So, as you might already know, there is another big Minecraft update on the way – version 1.17, a.k.a “Caves & Cliffs”. As the name suggests, it’s going to be focusing on the underground (with a lesser focus on mountains and such), and that’s welcome news for long-time players. Especially since the Nether, Minecraft’s weirdo hell dimension, got a makeover in version 1.16, it’s become painfully obvious how little the regular underground has changed for very many years.
And as ever, the new feature brush is not being applied lightly – there are going to be 4 new mobs added piecemeal in the months leading up to the presumed full release of the update in mid-2021, as well as somewhere in the region of 30-odd new blocks and their derivatives. And that’s all grand. There’s even an axolotl being added – one of my favourite beasts, and the first amphibian in the game. But thinking about it has made me realise that these big updates are a bit of a double-edged sword, at least for me.