Minecraft is now in its 12th year of existence, but intrepid players are still finding new ways to make it look better than ever before. Sure, its block-built facade may not scream high fidelity in its base state, but some of the best mods can transform your game into a thing of beauty. Shaders and texture packs are over and above the best way to do just that, and a wealth of aesthetically-pleased makeover projects exist to turn the basic world from meh to magnificent in just a few steps.
Before you take a run at the best Minecraft shaders, and the best Minecraft texture packs, there's some housekeeping you should be aware of. Firstly, you'll want to install Minecraft Forge which will help streamline the process of downloading and installing mods themselves. Next, you should download Optifine, which makes Minecraft look better, and, crucially, run faster – the latter being especially important, given the fact your sprawling open-world playgrounds are about to become far more resource-intensive.
