Mineshaft Preview – Pickaxe, Puzzle, and PvP Madness!

by Jim Smale · May 29, 2025

Mineshaft Preview – Mineshaft is a thrilling puzzle-crafting adventure where falling blocks turn into tools for digging deeper into the mine. As you unearth gems, craft coins, and strategize your way through the depths, Mineshaft keeps you on your toes with dynamic environments and fast-paced PvP battles. Whether you’re crafting upgrades solo or challenging a friend, this game is a pickaxe-swinging, bomb-blasting test of skill!

Mineshaft Preview Pros

Decent graphics.
183.88MB download size.
Supports the DualSense controller (PlayStation 5).
Three game modes – Tutorial, Quest, and Battle.
Tetris-like gameplay, but it has crafting.
Line up items to craft tools so two stone and a timber item will craft a shovel, and when you hit the dirt it item it will collect it.
Diamonds and gold have to be mined with tools to count.
The pieces drop and melt into the level. What I’m saying is the shape changes depending on where you place it and doesn’t keep the shape like Tetris.
You can rotate pieces and fast drop them.
The game is very refreshing for the genre.
It does have a Minecraft feel and look to it, I mean, the name is nearly enough in the title.
Local multiplayer support.
Quest mode has five quest difficulty choices – Digger, Miner, Head, Hunter, and Bomber. This will affect what you start with and what you can do, like upgraded tools, etc.
World map level select for the quest mode.
Lightning-fast loading times.
A very addictive game, it has a lot to get hooked on.
Collect resources by breaking them out of the dirt in play, and earn them by doing things like digging up trees or dropping dirt on trees.
Recipes for crafting are on the screen at all times.
2D game world with animated backgrounds.
You see the outline of the piece to help with placement.
Stages will show how many resources are available in that particular stage.
A very fun game to play once you get the mechanics.
Play in different biomes with different resources and materials.
Different tools are needed for different blocks to break, so a shovel won’t break stone, for example.

Mineshaft Preview Cons

No Steam achievements.
Doesn’t have any graphics or game options.
No accessibility options like Colourblind.
Takes a while to get used to how the game plays, as you have to plan piece drops better and make sure you can craft if and when needed.
The controls are not the same as in Tetris, and you cannot remap them.
No online multiplayer.
There are no leaderboards.
Being able to pick out the different resources is not that clear for me at a distance. I’m due for new glasses and a prescription, so this may change.
Outside of gameplay, there isn’t anything like a story or element to propel you forward.
You can only have one quest going at a time.
No scoring or timer element in the game.
Crafting is awesome, but man, it takes a lot to remember to lay out the pieces and that.