In 2015, however, the technology inside mobile devices has come a long way, and with four years behind them, Mojang has had a lot more time to work on fleshing out the game. Well, Minecraft basically invented that, so all’s fair, I suppose. There were a lot of missing features that didn’t seem quite so connected to the under-powered hardware, though, lending the game the feel of an early access alpha.

Given the relatively weak tech the Pocket Edition was developed in mind for, it’s no surprise that it was missing things from the original version. It’s now available on pretty much any gaming hardware that doesn’t have a Nintendo logo on it. When it initially released on mobile in late 2011, the only other platforms it existed on were the various home computers. It’s digital LEGO in an open world with gentle RPG and action elements, and it’s probably the most significant game released in the last 25 or so years. There are entire bookshelves dedicated to that. I’m not going to waste many words talking about what Minecraft is and where it came from. With the release of a significant new version of the game, now is as good a time as any to revisit it.

And while I don’t want people to get in the habit of expecting a new review for every game that gets a significant update or two, Minecraft – Pocket Edition has come so far that almost nothing in our original review applies to the game anymore. Minecraft – Pocket Edition ($6.99) was a shell of its proper self when it debuted on the App Store back in November 2011, something we made note of in our original review. It’s long enough to turn the greatest of apps into digital dust, to add 1200 levels to Candy Crush Saga (Free), to see a new iPhone model launch and be discontinued, and certainly long enough for a diligent developer to turn around a disappointing launch release. In the specific corner of the hobby that is mobile gaming, four years might as well be twenty. In the world of gaming, four years is a long time.

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