There’s a good reason why Minecraft is so popular even today. It’s a true sandbox game, one that has not yet met a decent competitor. You could make an entire building, monuments, and such in Minecraft and still find more ways to enjoy it. Minecraft in itself is a pretty game, but with shader packs, the game becomes more gorgeous and lively. But what are some of the best shaders that you can download for Minecraft after the 1.20 update?
Well, June 7th marked the release of Minecraft’s 1.20 update. Called Trails & Tales, it’s a major update that introduces a new biome, animals, and mobs and also implements changes to the game. Now that the 1.20 update is out, here’s a list of the top ten best shaders for Minecraft that are compatible.
Top 10 & Best Shaders for Minecraft 1.20 update
Continuum
Arguably one of the best shaders when it comes to ray-tracing utilization, Continuum Shaders give you that realistic feeling while also staying true to the original Minecraft aesthetics. Continuum, created by Continuum Graphics of Focal Engine and Stratum Resourcepack fame, is their flagship product. Continuum 2.1 is the latest version of the shader, which comes with lots of high-quality settings and customizations like volumetric lighting, PBR, SSR, full 3D volumetric clouds, POM, TAA, and more. However, Continuum 2.1 is still in early access and requires a $15 purchase for the non-traced shader pack, while the fully ray-traced version costs about $10 per month. However, Continuum 2.0.5 and 1.3 are available for free download on the official website, so you can always start with those.
Continuum 2.0.5 and 1.3 Download – Click here
MakeUp – Ultra Fast shaders
Compared to Continuum, this one lacks popularity. But what it lacks, it more than makes up for with the number of awesome features it provides. Created by xavierFST, this shader pack received its latest update on May 21st, 2023. MakeUp Ultra Fast is compatible with Optifine and Iris and has been tested on 1.19.x as well.
MakeUp Ultra Fast Shaders Download – Click here
Nostalgia Shader
As the name itself suggests, Nostalgia Shader is created to give players that old shaderpack feel, back when shaders were just getting popular in Minecraft. RRe36, the developer behind this shader, is also famous for being the person behind Kappa Shader, Vanilla Plus Shader, and many more. As per the developer, Nostalgia Shader is intended to reproduce the look and feel of the “old” first-gen shader packs. Right now, version 5.0 of Nostalgia Shader is being worked on, which will improve visuals along with a plethora of other features. Nostalgia Shader is completely free, so there’s no need to worry about coughing up some greens.
Nostalgia Shader Download – Click here
SORA Shaders
SORA shaders touch that fine line between realistic and “video-gamey” aspects. Unlike some shader packs, it doesn’t try to full-on convert Minecraft into another game entirely in terms of visuals. What it does is more or less slightly enhance the visuals without straight-up turning the game into a ray-tracing fest.
SORA Shader Download – Click here
KUDA Shaders
Developed by DeDelner, the KUDA shader pack is the predecessor to projectLUMA from the same developer. Like most shader packs, KUDA adds realistic lighting, shadows, reflections, and much more to Minecraft. One thing we would like to relay here is that the KUDA shader is no longer in active development as DeDelner has shifted his focus on projectLUMA for some time now. KUDA received its last major update on January 30, 2018. The shader pack comes with five prebuilt profiles to choose from – Low, Medium, High, Ultra, and Cinematic. You can choose these profiles depending on your PC’s capabilities and such.
KUDA shaders Download – Click here
Oceano Shaders
The Oceano shader pack is one of the most downloaded shader packs out there. On Curseforge alone, it has more than one million downloads in total. Developed by littler00, it was first published on September 4, 2019. And like KUDA shaders, Oceano has also not been updated for a long time. The last major update it got was on January 11, 2021. Will the shader pack ever be updated? We don’t really know, but the chances of it happening range from slim to none. Unlike most shaders on this list, Oceano shaders offer a more cartoonish style of visuals instead of real ones. So, if you are tired of looking at the same old ray-tracing-filled realistic shaders and want something new and refreshing, go try the Oceano Shaders.
Oceano shaders Download – Click here
TME Shaders
TME like KUDA, is a legacy shader, meaning it has ceased active development. Created by CrankerMan, the shader pack, unlike most packs here, isn’t available on Curseforge or most shader pack sites. TME (Too Much Effects) categorizes itself in the “Realistic” section of the shader pack category. Despite being no longer in active development and quite old, it’s still one of the nicest-looking shader packs for Minecraft. Now, you really don’t need to worry about the shader pack not being compatible with the Minecraft 1.20 update. It may be old, but it works.
TME (Too Much Effects) shaders Download – Click here
SEUS Shaders
This shader pack is certainly popular. SEUS (Sonic Ether’s Unbelievable Shaders) is a realistic shader pack that comes with some amazing visuals and features. Developed by Cody Darr, or Sonic Ether, SEUS is no longer in development. However, Cody has not abandoned SEUS, as he has been working on two versions of SEUS: SEUS Renewed and SEUS PTGI. Out of the two, Cody is contributing most of his development time toward PTGI.
SEUS shaders Download – Click here
SEUS Renewed and SEUS PTGI – Click here
Voyager Shaders
Coming under the “Realistic” category of shader packs, Voyager is developed by SixSeven or Symbiome67. Starting back on May 26th, 2021, it’s quite a gorgeous shader pack. SixSeven started revamping the Voyager shader, with Voyager 2.0 released in 2021. The shader pack is in active development, so there is no need to worry about it not being compatible with the current versions of Optifine. In fact, Voyager 2.0.6 was just released on April 10th, 2023.
Voyager shaders Download – Click Here (Planet Minecraft) & Click here (Curseforge)
Vanilla Plus Shaders
As the name itself suggests, Vanilla Plus Shaders is a vanilla-categorized shader pack. RRe36, the developer behind Kappa and Nostalgia Shaders, also serves as Vanilla Plus Shader’s developer. Created on May 29, 2019, the shader pack is actively supported by the developer. Moreover, it just received its latest update last month, on May 13, 2023. Vanilla Plus doesn’t try to be a realistic shader pack. Instead, it’s made to enhance the vanilla visuals of Minecraft while also not compromising on performance.
Vanilla Plus shaders Download – Click here
Anyway, you’ve reached the end of this guide. For more guides and info on Minecraft, don’t forget to bookmark DigiStatement.
Also, read: Minecraft 1.20 not working & launching: How to fix it?
