Minecraft has a new competitor

When Minecraft was first floating about around five years ago there was a constant comparison to Lego. It’s a world where you build everything out of blocks? That’s Lego in a nutshell. This when on for a while and the jokes got even worse when last year Lego released a Minecraft line of products. Kids were using blocks to create sets made out of blocks based on a game all about making and creating with blocks. It was insanity. But Lego have finally made a move that could destroy Minecraft and leave them at the top of the block food chain.

Watch the Lego Worlds Announcement Trailer:

Lego Worlds, like Minecraft, is a procedurally generated exploration and crafting game. In simple terms this means that it’s a game where you are presented with a unique and varied world that you have the ability to explore and alter yourself. This gameplay is extremely appealing as it gives everyone something that is entirely theirs to create, play with and, with the online features of both games, then share with their friends.

The new game from Lego, which has released an open-beta on Steam that you can join for $14.99, has added several features to its gameplay that separate it from Minecraft. There is the ability to tame and ride a variety of animals, instead of just horses and pigs in Minecraft, and create vehicles that make the assembly of crafting projects quicker and simpler. The game in general seems to be a little simpler, there is the ability to insert pre-made structures into your world and use fill tools to speed up creation. This may create a divide in the market as more experienced players may prefer the complexity of Minecraft.

Although a division over complexity is a possibility Lego may have a way to sway people with the inclusion of themed packs. This aspect was only touched upon in the press release yesterday but it seems their will be the inclusion of themed areas based on other Lego products, such as Batman, Harry Potter and Star Wars. For example, you may be able to play as Batman and create your own Batcave. Depending on how well this idea is executed it may sway a lot of buyers into choosing Lego Worlds over Minecraft. I just hope they don’t do a Minecraft themed pack because that would be a game about blocks referencing Kids using blocks to create sets made out of blocks based on a game all about making and creating with blocks, and that way madness lies.