Minecraft is a great game. No doubt about it. What Notch and subsequently Mojang did was create one of the best sandbox games to ever get released. That said, I’d be lying if I didn’t say that the graphics (voxels) weren’t becoming a bit tiresome. That’s where Lords of Uberdark comes in to fill the void.

Before I continue let me just say that Lords of Uberdark is still n a very early Alpha. So while I’m technically previewing this game, what’s here is pretty basic stuff. In many ways it’s very much like Minecraft back when it was merely a “Creative” tech demo.

Lords of Uberdark is a voxel game, although you wouldn’t know it by looking at it. As you can see via the image above and the trailer below everything has a nice polished “skin” to it so as to not deal with the blocks of Minecraft and other Minecraft-likes. In short: Lords of Uberdark is damn pretty.

But like Minecraft you’re still able to mine and collect raw materials as you please. Find a mountain, grab your pickaxe and start creating your own cave. It’s pretty much the exact same as Minecraft only everything feels more natural.

As expected you can also build with the raw materials you collect, only it works a bit different than in Minecraft.

In Minecraft everything is a block. Essentially this means everything fits together like with Legos. One block on top of the other. Lords of Uberdark works in a similar manner, except it’s more freeform and while the block concept is there, it’s certainly not rigidly enforced. This allows you to make building that are much more realistic and dynamic, but it can also be a bit tiresome using the current method.

In fact, I would say that right now the method of building is the primary thing holding Lords of Uberdark back. Each time you build you have to push CTRL, at which point your perspective becomes locked and you have to use your mouse in a 3D plane to guide where you build. It can be very challenging and frustrating to get a straight line wall.

That’s not to say you can’t build anything great. Check out this amazing user-built “Uber Mario:”

It will be interesting to see how the game evolves through Alpha and Beta. On one hand I want to declare this a “Minecraft-killer” but on the other hand there are still some fairly large things holding it back. Shiny graphics and a new engine will only get you so far and Lords of Uberdark has a lot of catching up to do if it wants to play in the sandbox.

Lords of Uberdark is currently running an alpha fund where you can buy and play the game right now for $10. As expected, purchasers will get any and all updates for free as the game is developed.

[Lords of Uberdark]

Gameplay Video