Hytale Early Access: 7 Surprises for Minecraft Veterans

After more than a decade in development, the highly anticipated early access for Hytale has officially commenced. For players who have followed the project since its announcement, this launch represents a significant milestone and the first real opportunity to explore the world crafted by the team at Hypixel.

While the game bears a strong resemblance to its block-based inspiration, it quickly becomes clear that this is not simply a clone. The development team has introduced numerous foundational changes to the survival formula, creating an experience that feels both familiar and refreshingly new for seasoned players.

The very first action a player takes in a survival game—punching a tree—is immediately different. In a departure from the standard mechanic of breaking individual blocks, Hytale treats the entire tree as a single entity. Once the base is disconnected from the ground, the whole structure collapses, exploding into a pile of resources.

This system, reminiscent of games like Terraria, eliminates the common issue of floating tree trunks and streamlines the initial resource collection process. Instead of painstakingly chipping away at each block, players are rewarded with a satisfying burst of wood, sticks, and saplings all at once.

• Whole-tree destruction eliminates floating trunks
• Yields wood, sticks, and sap in one event
• Streamlines the critical first few minutes

Early exploration reveals that the local fauna is more resilient than veterans might anticipate. Common overworld mobs, including squirrels, rabbits, sheep, and foxes, require a surprising number of hits to subdue with basic weaponry. This increased durability turns simple resource gathering into a minor tactical engagement.

The challenge is compounded by the agility of these creatures. A rabbit, for instance, can easily outpace a player, leading to extended chases across the plains. This forces players to be more deliberate in their hunting, as a single swipe with a crude sword is often insufficient to secure pelts and meat for early crafting recipes.

Exploration is aided by a subtle but highly effective visual detail in the game's caves. In the pitch-black darkness of the underground, valuable ores emit a faint glint when they catch the light from a player's torch. This shimmering effect acts as a helpful beacon, guiding miners toward copper and iron deposits without requiring them to be directly adjacent to the wall.

This small quality-of-life feature makes spelunking more efficient and visually engaging. It allows players to scan large caverns from a distance, identifying promising mining spots before committing to a specific path or depleting their torch supply.

Advancing beyond basic tools requires navigating a more intricate gear progression system. While copper ore is readily available for crafting Tier 1 armor, simply finding iron is not enough to leapfrog directly to superior gear. The crafting recipes are intentionally designed to require a mix of materials gathered from different sources.

For instance, creating iron armor demands not just iron ore, but also light leather and linen scraps. This design choice encourages a balanced playstyle, ensuring that players must engage with both mining and mob hunting to progress. It prevents rushing and adds depth to the early-game economy.

Copper armor requires only copper and plant fiber. But Iron requires iron, light leather, and linen scraps.

Even in its basic early access state, Hytale's crafting system offers more creative freedom for builders. Beyond standard blocks, players can craft slanted roof tiles and half-thick walls from raw wood and stone, allowing for more architectural variety in starter bases. The system also supports placing functional shelves on walls to hold decorative items like candles and books.

Farming introduces its own layer of complexity. Players can construct specialized buildings like chicken coops and beehives, and use tools such as a watering can. Crucially, new seeds and saplings are not found by harvesting; they must be created using Essence of Life, a currency earned when crops reach maturity, adding a strategic loop to agriculture.

As an aggressively early access title, much of the world is marked with 'work in progress' signs, blocking access to dungeons and ruins. However, a notable exception exists that hints at the adventure content to come. A map icon labeled the Forgotten Temple Gateway leads to a fully realized, hand-crafted experience.

Investigating this gateway triggers a fight against a unique mob and opens a portal to a distinct, beautiful location populated with its own NPCs and points of interest. This single piece of content serves as a promising preview of the unique biomes and quests planned for the game's future.

The initial hours in Hytale establish a solid foundation that respects its inspiration while confidently carving its own identity. The changes to resource gathering, mob durability, and crafting progression create a more involved and deliberate survival experience.

With complex systems for building, farming, and adventure already showing promise, the game is well-positioned to evolve. For veterans of the genre, the current early access build offers enough novelty and depth to warrant a return to the blocky frontier.