Core Keeper Preview: A Top-Down Minecraft Adventure

Minecraft is one of the most popular games currently out there. This global phenomenon is a first/third-person sandbox game where you can build and do pretty much anything. You may have heard of it. Now imagine a top-down version of the game like the older Zelda games. Welcome to Core Keeper.

Core Keeper isn’t the first Minecraft clone. Terraria is another honorable mention and possibly the most recognizable one. But, Terraria is a 2D side-scroller, similar to older Mario games. To fill in the gap for Minecraft players who prefer top-down adventure games, you can try out Core Keeper.

Core Keeper is available on Steam.

Story – Somewhere Between Irrelevant to Almost Nonexistent

Yep, Core Keeper doesn’t really have that much of a plot. And what little plot it does have, doesn’t have much bearing on the way you play the game.

But that’s part of the charm of these games. They take away the focus from deep lore and worldbuilding and put more of an emphasis on the gameplay and visuals. 

Here’s what a decently furnished house looks like in Core Keeper.

If you’re really curious though, here’s what I can gather from my time playing. You’re an adventurer who gets transported to a mysterious world filled with monsters. Eventually, you’ll face three boss monsters, and upon beating them, the game dumps some more lore.

Apparently, the world you’re currently in was once civilized but is now overrun by dark forces. As far as I know, there currently isn’t an “ending,” although there probably never will be. Like how Minecraft technically “ends” after you beat the Ender Dragon, as in you’ve beaten the worst the game has to offer. But it never truly ends.

Gameplay – Not Blocky, Pretty Smooth Actually

Call Core Keeper a Minecraft clone if you want, but there’s no arguing that it is very well done. The movement, mining, and combat are all very fluid. There are also tons of tiny details to notice that make the game feel very polished.

Blocks have a satisfying bounce whenever you hit them when mining. Cooking is surprisingly in-depth, with hundreds of possible recipes. There are even various side activities like playing music, fishing, and farming to constantly keep you busy.

The fishing minigame in Core Keeper.

I do wish they added an in-game codex though. One that tells you where to find things and what they do.

Games like Core Keeper always suffer from this. I don’t want to constantly look things up on the internet just to figure out where to find a specific resource. It takes away from the immersion. Players are going to do it anyway, so why not just put all that information inside the game?

Exploration

The world of Core Keeper is way bigger than it seems at first. The game also incentivizes you to explore further and further with the boss fight system. After beating the first three bosses, the next bosses are all farther than you’ve ever been before.

Mining is easier than Minecraft. You can see sparkling animations in the dark, indicating that there are ores there.

The sparkles mean there are some valuable ores to mine there.

One thing I wished the game had is the ability to choose the seed for your world. There are roundabout ways to do it if you found an interesting world you want to copy, but it’s definitely a pain to do.

Another gripe I have is the transportation, although this is just a minor gripe. It can get pretty tedious to go back and forth between locations that are so far apart. Railways definitely help. The game also gives you portals, but it’ll take some time before you can get it. I don’t know how they’d solve the issue though. Free fast travel feels cheap, so that’s not exactly what I want either.

Combat

I gotta say, the combat is one thing that Core Keeper does better than Minecraft. That might be a controversial take since Minecraftdoes offer better mobility since it’s 3D, but I stand by it. Core Keeper gives you better vision of your surroundings, allowing you to properly plan your movements and attacks.

Different food, weapons, and equipment will affect your style. It can be pretty diverse. It doesn’t feel like the game forces you to play optimally either. Whether you want to go ranged, melee, tanky, glass cannon, or whatever, you can definitely make it work.

One of the many boss monsters in Core Keeper.

If you’re familiar with Hollow Knight, the smoothness of the combat in this game reminds me of Hollow Knight’s combat.

Plus, Core Keeper has guns. Need I say more?

Graphics & Audio – Terraria-ish, But Still Holds Its Own

As with all these games, the graphics are kept simple. It’s a stylistic choice and hey, if it works, it works. All thing’s considered, even though it has pixelated graphics, it feels like a lot of love was put into it. 

The lighting and shadows are pretty good and are actually integral to the game. Most of the game is in pure darkness, so using torches and other sources of light is a fundamental aspect.

The dark surroundings really make the bright and colorful objects pop out.

The music may be the most “standard” thing in this game. I may be angering the Core Keeper community here, but from my time playing, the music was nothing to write home about. It’s just your typical relaxing music that occasionally becomes more fast-paced when entering combat. The music does change whenever you go into a different biome though. It’s not bad, just average.

Core Keeper was previewed on PC through Steam with the key provided by the71.net.