I’ve spent hours wrapped up in the 15-year history of Minecraft. It must be more than a decade since I started playing, and in that time, I’ve owned the game on countless platforms and have embarked on epic adventures and worked with friends to construct monumental creations – much like tens of millions of other gamers worldwide.
Minecraft is a global phenomenon, that much is obvious. But I never realised the true depth and density of Minecraft’s evolution and lifecycle thus far until I dove head over heels into The World of Minecraft. This definitive and comprehensive compendium breaks down everything you could ever want to know about the block-building miracle of a game.
I’m here to proclaim that the Deluxe Numbered Edition of The World of Minecraft is the single best gift you could ever give a Minecraft fan.
Block by Block
I was fortunate enough to receive a review copy of The World of Minecraft: Deluxe Numbered Edition. I couldn’t have prepared myself for what I received when I opened the box…
Minecraft fans will go dizzy as they unravel the contents of the durable and on-theme box, printed with iconic creatures and characters from the Minecraft universe. Inside is a gorgeous hard-back compendium featuring 224 pages of knowledge, wisdom, and secrets from the 15-year history of Minecraft.
The compendium is split up into fifteen expansive chapters, each one bursting out of the page with bright graphics, instantly recognisable visuals, and quotes from developers, content creators, and executives at Mojang, Microsoft, and anyone else connected to Minecraft.
It doesn’t matter if you’re interested in what Minecraft looked like before it became Minecraft or if you want to learn more about Microsoft’s acquisition of Mojang, everything is covered in this book. And this might sound strange, but straight out of the box, it smells sumptuous.
That’s not all, though – the Deluxe Edition comes with a high-quality certificate of authenticity, identifying the number of your book. There are just 1,000 copies available worldwide, and once they’re gone, they’re gone.
What excited me the most were the signed prints. Oh, yes.
The shining gem of the Deluxe Numbered Edition is an exclusive art case that houses three signed prints – real signatures, too. One is signed by Doug John Miller, another by Kazuyoshi Seto, and the third by Markus ‘Junkboy’ Toivonen. They’re simply fantastic, and I’ll probably keep them locked safely away to hand them down as a family heirloom, or something.
Can’t Stress Enough
If your child, sibling, parent, friend, or colleague is a massive Minecraft fan, they will be forever indebted to you if you hand them The World of Minecraft: Deluxe Numbered Edition as a gift. I cannot stress how beautiful this thing is, but it will set you back a pretty penny.
If you want to secure all the goodness this bundle offers, it’ll set you back £200 (or whatever that is where you are).
But in an afternoon, I curled up and went on a mystical Minecraft journey, learning about the origins of the Pocket Edition of the game, and then finding out how Minecraft’s iconic soundtrack was created. I discovered never-before-seen diagrams showing how in-game automation works and saw the incredible array of concepts created for Minecraft’s title and branding.
I’ve since gone back to read The World of Minecraft: Deluxe Numbered Edition several times over, each time finding something new to explore or a new quote to read.
This is a piece of gaming history, crafted with love and dedication to a game that has changed the lives of millions of people. It wasn’t just my pleasure to review this compendium, it was an honour. I cannot recommend it enough.
The World of Minecraft: Deluxe Numbered Edition launches on November 7, 2024.
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