I may be biased for what I'm about to say because I suck at redstone, I also took a break after the ocean update until a few months ago, but I think that farms make the game too easy. I don't even want to learn it. People also keep trying to find ways to beat it. Minecraft was never meant to be won, which ik is common knowledge but it's hardly taken into consideration anymore. I try not to focus on setting an overall end goal, just smaller goals like builds or finding rare biomes. Manually working for XP really draws out my ability to enchant gear, I don't farm villagers so I have to work with what I have when I find one. I don't strip mine, materials are limited because sources are limited, I focus more on building and exploring than advancing in the game and getting loot. It's pretty rewarding when I do make an advancement and I don't think I could get to the end anytime soon which is a good thing in my book. After playing my world for two months I still only use diamond tools, I barely have any netherite because I avoid using methods/tricks to get materials faster and easier. Essentially I'm keeping myself in the bronze age and playing it like I did when I was a kid TL;DR: The new updates are more fun if you play it like you’re in the Bronze Age. No farms, no redstone, no methods of getting things faster and easier. Playing Minecraft is better than trying to beat it
One of my new favourite things is also turning off (or just not using) coordinates, using maps and banners instead! It's so much more fun and immersive!
listen, as much as i feel nostalgia for old minecraft, the boats and the awful combat is something that irks me imma say it, the "new" combat system is a lot more fun (outside PVP) its not just a spam click game its a "do you wait to have a stronger attack or have quicker less damaging attacks"
frankly, I don't know if beta is that great. for me, the ""golden age"" of minecraft is minecraft version 1.5.2. not beta, alpha.1.5.2 is the version I played the most as a kid, and it's the version I recall most fondly. but I've played it, and I didn't like it. so I have VERY low hopes for beta 1.8. it doesn't sound very fun or interesting at all to me, and I've always been confused when I hear people talking about it as if it's some golden age version of the game, when I don't agree.
I remember playing an even older version back when Minecraft had separate editions for consoles. I had a castle made of dirt and hated going far away to mine because the entire world was foggy and there were no coordinates or maps to take me back home