge)
This texture pack adds new look for all enchantments (Image via Curseforge)

One of the biggest thorns in the sides of many Minecraft players is the fact that all enchanted books look the same. Fans who have several in a storage chest or their inventory can spend quite a bit of time highlighting each book to determine which book is the one they're looking for.

Fortunately, Xali's Enchanted Books is here to help. This pack introduces a distinct texture for each enchanted book based on the main enchantment it carries as well as the level of the enchantment, allowing you to easily and effectively retrieve them or put them on display.


9) Tissou's Zombie Pack

Try this texture pack for new zombie skins (Image via Curseforge)
Try this texture pack for new zombie skins (Image via Curseforge)

Although zombies have a decent appearance in Minecraft, they don't exactly look like resurrected humans. This is what Tissou's Zombie Pack aims to change, altering the textures of all zombie variants present within the game to give them a more accurate appearance that lines up with a traditional depiction of modern zombies.

Even better, this pack alters the sound effects of the zombies to make them a bit more scary and dangerous and a little less cartoony.


8) Dramatic Skys

Want to see beautiful skies in your world? Dramatic Skys texture pack will help with that (Image via Curseforge)
Want to see beautiful skies in your world? Dramatic Skys texture pack will help with that (Image via Curseforge)

Minecraft's vanilla skybox doesn't have much to admire. There's the sun, some blocky clouds, and the sky shifts in color as the time of day progresses. If you are looking for something a little more realistic, the Dramatic Skys texture pack may be the answer.

This pack renders HD skies with much more realistic lighting and also adds better visuals for the moon and the sun. Best of all, Dramatic Skys renders the stars in the sky at night to give you a definitive sense of wonderment.


7) Xray Ultimate

Ultimate Xray texture pack makes farming ores easy (Image via Curseforge)
Ultimate Xray texture pack makes farming ores easy (Image via Curseforge)

This texture pack won't be ideal for Minecraft players who want to get their resources the old-fashioned way, but it can be immensely helpful otherwise. Xray Ultra is a texture pack that makes ore blocks about as visible as humanly possible, and it even highlights stone blocks infested with silverfish.

It may be considered cheating by some, but the world's most beloved sandbox game is played in many different ways, and that includes cutting out the excess time spent mining and getting to ore blocks with Xray Ultimate.


6) Unity

Add depth and natural colors to blocks with Unity texture pack (Image via Curseforge)
Add depth and natural colors to blocks with Unity texture pack (Image via Curseforge)

Sometimes, you just want a little extra fidelity out of textures that look as close to the base game as possible. Unity is one of many texture packs capable of doing so and may very well be one of the best among its peers. This pack adds a subtle depth to each in-game texture and plenty of variety as well.

What makes Unity particularly special is the natural colors and blending, which makes biomes and structures look more holistic and natural without distracting from the traditional Minecraft textures that made the game special.


5) Xali's Enhanced Vanilla

This texture pack enhance the vanilla look and feel of the game (Image via Curseforge)
This texture pack enhance the vanilla look and feel of the game (Image via Curseforge)

Much like Unity, Xali's Enhanced Vanilla pack aims to keep Minecraft's core visuals intact while giving them a facelift. Even better, you can use this pack to implement connected textures, custom barrel, and bookshelf textures to add personal flavor to your builds and decorations.

This pack needs a few extra steps when installing all of its features, but the final result can create one of the best vanilla-style texture experiences in the game.


4) Stay True

Stay True texture pack keeps everything pretty and vanilla
Stay True texture pack keeps everything pretty and vanilla

As far as texture packs that revamp Minecraft's vanilla textures go, Stay True is clearly one of the best options available. It breathes new life into the game's visuals and gives blocks their own identity without making them unrecognizable from the base game.

Painful efforts were taken to ensure that textures aren't repeated in this pack, making identical blocks next to each other appear more natural instead of infinitely copied textures. Toss in connected textures and bushy leaves, and Stay True is one of the best vanilla-adjacent packs out there.


3) Jicklus

Jicklus adds a rustic style to the blocks (Image via Curseforge)
Jicklus adds a rustic style to the blocks (Image via Curseforge)

Jicklus offers a very down-to-earth experience without diving into hyperrealism and massive texture upscaling. It adds a more rustic and realistic feeling to Minecraft's textures. Each block still resembles its vanilla counterpart for the most part, but it has more natural coloration and a little wear and tear in comparison.

If you have Optifine installed, you can also apply a similar rustic feel to the game's various mobs to give them an appearance that fits Jicklus' theme perfectly.


2) Faithful 64x

Faithful 64x enhances the quality of game's pixel graphics (Image via Curseforge)
Faithful 64x enhances the quality of game's pixel graphics (Image via Curseforge)

An open-source and community-driven texture pack project, Faithful is the most direct way to upscale the base vanilla Minecraft textures without any other substantial alterations. It may not be the best pack for those looking for new textures, but Faithful should be perfect for fans who just want a higher definition.

One of the biggest upsides to Faithful is that it's available in various resolution settings from 1x to 512x the ordinary texture resolution scale. This allows you to pick the iteration of the pack that your device is capable of running smoothly. It is also one of the most popular and best Minecraft texture packs.


1) Bare Bones

Use Bare Bones to make the game like the official trailer (Image via Curseforge)
Use Bare Bones to make the game like the official trailer (Image via Curseforge)

Mojang has a very distinct visual style they employ for Minecraft trailers and spin-offs. Fortunately, the developers of Bare Bones managed to flawlessly re-create the aesthetic of Mojang's official trailers and form it into a full-texture pack. With this pack, the base game still carries the same vanilla feel but has cinematic-grade visuals on par with Mojang's official animations.


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Best Minecraft mods || Best Minecraft servers || Best Minecraft seeds || Best Minecraft Bedrock seeds || Popular Minecraft texture packs || Best Minecraft shaders || Best Minecraft enchantments || Best Minecraft commands || Best Minecraft house ideas || Minecraft villager jobs

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