Blockland Review Summary

Fun with friends and no pay-to-win, with a unique building feel, but empty servers, removed maps, toxic community, and bad controls make it feel abandoned.

Fun with friends: Playing with friends enhances the experience, especially for building and messing around together. Social interaction is a key source of enjoyment.

No pay-to-win: The game has never adopted a pay-to-win system, which is positively noted by players. This contributes to a fair and enjoyable experience.

Unique controls and feel: The building system and controls have a unique feel and structure that sets it apart. This distinctiveness is appreciated by some players.

Game is dead: Many players report the game is dead or dying, with a very small active playerbase. The lack of updates and players contributes to the game's decline.

Developer abandoned game: The developer has fully abandoned the game, with no major updates for over a year or even two years. Some mention over 10 years without updates.

Servers are empty: Servers are practically dead and disappearing, with few active servers and almost no players online. This makes multiplayer essentially unplayable.

Original maps removed: The developer removed all original maps, including iconic ones like Kitchen and Bedroom. This has upset many players.

Bad controls: Controls are uncomfortable, wonky, and difficult, needing a rework. Some find them hard to use initially.

Sandbox building game: The game is primarily described as a sandbox and building experience, where players construct with blocks. It offers freedom to create and experiment.

Lego-like visual style: The game uses LEGO-like bricks and aesthetics, often compared to Lego-based building. This visual identity is a key selling point.

Multiplayer and singleplayer modes: The game supports both singleplayer and multiplayer, allowing solo exploration or playing with friends. Multiplayer is often highlighted as better with friends.

Comparable to Garry's Mod: Players frequently compare it to Garry's Mod, but with a blocky, cube-like aesthetic. It offers similar sandbox and modding capabilities.

Varied game modes available: It includes multiple game modes such as freebuild, deathmatch, treasure hunt, racing, and zombie survival. Community modes expand the variety.

Server lag and connection delays: Lag occurs on servers, worsened by high ping on overseas servers. Add-ons can also introduce server connection delays.

Crashes and blackscreen issues: Players report random crashes and a blackscreen that renders the game unplayable. These stability problems appear across multiple reports.

Performance and shader optimization problems: The game is poorly optimized, and shaders cannot be run by less than half the community. This suggests significant performance barriers for many players.

General bugginess reported: The game is described as buggy, indicating broader quality issues. This aligns with other technical complaints.

Runs well on ThinkPad W520: One user reports the game runs well on a ThinkPad W520. This positive note contrasts with other performance complaints.

Not recommended for new players: Several reviewers advise against buying the game for new players due to its outdated controls, lack of support, and declining player base. They feel it's not worth the money for those without nostalgia.

Better with friends: Many reviewers recommend playing with friends to enjoy the game, especially for nostalgia and multiplayer fun. Some suggest buying 4-packs to ensure you have people to play with.

Negative recommendations: avoid: A number of reviewers explicitly say not to buy the game, calling it a waste of money or not worth it in its current state. They cite lack of interesting content and poor support.

Positive general recommendations: A number of reviewers give the game a strong recommendation, praising its fun factor and unique experience. Some rate it highly, such as 8/10 or 10/10.

Good for sandbox and building: Reviewers recommend the game for fans of sandbox, building, and creative games, especially those who enjoy Lego. It's praised for its building mechanics and freedom.

Community fair range: $5.00 - $10.00.

Session length: 4.0h.

Endgame: 3000.0h.

Enjoyment is tightly tied to multiplayer with friends and community modes, but many reports say it later becomes lonely, outdated, or runs out of things to do as servers empty.

Friction: multiplayer servers are mostly dead; almost no one is still playing; solo play feels like a lonely, boring, outdated sandbox; a quirky start before getting into it.

Unlock drivers: playing multiplayer with friends; community gamemodes like grappling hook and prison escape; custom content servers; seamless multiplayer architecture.

Nostalgic Returning Veteran: Returns occasionally to wander old maps, revisit single-player content, and sometimes join the few remaining servers. Motivation: Reliving childhood memories and revisiting a game they grew up with. Stance: buy.

Creative Sandbox Builder and Modder: Spends most time in single-player or custom modes constructing builds and installing addons via community tools. Motivation: Building, experimenting, and expanding the game through addons and custom content. Stance: buy.

Social Multiplayer Player: Joins or hosts multiplayer servers and gamemodes with friends, coordinating play sessions together. Motivation: Playing and chatting with friends across the game's various multiplayer gamemodes. Stance: sale.

Comparison to Roblox: Blockland is frequently compared to Roblox, often as an alternative or competitor. Some view it as a better or more charming version, while others see it as outdated.

Comparison to Minecraft: The game is often compared to Minecraft, with reviewers noting similarities in building and creativity. Some consider Blockland an ancestor or predecessor to Minecraft.

Release History and Versions: Blockland was originally released in 2007, with a freeware version in 2004 and a Steam release in 2013. The game has been played since the mid-2000s.

Comparison to Garry's Mod: Many reviewers compare Blockland to Garry's Mod, noting similar gameplay but with a block aesthetic. It is often described as a cubic Garry's Mod.

Declining Player Count: The game's playerbase has significantly declined, with only about 10-50 players online at peak times. Many servers are empty or have few players.