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In regular Telltale fashion, they turned Minecraft— one of the most creatively dense games with heaps of potential… into something that is only mildly entertaining. This episode establishes a cool premise, and introduces some likeable characters that I can see getting more nuanced as the story progresses; but it’s quite eye-opening as to how lifeless Minecraft felt before it received the numerous updates. It’s nothing new for Telltale, but the environments are made with a lack of detail and variety, despite being accurate to the base game— still unusual though, considering they took their own creative liberties incorporating the Wither Storm. They should’ve designed some of their own environments and blocks, adding some originality that I personally think would’ve made the experience a lot more memorable and timeless.

A thing I noticed with the choices is that some of them make no sense… There was a point in which I chose to steal from Ivor (who had robbed me), Petra (W Ashley Johnson) opposed this and said that she didn’t want to stoop to his level; a scene later… she steals a gold sword from his chest; basic inconsistencies like these are why I think Telltale’s games just absolutely fucking suck most of the time, they can’t even give characters proper characteristics and stick with them, it’s a mess.

Lastly, a lot of this episode felt very empty…? Sound-wise. There’s either no music playing in the strangest of scenes, or there is music playing but it’s sound-mixed terribly. A missed opportunity is not getting C418 back to be the composer (I’m assuming they tried but he declined maybe, who knows); because it’s a night-day difference between the two soundtracks, and I’m not getting that classic Minecraft vibe that I absolutely fucking adore.

Bridge scene was insane though, more of that please!

Playtime: 1.8 hours

Minecraft: Story Mode Episodes - Ranked
Telltale Episodes - Ranked

Genre: Narrative Adventure | Released: October 2015 | Platform: Xbox 360/One, PS3/4, Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and Wii U | Developer: Telltale Games | Publisher: Telltale Games | Language: English | Length: 1.5 hours | Difficulty: Easy | Do I Need To Play Anything First: No | Accessibility Options: A few, most will be able to play this | Monetization: Single Purchase (although the game has been unavailable and delisted for a while now) | Microtransaction: Each episode can be purchased | Gambling Elements: None | Content Warning: Very mild cartoon violence | Parenting Guide: You’ll probably have a good time playing this with your kids | How Did You Play It: On PC via my 100% legally obtained copy | Did you need a guide: The last puzzle is pretty bad, but otherwise no. I figured it out, but don’t ask me to explain it. | Mods: None

Is It Good: Not really, it’s a bit dull.

Back of the Box: Don’t worry, they’re BUILDING to something. Hopefully.

Minecraft: Story Mode – Episode 1: The Order of the Stone is a 2015 narrative adventure set in the Minecraft universe that feels so close to being great. It’s very slow, a bit plodding, and desperately tries to spice things up with silly quick-time events. That being said I liked the characters, it was wonderfully cinematic, and I am interested in seeing where things go. The groundwork laid out is not bad, truthfully.

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