Our first glimpse at Hytale Chapter 1 has me absolutely salivating

If you've been wondering about the future of Hytale, this is the moment you've been waiting for. Hypixel Studios has abandoned its original plan of total secrecy around the first major update for the Minecraft-inspired sandbox game, acknowledging that "given this project's history, asking everyone to wait in the dark again doesn't feel right." Instead, it's blown the doors wide open, with a deep dive into everything from new factions and dungeons to a full ability system, minigames, and much more. As someone who wasn't quite sure what to expect from Hytale Chapter 1, it's now already feeling like a must-play.

"To be transparent, there aren't many reasons to come back and play Hytale right now," Game Director Simon Collins-Laflamme remarks. He notes that "the first chapter is the hardest to deliver, as we're reworking the foundations and creating many new tools along the way, but it's all paying off for the chapters to come." Hytale Chapter 1 is set to more firmly establish its place in the survival-crafting space, not as a replacement to Minecraft (which the Hypixel team has expressed plenty of affinity for), but as a more adventure-driven RPG alternative that drops you into an actively living and breathing world.

That starts with a faction update for the goblins - but not before a reminder that Hypixel is spoiling a lot of Chapter 1 here, and a caveat that "almost everything below is a work in progress and may change before it is released." With that said, the goblins are leaping into the limelight for this first update because the features being built "lined up well with what we had in mind with them." Hypixel explains, "Their tech is janky on purpose, and they're just a fun faction to start early access with."

You can expect a wide variety of goblins of different shapes, sizes, jobs, and personalities. Some are serious threats, like the charging Feastmaster with its ability to call in reinforcements, while others will be more friendly. "One of them runs a shop," the developer notes, "you might even meet them." Your journey will begin in a zone called the Forgotten Temple, which will continue to be used as a hub for future early access chapters.

Once you've set the events of Chapter 1 into motion, there will be a whole heap of activities and world events to discover in the goblin region, from predators you'll need to track, to puzzles hiding tantalizing secrets, and even dangerous Void assassins that will hunt you. There's also a special Goblin Breach that can occur at random times, which lets you step through a portal into "an unstable fragment of Orbis, a set of biomes taken over by the goblins, along with a growing Void presence."

This region, being unstable, will be different every time you head inside, and you might find completely different features with each visit. The Void rejects your presence there, however, and will constantly push back on you before eventually tossing you back out into the world proper. You'll have to do your best to explore as far as you can before this happens. Also introduced with Hytale Chapter 1 is its first "handcrafted dungeon," which will include a multi-stage boss fight against a towering goblin mech.

"Goblin gear is scrappy, but that's part of the fun," the developer says. "What we want most out of early access is fun, so when we think something is fun, we build it, and the goblins are perfect for this." Keep your eyes out for all manner of gadgets to get your hands on, from rocket boots and gliders to hookshots, mining drills, and even a spyglass. "If it's not balanced yet, that's fine. We're having fun first and tuning it later." That's all for the goblins, but by far from the end of our Chapter 1 preview.

Boats! "Recent upgrades to our movement systems have made a basic boat easier to add, so we're going for it," Hypixel explains. Other tech improvements elsewhere will also allow you to pick up and carry certain blocks and objects physically, such as chests, explosive barrels, and more. You can then toss them at enemies, or plop them down more carefully.

"This will let us add carry-only items and resources that are too big or too heavy to fit in your regular inventory," the developer notes. Like Minecraft before it, gathering in Hytale can feel somewhat abstracted with how much you can store in your pockets, so having specific objects that require more work will turn bringing them back to base into "its own little adventure." In the future, the team is planning to let you carry downed allies to get them to safety, but this particular aspect won't be here for Chapter 1.

The new feature I'm most excited for is the combat ability system, which utilizes a combination of base and modifier runes to equip customized skills. Hypixel is focused on "creating a system that promotes creativity and allows for fun interactions," which includes the likes of elemental reactions and combos, along with environmental effects. This immediately speaks my language, bringing together some of my favorite combat systems in games, such as Mass Effect's biotic combos and Path of Exile's modifier gems.

It gives a few examples, although stresses that these are indicative of the general direction of the system rather than the exact abilities we'll be getting in Chapter 1. You might start with a Fireball ability rune, and then place in one modifier that causes it to split into multiple projectiles, and another that makes it apply the shock debuff to targets it hits. "We want RPG-style depth without giving up the freedom of the sandbox," Hypixel explains, "and runes open up options with multiple valid playstyles rather than funneling you toward one optimal build or a rigid, pre-defined class or archetype."

The possibilities are endless. Hypixel suggests soaking a target with water and then shocking it, or tossing a fireball into a friend's tornado to ignite it. It also hopes to integrate these with nature, whether that's rain causing everyone to be wet for combat purposes, using ice abilities to freeze water blocks, or exploding a poison barrel with flames and generating a toxic cloud. For Chapter 1, expect "roughly six ability runes and a similar number of modifier runes," with more to come over time.

Alongside all that, Hypixel is polishing up the surrounding elements of the sandbox. The game's menus and interface will be a long-term project, but you can expect some steps forward here, with a chapter screen designed as "a roadmap for your progress," and improved tooltip designs offering "better readability and styling."

Player models are being updated with "more detailed hand and eyelash options," and there will be a big bundle of fresh cosmetics, including sets earned during the main progression through the goblin realm. From a builder's standpoint, the addition of visual transparency will enable the likes of stained glass and window blocks, and it'll also enable more striking designs for mobs such as jellyfish.

Rounding out the announced plans for Chapter 1 is the first introduction of an official experience beyond the Exploration and Creative modes: Minigames. This feels very true to Hypixel's roots, and is starting off with "a collection of fast party micro-games." Collins-Laflamme says the team has 14 of these so far, each lasting between one and two minutes, and adds that their variety is very intentional, "as the team is using these to push Hytale's systems in crazy directions to evolve the tech."

While that's all for Chapter 1, it isn't everything the Hytale team has to show today. It also showcases the ability for players to stand on objects that are moving or rotating, carrying their momentum in a natural fashion. This has just gone live on the pre-release build, and as it evolves "should enable new and exciting types of parkour that use moving platforms, swinging hammers, and other dynamic features."

The remainder of the blog also has more in-progress elements to check out, including a first glimpse of the in-game mod browser (due to roll out in the next few weeks), improvements to the world tech, volumetric clouds, and an overhauled world generation system. Animal models, textures, and animations are being updated to feel more distinctly "Hytale" and highlight emotions.

Creature behavior is being given particular attention, starting with birds: "They sleep in nests, fly and land as a flock, take off when you get close, and grab dropped seeds. Owls and other birds of prey can even swoop down to hunt smaller creatures." Others that are currently being worked on are foxes and kweebecs. The younger kweebec seedlings will follow you around enthusiastically, while the saplings focus on nurturing the land around them.

Alongside all of that, Hypixel has been reworking the game's core crafting mechanics and its place in the progression. The developer says it "really tore into the problems with the current crafting system," and is making changes to reduce the number of benches involved, moving some of those aspects into "in-world activities like wood chopping and metalworking."

It's also building a companion system that will let you invite NPCs to join your homestead and help out with all that busywork. "We want you to feel like you can build a village with your companions, a place that feels alive and lived in," it explains. "That cozy homestead side of Hytale is very important to us, and will be getting a lot of updates in the future. However, we're not quite ready to show it all off just yet." If all goes to plan, you can expect to see a first implementation of this when Chapter 2 rolls around.

"As promised, we're reworking almost all of our tools," Hypixel continues. That includes the asset editor, and the machinima creation suite for making your own in-game animations. Also on the cards is a spectator mode to allow you to keep watching boss fights should you fall while your friends are still fighting, and a hardcore mode where death is permanent. Finally (for now) is the ability for blocks to emit music that sounds 'correct' for its place in the world. There's currently nothing planned that's specifically using this, but expect it in the future.

Hytale Chapter 1 is scheduled to arrive within the next two to three months, although this is currently a rough estimate; Hypixel says it "will provide a precise date as we get closer to release." In closing, Collins-Laflamme thanks everyone for their support, feedback, and patience so far. "The team is heading back to work on the plan you just read, and I hope you enjoyed the tour," he concludes. "Hytale lives."