Amethyst ShadersShaders · 1.8 – 1.21[WIP] A Semi-Realistic Minecraft Shaderpack, with a Vibrant Visuals Style. Based on Complementary Reimagined.

[WIP] A gameplay shaderpack based on complementary reimagined that has coloured block light with sharp shadows
Direct download from Modrinth · 13,747,545 downloads
Rethinking Voxels is a shader pack made by gri573. [WIP] A gameplay shaderpack based on complementary reimagined that has coloured block light with sharp shadows.
It supports Minecraft 1.19 – 1.21. It has been downloaded 13,747,545 times on Modrinth. The last update came out on Jun 20, 2025.
Rethinking Voxels has had 50 releases on Modrinth since Jan 8, 2023. None of them came out in the past year. The newest is r0.1-beta9, released on Jun 19, 2025. It is made for Minecraft 1.20.1 – 1.21.10. It runs on Iris. The download is 7.9 MB.
| Version | Released | Minecraft | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
r0.1-beta9 | Jun 19, 2025 | 1.20.1 – 1.21.10 | Beta |
r0.1-beta8 | May 12, 2025 | 1.20.1 – 1.21.5 | Beta |
r0.1-beta7b | Apr 12, 2025 | 1.20.4 – 1.21.5 | Beta |
aprilfools_2025 | Apr 1, 2025 | 1.20.4 – 1.21.5 | Alpha |
r0.1-beta7a | Mar 23, 2025 | 1.20.4 – 1.21.5 | Beta |
This shader is an edit of Complementary Reimagined that aims to be decently fast (when compared to path tracing shaders) while having block lights cast sharp shadows.
The lighting system is not perfect. Occasional sudden brightness changes are a side-effect of the way it works and cannot be completely removed without hurting performance or removing sharp shadows from light sources. To do the latter, disable Per-Pixel Lighting in the Rethinking Voxels Settings.
This shader is developed on Iris, using an AMD graphics card on linux, and it is also tested on an NVidia graphics card on linux. While it usually works on other platforms, bugs that appear only there are not caught by my testing and hence they take longer to fix. To use this shader pack, the Iris shader loader is required. Beta 18d and older versions also work on OptiFine.
If you need support, please join the shaderLabs discord server, where this shader has a channel (#rethinking-voxels-gri573).
I have entered a partnership with Ember, a Minecraft server hosting provider. This is because Ember hosts the complementary SMP server and has provided a better hosting experience / customer support than the previous hosting service, and because they reached out asking about it. If you need to host a Minecraft server and wish to support Rethinking Voxels' development at the same time, do check them out! Using the promotional code RETHINKING in a first-time purchase will redirect 70% of the first month's fee to me as well as give you a 10% discount.
Video by youtube user iambeen that showcases rethinking voxels beta 18d (with custom settings), compared to the original reimagined:
Written by gri573. Read it with pictures on Modrinth.
Install Iris (with Sodium) or OptiFine for your Minecraft version: shaders need one of them.
Download the .zip file from Modrinth. Do not unzip it.
In Minecraft, open Options, then Video Settings, then Shader Packs, and click Open Shader Pack Folder.
Drop the .zip file into that folder, pick Rethinking Voxels in the list and click Done.
Shaders are heavy on the graphics card. If the game gets slow, pick a lower profile in the shader settings.
Full guide: How to install Minecraft shaders
| Resource | Downloads | Versions | Last update | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13.7M | 1.19 – 1.21 | Jun 20, 2025 | Free | |
| 466K | 1.8 – 1.21 | Dec 14, 2025 | Free | |
| Light-Shadowcxxk | 4,552 | 26.x | 3 days ago | Free |
| 3,334 | 26.x | Jul 30, 2026 | Free |
Not yet. The newest version it supports is Minecraft 1.21.
Yes. Rethinking Voxels is free to download from Modrinth.
Yes. The last update came out in the past day.
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