We purchased Minecraft so that our expert reviewer could thoroughly test and evaluate it. Read on for our full product review.

Minecraft is the ultimate indie gaming success story, gradually transforming from a solo project to a global phenomenon with over 100 million monthly active users, spinoff games, merchandise, conventions and more. But it’s not all that makes Minecraft one of the most popular games in the world, it’s the game itself.

Even a decade after its original alpha release, Minecraft remains a pure and immersive sandbox experience, dropping players into a blocky world full of seemingly endless possibilities. It has no storyline, no quests, and no clear hooks to draw you in. It’s essentially a blank canvas: a blocky, pixelated, empty canvas. But the beauty of Minecraft is that not only is there so much more going on beneath the surface (quite literally), but its freeform design allows for new and diverse types of play, and it’s especially great for younger players.

Believe it or not, there is no plot in Minecraft—nor any fully-developed characters, despite the boy and girl characters’ skins being named Steve and Alex, respectively. Minecraft is an open-ended playground where you can use your imagination to create adventures and stories. Minecraft won’t do the heavy lifting for you, though more and more storylines are being found externally in official books, comics, and spin-off games.