Enter a whole new world of Minecraft

RLCraft is a free video game utility that allows you to up the difficulty level of your vanilla Minecraft game to extreme measures. Developed by Shivaxi, this game mod combines over 100 different Minecraft mods and turns your playthrough into a brutally challenging endeavor if you’re getting tired of what the usual Survival Mode has.

Considered a “modpack” due to it combining mods and tweaking everything as a whole, RLCraft is highly popular due to how well it seamlessly integrates all of its included mods with each other. Even as a standalone installation to your game, it has a lot to offer including compatibility with Windows 11.

What is RLCraft?

Minecraft is a 2011 sandbox video game first created by Markus “Notch” Persson. Eventually developed by Mojang Studios, it is a voxel art adventure game that features blocky and pixelated procedurally generated 3D worlds you can explore. There are two main game modes here: Survival and Creative. Thus, you can either choose to build and survive for as long as possible or create amazing designs on the generated world using the in-game blocks.

Thanks to the game’s vast capabilities and high levels of versatility, it eventually became one of the most popular video games around—getting ported into nearly every modern gaming platform. It also inspired numerous mods made for it. Some are new content to liven things up, while others are optimizations that fans had wanted to see. Some, on the other hand, combine several of these mods so players won’t have a hard time installing everything—and they’re often packed together with a theme in mind.

This is how RLCraft came to be. It is essentially a Minecraft modpack consisting of approximately 120 separate mods that have been bundled and tweaked to create a challenging fantasy world. It’s well-known for being brutal and tough on even the most experienced Minecraft players, as it not only adds new biomes and enemies that can easily kill you, but it also implements real-life mechanics that you’ll have to worry about, as well.

Why is RLCraft so popular?

The “RL” in RLCraft stands for “Real Life” and pretty much means that everything applicable in reality will happen in the game. This is half the reason for the modpack’s level of difficulty, as basic actions in the base game don’t apply anymore. For one, you don’t automatically pick up items when you walk over them anymore. You’ll have to actually click on them to store them in your inventory. Another thing is that you can’t just punch trees to get wood. You’ll need actual tools to harvest resources.

Healing isn’t done through food consumption here. There are also new mechanics you need to keep an eye on, such as your Thirst and Temperature. These turn the game into pure survival mode while keeping you highly immersed. However, while the game suddenly feels harder—especially with the enemy creatures you’ll encounter—the rewards you find exploring dangerous locations are also powerful and worth the risk. Just take note that the RPG system here is realistic, as well. 

You can’t just equip a high-level weapon and expect that you’ll be able to use it when your skill requirement is too low. The game is tough but it does push you to your limits in what you can achieve to survive. Even after all the hardcore features available, this modpack can be highly addicting to play once you start figuring out how to stay alive and start expanding your horizons to other biomes. It’s recommended more to veteran players who are done with Survival Mode and Hardcore mode.

One of the best choices around

All in all, RLCraft is an amazing bundle of mods and is one of the best mods in Minecraft for a good reason. While it’s excruciatingly difficult to master at first—especially if you’re a fairly new player in Minecraft—the wide range of content this modpack brings alone is interesting and easily tempts Minecraft players into testing their mettle against a new difficulty level.