All Minecraft Games, Ranked

Yes, please, any day, any time to Minecraft: a world where everything is all blocky and cool. The pitch that the first game made to those of us with creative hearts and minds instantly had us hooked from day one. And it’s been a thrilling journey since, although one with a few bumps along the way. Whether you’re looking to crawl through the dungeons, push back the tenacious piglins, or even learn a thing or two about chemistry and computer science, our ranking of all Minecraft games will show you where to begin.

7. Minecraft: Story Mode (2015)

I love stories, well-told stories that have a swell of emotions based purely on the portrayal of the characters and the environments they travel through. Minecraft already has the latter nailed down. It’s the compelling stories part that Telltale may have struggled a bit to hit the landing. For the unacquainted, Minecraft: Story Mode is a point-and-click episodic adventure set in the Minecraft blocky universe. Your protagonist is the male or female hero called Jesse, and your adventures alongside your friends take you on a tumultuous journey across the Overworld.

Now, those of us who’ve played any Telltale episodic adventures like The Walking Dead, Guardians of the Galaxy, even Game of Thrones know they do their best work adapting established franchises. As much as the story has been told before, Telltale knows how to pull you in with its tough choices that carry emotional weight. Unfortunately, Minecraft: Story Mode just doesn’t quite hit that sweet spot of intrigue. It’s fun, sure, like watching a Saturday cartoon. But a little too simplistic for my taste. I want the surprises, the unexpected twists and turns, and those are, unfortunately, nearly non-existent.

6. Minecraft Education (2016)

I hear you that Minecraft Education may not necessarily be your idea of a good time, but it has its audience. I’ll admit also that I kind of enjoy being challenged, especially in a universe as fun as Minecraft. Learning math or science in the traditional classroom setting is boring. But here, I find it genuinely engaging. Any subject that intrigues you has its respective challenges. So, in Science, you might build a biological cell. You’ll actually learn something because you also need to know what the individual parts of a cell do.

Beyond the basics, the lessons also curate higher-level courses like Computer Science. I probably shouldn’t call them courses because they aren’t too complex. One thing’s for sure, though. You’ll definitely feel the pressure to solve problems creatively and analytically, with a time limit to keep your learning in check.

5. Minecraft Earth (2019)

I keep discovering the names of countries I have never heard of, and that gets me worried about my geographical knowledge of the world. Yet, the world is so huge, which is where the gaming community comes in to help build together. Your imagination can run as wild as you want here, with a blank canvas put before you. I started illustrating how Minecraft Earth ranks in fifth place among all Minecraft games with the idea of building the globe, and it is possible.

But you can definitely set your sights on a more achievable creation, adding more details that make your creations feel lively and lived-in. For instance, life-sized miniatures are possible here, and you might make a home for them, decorating the interior and exterior with intricate architecture. A fun idea is to build obstacle courses for your friends to try and beat.

4. Minecraft Classic (2009)

Did you know that the original Minecraft game was the Minecraft Classic early access version? It was certainly not perfect, but the core idea quickly became a global sensation. How limitless your creativity could go in manipulating the blocks of the Minecraft universe continues to blow my mind.

Granted, the types of blocks you could work with were limited. They could create terrain, construct houses, and set up forests. Your stones, flowers, water, bricks, and more functional and decorative blocks, whose only ask of you is to dream. But this was only the beginning. The map would soon be way bigger than we could imagine. The gameplay would soon expand to add combat and survival. And of course, the glitches and clipping would soon be ironed out.

3. Minecraft Legends (2023)

Now, when we talk about actual gameplay, Minecraft Legends is where the ball really gets rolling. It’s a warzone over on the Overworld, your allies on one side of the battle, the menacing piglins on the other. Your saving grace is the mastery of strategic management of the mobs fighting on your side. However, there were a lot of moving parts in the gameplay that, in the end, nothing really achieved the impact it could have.

While on horseback, you gallop around commanding your troops to collect the resources you need, to build defenses, and wage war against the piglins. You have stations to craft equipment and weapons. But it’s all too simple. Most of the work is done for you. Even with the variety of mobs at your disposal, golems, zombies, creepers, and more, their uniqueness is barely maximized because of how easy the battles are and how repetitive the missions become. And so, after the first few missions, you’ll find yourself getting bored, possibly quitting, and potentially never coming back.

2. Minecraft Dungeons (2020)

In the ranking of all Minecraft games, Minecraft Dungeons steals second place. Now, here, things get a little more intense as you enter the dungeons on your own, seeking treasure, collecting valuable items, and facing iconic mobs out for blood. By staying true to the already working ideas and execution of other dungeon crawlers, Minecraft Dungeons manages to deliver a sweet time. It’s a gameplay loop you’ve likely played before, viewed from a top-down perspective. The mobs come at you, and you use hack-and-slash combat to take them down.

To keep things refreshing, you may switch up your weapons and gear. Your loot also helps encourage another go at it through the dungeons. Nothing as complex as Diablo here, but still a fun time nonetheless.

1. Minecraft (2011)

And now, the original Minecraft, or at least the final version of it that was launched after the Minecraft Classic early access. It’s been over a decade now, and the sandbox game continues to wow us with its many adventures, accessories, and rewards. Some players still play Minecraft for the nostalgia of it. Others still find it the biggest sandbox where you can literally build anything you want. No other sandbox inspires the kind of creativity I’ve seen here.

No other sandbox game has held its own through pure charm and addictively relaxing gameplay. Day and night go by, and still I find myself intrigued by the myriad of things to do here, whether it’s planting crops, mining iron, building a fortress, pushing back the creepers, and more shenanigans.