I’m Loving Hytale, But Early Access Has Me Reinstalling This Forgotten Sandbox RPG Gem

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I’ve already spent about 20 hours playing Hytale, even though it just came out! That might not seem like much to some, but as a husband and father with two jobs, it means I’ve been staying up late to play. Despite how much I’m enjoying it, Hytale is still in early access, so I’ve run into some bugs and features are still missing. This has led me to revisit a game from 2017 that I really loved – it had a beautiful art style, a great sense of exploration in a fantastic world, and cleverly combined the open-ended freedom of a sandbox game with the satisfying combat and character progression of an RPG.

I first played the RPG Portal Knights a little over eight years ago and immediately loved it. While it wasn’t the first game to combine open-world building with role-playing, it really helped make that combination popular, especially in a 3D, block-based world with easy-to-join multiplayer and a clear sense of adventure. Now, a new game called Hytale feels very similar in both how it plays and the overall feeling it creates. They’re definitely distinct games, and I firmly believe that, but I’ve recently found myself wanting to play Portal Knights again after not thinking about it for years, and I think there’s a reason for that.

Hytale Isn’t Portal Knights, But It’s Pretty Close

Many players will immediately recognize similarities in Hytale, as it’s developed by Hypixel Studios – the creators of a hugely popular Minecraft server. Because of this, Hytale clearly builds upon the foundation of Minecraft, with similar art styles, world-building, and how the game is played. But if I had to describe it simply, Hytale feels like a blend of Minecraft and Portal Knights.

How Hytale and Portal Knights Compare

  • 3D SANDBOX EXPLORATION — both games put players into worlds where you dig, build, and traverse landscapes that encourage creative discovery and construction.
  • MIX OF BUILDING AND CRAFTING WITH ACTION — Portal Knights blends building and combat with RPG elements, and Hytale also combines sandbox building with RPG-style progression and deeper combat systems.
  • RPG INFLUENCES — Portal Knights has classes, combat, and bosses alongside crafting and building, and Hytale similarly layers RPG conventions like gear progression, enemies, and dungeons over a sandbox foundation.
  • CO-OP AND MULTIPLAYER SUPPORT — both support playing with friends. Portal Knights lets up to four players team up, and Hytale is designed around multiplayer servers and co-op play.
  • QUESTS BEYOND SANDBOX CREATIVITY — Portal Knights gives players quests and structured combat challenges, and Hytale aims to include structured objectives and combat encounters in its adventure mode and zones.
  • CHARACTER PROGRESSION AND LOOT — in Portal Knights you level up and collect better gear. Hytale also features RPG progression with equipment and combat growth.
  • FANTASY AND ADVENTURE FOCUS — Portal Knights leans toward a fantasy action RPG vibe, and Hytale similarly emphasizes fantasy settings and adventure alongside sandbox play.

It’s easy to see the similarities between Hytale and Portal Knights. However, it wasn’t the gameplay itself that reminded me of Portal Knights at first. The music and overall feeling of Hytale instantly brought back memories of playing Portal Knights, even though the graphics looked more like Minecraft. It was definitely a nostalgic feeling, but Portal Knights still feels very playable today. After playing Hytale for a few hours, I went back to Portal Knights, and it confirmed that initial impression.

Playing this game felt a lot like playing Hytale, just with a more colorful and lighthearted style. Honestly, if Hytale‘s world wasn’t so much bigger and looked so different, I’d almost say they were the same game. Because Hytale is still in early access, it’s hard not to compare—Portal Knights already has features, like a story mode, that Hytale is planning to add later. The similarities are just too obvious. And to top it off, Hytale even includes portals!

I’m still really into Portal Knights, but I can’t help but get excited about Hytale too! I admit, I sometimes jump on the bandwagon with popular games, and this feels like one of those times. Plus, the music is interesting – it occasionally reminds me of Portal Knights, but then a track will come on that sounds like something from an Elder Scrolls game, which is awesome. Honestly though, I think Hytale is just a genuinely good game, even though it’s still in early access and has a few rough edges.

If You’re Loving Hytale and You’ve Never Played Portal Knights, I Strongly Recommend It

If you’re enjoying Hytale and haven’t tried Portal Knights yet, I highly recommend it. It’s consistently received positive reviews on Steam for the past eight years – nearly 5,000 of them, actually – and you can also play it on Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch. Thinking about it, I might just replay Portal Knights on my Switch and wait to play Hytale on my PC. Portal Knights is a really great game that I believe doesn’t get enough attention, and if you like Hytale, you’ll probably see why.

Portal Knights is also playable on iOS and Android.

If you’re excited about Hytale, let me tell you, Portal Knights is a fantastic game to check out right now. It gives you that same awesome feeling of building, exploring, and RPG progression, but without the usual bumps you get with a game still in development. It’s a great reminder of just how fun this type of game can be when everything works perfectly together! Honestly, playing Portal Knights doesn’t feel like a step down at all. It feels like a perfect way to enjoy this genre while we wait for Hytale to fully come into its own. If you’re loving what Hytale is aiming for, you seriously won’t regret spending some time with Portal Knights.

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2026-01-19 13:05