"Minecraft" is the Swedish sensation that swept several nations. People of all ages have stuck to this sandbox phenomenon ever since its official release in 2011. I have been an avid supporter and aficionado for nearly a decade now, and I truly believe this game has a little something to offer everyone. In my youth, I always appreciated "Minecraft's" ability to build online communities and bring folks together, but recently, I've come to appreciate another facet of this blocky virtual world.

Trying to juggle college and other nonsense, I'm not able to hop on the game nearly as much I used to. That being the case, whenever I did get the chance to play, I often found myself milling about by my lonesome, and I noticed something. Despite all my affections for my other pixelated pals, there was a certain serenity I encountered during my solitary playtime. Having pondered over this feeling for some time now, the best explanation I can provide is as follows: I had become utterly taken in with the scenery.

Now, you may be wondering how in the daylights I could be smitten with a cubical landscape that looks like it could have been coded in the early 1990's. I invite you to consider the following. I've lived out the majority of my life in the industrialized concrete jungle, the biomes in my region are pretty minimal, and it's hard to find time to go visit a national park when you're juggling two majors. So instead, I choose to satisfy my armchair wanderlust through the medium of "Minecraft." Obviously there's no true substitute for nature itself, but I think this sandbox simulation deserves some merits for its diverse geographical layout.

Not only that, but the interactive environment serves as an excellent creative outlet. Certainly one has ample resources to build lavish structures, but there is also something to be said for trying one's hand at digital landscaping. For one such as myself, who is practically allergic to everything under the sun, I'm quite thankful for being able to get my hands dirty without actually getting my hands dirty. Simply messing around with one's synthetic surroundings can prove incredibly relaxing. Ironically, if I had to compare the gameplay to another activity, I would probably liken it to rock gardening.

Supposing you haven't played the game personally, this might sound like a bit of a stretch, but for my other more seasoned colleagues, you may understand where I'm coming from. Whereas various other games and simulations tend to push competition and action, sometimes we all need a quieter, slow-paced VR experience to shake off the wear and tear of the day to day. To some, perhaps "Minecraft" is no more than a minor distraction from the realm of the real, but for me, I've found it can be rather therapeutic. Though everyone's experience with the game is their own, I can't help but wonder if the construction of an appealing environment was high up on the developer's agenda. Or maybe it wasn't, simply because they had faith in their players to instead make something for themselves. Either way, I tip my hat to the good folks at Mojang. Their efforts were not in vain.