Minecraft is the most popular video game in history, with 200 million global sales across all platforms. The game’s popularity has endured since its launch in 2009 due to a high level of creativity afforded to players, and the deceptively simple gameplay.
Despite the brightly coloured, Lego-esque graphics, Minecraft appeals to gamers of all ages - in fact according to Microsoft’s own head of Minecraft Helen Chiang the average age of players is 24. The COVID 19 pandemic has led to a surge of players, as people are favouring staying home and gaming over other forms of entertainment. Another reason for its enduring popularity is the enormous library of mods available.
Mods are basically extra content for the game, and Minecraft is designed in such a way that makes it adaptable. For this reason it has one of the most active modding communities in gaming, with thousands of mods downloadable for free, and functionality that allows multiple mods to be used at once. While the legacy console version cannot be modded, the computer and mobile versions can.
Let’s take a look at the best mods you can download for Minecraft Pocket Edition.
DayZ
This fun mod changes the theme of the game into a zombie apocalypse scenario which you have to survive. It doesn’t alter the graphics or interface, just the nature of the race for survival.
Almost all of humanity has been wiped out by an unknown infection - fairly apt for 2020 - and you must search the derelict wasteland and do what you can to avoid almost certain doom, pitted against the other survivors. In this dystopian landscape you start with some basic medical gear, and pick up what you can along the way that might help you - but it probably won’t, as average life expectancy is a little over an hour. The zombies, or Zed, are dotted about the place, and are best avoided. They are usually found around infected areas, but are less likely encountered in the wilderness. They are difficult to kill and almost impossible to outrun, but you can kill them with one shot to the head from any weapon.
Another ‘fun’ part of this mod is finding dead bodies to loot. Look for swarms of flies - they helpfully show where fresh corpses lie. A little dark, but this mod is great fun to play with your friends.
Furnicraft
For any budding designers out there, this is the perfect mod to use with Pocket Edition. Kit your building or safe house out with various different pieces of furniture, arranged to your liking, with a range of colours to choose from.
You can dot ornaments and paintings about the place, adding tasteful, sophisticated touches to your interior. Design a lighting concept for your building, with numerous lightbulbs available, and of course, pimp out your kitchen with swanky sinks and accessories such as blenders. Create a warm ambience for your space with a roaring fireplace, perfect to settle down next to in your new multicoloured armchair. Furnicraft is a great fun, creative mod.
Magnificent Biomes
Change the atmosphere and feel of your Minecraft Pocket Edition experience with this colourful mod.
Magnificent Biomes is simple, it just adds new biomes, mobs, items and structures. You will see alps, dense forests, volcanos, stone plains and gravel beaches, new mobs such as butterflies, birds and snails, all of the features and creatures you can’t encounter in the regular Minecraft scenario. With pagodas and temples, along with its amazing scenery, this is a mod pretty to look at and adds a new dimension to the gaming experience.
Expansive Fantasy
For lovers of mythical beasts, this mod allows you to cruise around on your very own fire breathing dragon!
Of course, dragons need to be tamed, otherwise they are extremely hostile and aggressive. In the mod you should find dragon eggs, and then work on taming the dragon with salmon. Once you do, you and your new friend can establish a bond, and fly around defeating enemies together. If that isn’t enough you also have sea serpents, griffins and angler fish to mess around with, as well as some new biomes and mobs.
Ready for a completely new game? Craft Vegas
To all of the Minecraft players out there who are interested in exploring the new possibilities, just not to be confused, this isn’t a mod, but another sandbox game which takes its inspiration from Minecraft with its graphics and gameplay.
In it, you have control over a large city, which you can freely explore and build upon. Here you gather different building materials to create just about anything you would find in a real city - skyscrapers, factories, schools, train stations, airports, streets, night clubs, industrial warehouses, religious temples - it’s all possible. You can even create animals to roam around your bustling metropolis.
As its name implies, you can create D Vegas out of it, and build your own pocket version of the Las Vegas Strip with all of its most famous casinos with just a tip of the finger. You can bring your Bellagio experience to the whole new level walking around casino machines with your baby chimp pet. Is this even possible? With Craft Vegas - it is. Further on, learning how to craft vegas-style casino games is a piece of a cake when you have good inspiration to look upon. You can make roulette tables, slot machines, and poker tables, just to name a few, and moderate and decorate them according to your taste.
Creativity and survival is what Minecraft is all about. And mods are a great creative way to get a new angle on the game, and there are thousands to choose from to cater for all tastes.