Not at all. It started going downhill after 1.8 . I won't use any version after that.

All I'll say is this:

I've been around since very early alpha. Every single update has had a decent amount of people upset. Almost every update has had people complaining about it feeling too much like "modded Minecraft" or "not Minecraft-y enough". I really do understand some of the arguments made, however most of the negative opinions about a new update tend to drift away as the update ages.

My point is, don't rely too much on what people are saying about updates and the game. Try it for yourself and experience it fully. Make your own opinion. You may find that you like what the update has to offer!

As you may have guessed, I rather like the updates :P They usually add new and interesting ways to do the various things one can do in Minecraft.

honestly this might just be my nostalgia speaking but I really dislike the new additions. I mean don't get me wrong I love some changes, but it doesn't feel like minecraft anymore you know? I find myself steering clear of glazed terracotta, kelp blocks, mansions, shulkers, purpur, and other things I never bothered to get the hang of.
Although I do sometimes absolutely love the odd addition here or there (dolphins! elytras! bone blocks! treasure maps and more!) I usually don't. all the fancy new stuff feels like a mod that I didn't want added in. I often find myself wishing for an alternate version of minecraft updated similar to the current, but without all the new flashy stuff. just bug fixes, improvements on pre-existing features, and the occasional "vanilla"-feeling addition.

with my personal saves I tend to stick around 1.8 to 1.11.2, sometimes reaching out into 1.12. but even those changes kind of overwhelmed me. minecraft was always a "safe" game for me, I could set it down for a few months then pick it up again without any anxiety. but now I feel kind of left behind because of all the new stuff being shoved in.

I'm not really claiming my opinion is correct at all, but just food for thought I guess.

I, personally feel kind of bittersweet about the changes. The old launcher just brings back memories for (probably) all of us, and they had to replace it with something that, although looks way better and has better functionality, is fundamentally the same. I feel the second revision (the one that we had up until about 1.14.3? I think? correct me if I'm wrong) was a little better, with the news looking like an actual news site instead of some 2007 website. I liked that. I'm also pretty sure it was easier to create different installations than the old version, let me know in your replies. But now, with the latest launcher, it is pretty good with room to grow. Now, with the release of Minecraft: Dungeons around the corner, all they have to do is code in a new tab into the launcher. Same with all of the other games that Microsoft may (or may not) release pertaining to Minecraft.
On the actual game, I like that they are adding easier ways to do stuff (such as making banners) into Minecraft, along with the new blocks that they are giving creators (like me) to work within our builds. Although it doesn't retain the feel of old Minecraft (pre-Microsoft), I feel like it is going in the right direction.
With the new textures, yes, there was some charm to the old ones, but the new ones look better. Smoother, if I can say that without the loyal fanbase getting riled up and yeeting their pitchforks at me, even.

Anyways, that's my two cents, since you asked for it.

Play modded then Minecraft can be whatever you want it to be. End of story.

I do agree with this.
The game is holding our hand more, telling you what to do & giving us more .. yet less. I'll come back to this later.

Important to know, I only play 1.7.10; I however have genuinely tried the newer version.
What I miss are the following major things

1. Less predictable world/terrain generation
   Overtime it became more realistic, smoother but interesting floating plots of land, ravines through places they shouldn't go are now a thing of the past. While they might be looked at as bugs, they really allowed my mind to go wild & create some great fun.
2. Simpler combat
   Combat used to be simple, left click fast & jump to do damage, right click to block; spam the two together and you'd cut yourself in the head lol
   It created some problems with cheaters in PvP, however I think the current system is still easily exploitable as it just needs to be timed now. Survival players have a much rougher start with the new combat while also dealing with it a lot more as it takes longer to kill. Personally I just want to PvE the least amount, in newer versions I spend too much time fighting hostile mobs.
3. New default texture pack looks quite unlike Minecraft
   You can turn this off, so a bit of a moot point.

Those two points are my main complaints with a small one that essentially already has a fix tacked on.
For me a long time player that connection with the game isn't there in newer versions.
I do appreciate the new blocks & items, those I often get see and think "Well I'm missing out on them.." on the other hand I then think "But I still have those beautiful worlds, fine & balanced gameplay with an already nice assortment of blocks"

See where I'm getting at?

Nothing stops people from sticking what they personally feel is the best version.
You will lose some new features, but also gain back what you love.
It's up to the player to decide whether he/she thinks that's worth it.

I chose to stick with my personal favorite, 1.7.10.
People their reaction usually is "That's old!" and I reply with "Yup, it's from 2013"
Nothing stopped me from running a server on that version and keeping it up ever since then.
Soon it'll be 6+ years old, being publicly available again since last summer.


TL;DR:
I think they're stripping the game from what made it Minecraft.
It'll always have parts of the original concept, but I don't feel that connection that I used to with my worlds & builds.
That is why I just play 1.7.10 and deal with the fact that one day I might have to put in a lot more effort to keep playing an older version.
Think of skins, authentication servers, etc we don't know if they'll change them and ruin compatibility with older versions.

To all who read this, damn you've spend quite some time reading this; hope it was worth it =)

Edit #1:
I first played Minecraft in 2010 when inf_dev rolled around.
Really fell in love with Beta 1.6 through Beta 1.7 and kept enjoying it whole heartily up until 1.7.10.

Minecraft is slowly becoming a disaster. Despite microsoft taking over in 2014, they went full throttle in 2018 with update aquatic.

I joined in Beta 1.8, where in order to be successful, you need
to mine and craft. These fundamentals have vanished over time. First the Combat Update and the End added removed more of the fundamentals of the game: Mining and Crafting. The only exception is that you can only find OP resources in end cities, which requires effort to voyage into.

However 1.13 blew it. I can get full iron armor by looking around a few beach biomes. Then 1.14 came around - Absolute disaster. Villages became op and abundant. I can
literally find good resources in minutes unlike back in 2011
where I had to work hard for things like Iron, Diamond, and Enchantments (later versions). I dont need to mine and craft to do anything.

However Microsoft ruined MCPE even more than Java. MCPE was simple aswell, but rather instead of developing a unique taste to the game, they turn minecraft into a cash grab. Wtf is this “MC Market Place?” Why is microsoft trying their hardest to sell skin and resource packs XD.

Ive received alot of not well thought out replies such as “HURR DURR CHANGE TEH VERSHION TO GIT UR KLASSIC MC”. Of course I can do that! However, servers, plugins, and developers don’t bother supporting legacy versions of Minecraft. 1.8.9 is a good example. Many faction servers are on 1.8.9, however they cant expand in a unique faction as plugin devs dont support such versions.

In the end, minecraft became a lovely and simple game where you gather resources and survive mobs, to trying to make a collection of pets, and buying skin packs on a survival world.

What a shame. I know they can do better.

I think so, in some cases. Microsoft has given much more personnel to Mojang, who has been able to provide us with more content and more frequent updates for Minecraft. And a new version of Minecraft, finally unified with the Bedrock edition. And Microsoft has been able to take Minecraft not only for gaming, but also for education.

I think the "survival" part of the game has been more creative, but I can see where your'e coming from!

I love it. There's so much fresh content without it feeling like there's "too much" in the game. It doesn't seem like the new blocks, items, or mobs are redundant with each other or useless. I feel that before it was a little restricted in what it could be.

I like how they are trying to make it so that you can play online with people from every Minecraft version. I also do like the new updates. The new (1.9) combat mechanics make the game more realistic, although I would hate to use them in PVP.

Microsoft barely even is involved in the development of Minecraft. They mainly just integrate with Xbox.