The "secret" knowledge isn't necessary if you're persistent enough. Japanese Youtuber PiroPito has an ongoing series of videos (with English subtitles) of an al

The "secret" knowledge isn't necessary if you're persistent enough. Japanese Youtuber PiroPito has an ongoing series of videos (with English subtitles) of an almost entirely unspoilered playthrough: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbqkLu2V1bJJUQ2aLZjFdz8decGs1kHg- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbqkLu2V1bJJUQ2aLZjFd... Only things he used external information for were nether portals (which were made more difficult by poor Japanese translation) and summoning the wither. The devs added ruined portals in response to this series as an in-game hint for nether portals.