Wearing its influences on its sleeve, Hytale doesn't shy away from how much inspiration from Minecraft goes into the RPG. But if the fantasy adventure's aesthetic wasn't similar enough to Mojang's blocky builder for you, a modder is already bridging the gap between the two games.
As a quick history lesson, Hytale's roots go back to a Minecraft server in the mid-2010s. Eventually outgrowing that platform, developer Hypixel retained the block-based visual style as the project grew into its own distinct experience.
Mere days after the game entered early access – itself the culmination of over a decade of development – someone's giving it a facelift to look more like the elaborate product of many hours spent in Minecraft's Creative Mode. "It's a work in progress, I'll put it up on CurseForge when I have something that's functional enough," the user posts on Reddit.
I'm working on a mod that makes Hytale look like Minecraft :) from r/hytale
Their screenshot is definitely more Minecraft-like at first glance. You have the multi-square inventory along the bottom of the screen, and the textures are slightly softer on the eye. It's an amusing bit of creative engineering, and something I can easily imagine being popular as an in-joke within the Hytale community.
There are already conversations about how deep the connection between the two games will go. "Would be so much cooler if these were unique items and there was a portal to 'Minecraft' where you can get all these items, and fight the mobs etc. Instead of just replacing all the Hytale stuff with Minecraft stuff," says one commenter.
"I'm sure someone will completely remake Minecraft in Hytale within the next year. There's no way it doesn’t happen," another commenter predicts. I'm not a gambling man, but that seems like a sound prediction, and Hytale's modding scene is off to a strong start already.
